QP: Imagining a diplomatic snub

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It being Wednesday, the prime minister was present and ready to respond to all of the questions being posed. Erin O’Toole led off, and lied about what David Lametti said about judicial appointments, and Trudeau said he would answer in a moment, but wanted to first assure Canadians that they were monitoring what is happening in the United States. O’Toole accused him of a cover-up and of politicising appointments, to which Trudeau read a script about major reforms to the process to make it independent after Conservative mismanagement. O’Toole tried in French, and got the same answer. O’Toole then worried that federal guidance on masks was stricter than in Quebec, and wondered who Quebeckers should listen to, and Trudeau said that they respect the advice of local public health authorities but they are trying to provide guidance. O’Toole tried again in English, and got much the same response. Yves-François Legault got up for the Bloc and accused the prime minister of preferring Biden and weakening the relationship with Americans, then wondered if he had spoke to the president of France. Trudeau reminded him that regardless of the outcome of the election, they would stand up for Canadian interests and those of allies including France. Blanchet tried to pivot this to freedom of expression, and Trudeau listed things that Canada stands with France on, and that he would be speaking with Macron in the near future. Jagmeet Singh was up for the NDP, and in French, demanded to know when the federal standards on long-term care was coming — because you can wrangle the provinces overnight. Trudeau reminded him that they are working with the provinces. Singh then lied about federal ownership over certain long-term care homes and demanded an end to for-profit care, to which Trudeau reminded him that they respect provincial jurisdiction on long-term care but are there to support provinces.

Round two, and Richard Martel returned to the freedom of expression issue (Trudeau: Once again, we will always protect freedom of expression; I wouldn’t want you to mislead the House because this is what I actually said), Lianne Rood worried about grocery oligopolies (Trudeau: The Competition Bureau is independent, and you are misleading the House about what we’ve done in this pandemic), and Pierre Poilievre worried that Parliamentary Budget Officer says the government isn’t being transparent with him (Trudeau, with script: We have been open and transparent about our economic plan to combat this pandemic; We made a commitment to Canadians that would be there for them). Stéphane Bergeron returned to the taunting that President Macron called Premier Legault and not Trudeau (Trudeau: You are trying to make political hay out of nothing). O’Toole got back up to insist that there were conflicting stories on the pandemic early warning system (Trudeau: There were no changes on funding or staffing levels, and when reports came out, the minister followed up on it), and he engaged in revisionist history about border closures (Trudeau: We leaned on experts, epidemiologists and public health experts to protect Canadians), and if we can hope for a family Christmas this year (Trudeau: You can still trust the government). Lindsay Mathyssen complained the government was dragging its feet on pay equity (Trudeau: We have taken steps but there is still more to do, we are working to implement our legislation), and Brian Masse complained that Black artists were being left out of the public art on the new Gordie Howe bridge (Trudeau: I’ll have a conversation with my ministers about this).

Round three saw questions on Canadian drones being used by Turkey (Trudeau: We have a rigorous export control system, and we suspended those permits when reports emerged), the northern drilling ban (Trudeau: Natural resources are important for our economy, but we need to do it properly), the Iqaluit post office being overwhelmed (Trudeau: We are working with Canada Post), judicial appointments (Trudeau: We have an independent, merit-based appointment system, and due diligence occurs after the minister’s recommendation), airlines needing help (Trudeau: We will always support this industry), on FINTRAC reporting on money laundering (Trudeau: We are combatting organised crime while making housing more affordable), Transparency International corruption indexes (Trudeau: We had to reinvest in the RCMP to combat organised crime after your government cut them), Manitoba Hydro possibly spreading COVID to First Nations (Trudeau, with script: We are monitoring the situation and will help any First Nation that requests help).

Overall, it was a bit of an odd day considering just how quick O’Toole was off the start to simply lie about previous responses he’s been given, and carry on misquoting and mischaracterizing past events and statements, right up to misquoting the prime minister directly after he was given an answer. Trudeau did push back a few times, signalling that the opposition was in danger of misleading the House – because you can’t actually call them liars, according to the rules – but when it’s blatant like that, it’s hard not to. Singh was little better with his round, pretending that federal-provincial negotiations can happen in a snap, and carrying on the fiction that the federal government owns long-term care homes (when it’s an independent Crown corporation pension fund that invests in them, and Cabinet plays no role in those decisions). As well, the notion that the Conservatives and Bloc were promulgating, that it was a diplomatic snub that the president of France called the premier of Quebec and not Trudeau, was particularly laughable, but seeing as all anyone can do in QP anymore is lie and create false narrative, nothing is particularly surprising.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Glen Motz for an eggplant suit with a white shirt and a purple and grey striped tie, and to Maryam Monsef for a black dress under a grey and black checkered jacket. Style citations go out to Ginette Petitpas Taylor for a navy suit with a lemon yellow turtleneck, and to William Amos for a medium brown suit with a blue checked shirt and a bright pink tie. Dishonourable mentions go out to Rachael Harder for a black jacket and skirt with a honey mustard top, and to Maninder Sidhu for a black suit with a pale yellow shirt and dark yellow tie. Special mention goes out to Alex Ruff who wore his service medals for his member’s statement.

2 thoughts on “QP: Imagining a diplomatic snub”

  1. Perhaps someone should ask O’Toole why the godfather of the CPC is buddy buddy with the likes of right-wing populist strongmen as Trump and Viktor Orban. That right there should be a major diplomatic “issue” worth investigating. What Trudeau said was essentially the same thing as Angela Merkel. Meanwhile, O’Toole’s rhetoric, as the late and great Molly Ivins once said of Pat Buchanan, sounds better in the original German.

    While we’re at it, flashy fashy Blanchet going on about being a Democrat if he were American is ridiculous. The Republicans are white ethno-nationalists who hate Muslims and want to secede from the country. Albeit, they’re primarily fundamentalist Christians, though they’ve recently started accommodating atheist dudebros who make common cause on Islamophobia and misogyny. So he’d fit right in with the “modern” GOP. Heck, with the rape allegations, he’d probably get a cabinet role if Trump were to be reelected. But since he claims to be so tight with Macron now, someone should ask *him*… if he were voting in the French elections, would he support Marine Le Pen? I really don’t see why not. White people gonna white people.

  2. There is one thing cons can boast about O’Toole. He lies just like the rest of them. Lying and fearmongering is the Con Stock and Trade. I am not bound by house rules. CPC is a party of liars. Period.

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