QP: Magical vaccine production facilities

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Things got off to a slightly late start, as new MPs Marci Ien and Ya’sra Saks took their seats for the first time, led in by Justin Trudeau as their party leader. When QP got started, Erin O’Toole led off with his script on his mini-lectern, where he returned to yesterday’s same panic about vaccine delivery. Trudeau read some talking points about the vaccine portfolio, and stated that they were working with experts on the roll-out plan. O’Toole was not mollified and tried again, and got much the same response. O’Toole then worried that Trudeau wouldn’t ensure that a vaccine would be approved in short order, but Trudeau didn’t bite, and merely noted that three candidates were under review by Health Canada. O’Toole then switched to French to demand the vaccine plan be made public, to which Trudeau again praised the vaccine portfolio before noting that they are working with the provinces to deliver them. O’Toole then pivoted to official languages, to which Trudeau attacked him for not committing to only appointing bilingual Supreme Court judges. Yves-François Blanchet was up next for the Bloc, and he insisted that Quebec could have somehow produced the vaccine before we get doses from abroad, to which Trudeau returned to his points about the vaccine portfolio. Blanchet then demanded harmonised approval for the vaccine with other jurisdictions, to which Trudeau spoke about investing in science after years of neglect. Jagmeet Singh was up next for the NDP, and he asked why the National Research Council couldn’t make the vaccines, to which Trudeau reminded him that they won’t be able to get up and running until next summer. Singh started to repeat the question and then, knowing he got an answer, started to veer into demanding the plan, to which Trudeau thanked him for reading the press release but noted that he didn’t read the whole thing, and that the facility was still under construction.

Round two, and Michelle Rempel Garner asked if Canada negotiated the licenses to produce the vaccines domestically (Trudeau: We ensured the best portfolio; yes, we looked at domestic production as much as we were able to; Under the Conservatives, here are all the vaccine manufacturers who closed their facilities in Canada), Richard Martel demanded the bill to modernise the Official Languages Act (Trudeau: We have an excellent minister and moving forward on the bill), Alain Rayes demanded the legislation by Christmas rather than another White Paper (Trudeau: Here are all the ways we are committed to protecting French), and Erin O’Toole stood up again to demand the extension of Quebec’s Bill 101 to federal workplaces (Trudeau: Are you committed to bilingual Supreme Court judges?) Blanchet was back up, and he decried delays to vaccine rollout (Trudeau: Our vaccine portfolio came from expert recommendations). James Cumming and Pierre Paul-Hus wondered why domestic vaccine manufacturing can’t happen at the drop of a hat (Trudeau: We invested to rebuild biomedical capacity in this country after the Conservatives let it leave the country; There are different candidates so we got a broad range). Singh was back up for the NDP and demanded more pandemic aid for Nunavut (Trudeau: We have worked closely with the Northern premiers since the beginning to ensure that they have all the resources they need), and demanding the federal government directly fund certain health regions — which is provincial jurisdiction (Trudeau: We have sent billions of dollars to the provinces).

Round three saw questions on vaccine delivery for First Nations (Trudeau: We have worked to ensure they have what they need), O’Toole accused the government of sending PPE to China and not First Nations (Trudeau: We work with them to ensure they have what they need), the detailed federal plan on testing and vaccine deployment (Trudeau: We are supporting provinces), extending Bill 101 to federal workplaces (Trudeau: We will always stand up for French in Quebec and the rest of Canada), supports for veterans (Trudeau: We have spent $10.5 billion on new supports; We reopened the veterans affairs offices your government shuttered), protecting Supply Management (Trudeau: We defended it from the Americans), and Singh was back up to try and troll the government about childcare — which is provincial jurisdiction (Trudeau: We’re investing $7.5 billion over a decade and have committed to a Canada-wide system).

Overall, it was another day of ridiculous assertions by masquerading as concern for Canadians welfare, because apparently a government can build a vaccine manufacturing facility overnight, and all vaccine manufacturing plants are equal. In fact, the reinvestment this government made will take months for facilities to be built and given proper clearance to begin production, and different vaccine candidates have different production technologies, and one facility can’t necessarily create certain types of vaccines that it’s not equipped to. None of this seems to penetrate with the opposition. I also continue to be baffled by the ongoing hysteria about the supposed “decline of French,” for which there is no actual evidence, and furthermore, trying to insist that the Liberals “look down on the French” is ludicrous in the extreme – particularly if you look at the Conservatives’ record on official languages, and how their sudden desire to out-Bloc the Bloc is little more than opportunism. That said, the Liberals remain hungry for Quebec votes and won’t challenge the ridiculousness of this assertion, so they are only adding fuel to this particular bonfire. Meanwhile, Erin O’Toole kept on with his need to provide follow-up questions, particularly during the third round, which remains odd and somewhat paternalistic, as though his MPs can’t make their own points – though we all know that this is about him gathering clips for social media, so he looks like he’s engaged and talking tough on every topic rather than just the one or two that get covered in the leaders’ round.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Marci Ien for a cranberry red suit with an off-white top and a thin black tie, and to Justin Trudeau for a tailored navy suit with a light blue shirt and a slightly darker blue tie. Style citations go out to David Sweet for an eggplant jacket with a pink shirt, a brown-gold paisley tie, and black jeans, and to Anju Dhillon for a tight pink top with big red florals.

3 thoughts on “QP: Magical vaccine production facilities”

  1. Another land mine that Harper left for Trudeau. What a pos. The stench of his “legacy” will be in the air for far too long after he’s left the room.

    • Define said land mine. Outside of the generic grandstanding name names and specify what capacity of epidemiology left Canada during Harpers years. You may also want to take a look at why any pharma companies left and consider the social benefits and costs of government interference in the drug business and lack of corporate welfare

  2. Again J.B. Harper told us that we wouldn’t recognize Canada after he was done with it. Now we have his tool in opposition, never remembering all the con gaffes because the cons exist because Canadians either forgot or didn’t know their malfeasance while they were in Ottawa.

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