QP: All the empty benches

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It was eerie that the Liberal benches were completely empty save Paul Lefebvre, and the opposition benches also emptier than usual, though most who were present were wearing masks when not speaking. Erin O’Toole, in person and with his mini-lectern on his desk, read his first question on the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline by the Biden administration. Justin Trudeau, appearing by video, reminded him that when he was first selected as Liberal leader, he took a trip to Washington to impress upon the Democrats that the project was a good one, and he raised it in his first call with Biden after the election. O’Toole derided this as a “mail-it-in approach,” and Trudeau insisted that they got wins with the Americans. O’Toole then switched to the Pfizer vaccine delays and accused the prime minister of not standoff up for Canada, and Trudeau disputed this characterisation, reminding him that this is a temporary delay but it would not affect the overall target. O’Toole repeated the question in French, got the same answer, and then O’Toole insisted that Canada was always behind everyone else — which is verifiably false. Trudeau chided him for giving misinformation, and reiterated his previous response. Yves-François Blanchet was up next for the Bloc, and worried about the lack of doses next week, and Trudeau repeated that this was a temporary interruption. Blanchet worried that Pfizer was trying to get tax advantages in Canada and now our deliveries were interrupted, and Trudeau warned that he was veering into conspiracy theory territory. Jagmeet Singh then led for the NDP, and in French, he raised the number of people who died of COVID, and demanded “action” on vaccines — because it can happen overnight? Trudeau reminded him they were working closely with provinces to ensure there was an effective rollout of those vaccines. Singh repeated the question in English, and got the same answer.

Round two, and Michelle Rempel Garner took issue with the math on the vaccination goal (Anand: This is a temporary interruption, and there will be enough doses for everyone before the end of September), and Pierre Paul-Hus repeated the questions in French (Anand: The retooling and interruption is temporary, and plenty of other allied countries have not yet begun any vaccinations). Blanchet was back up to demand border closures and refunds for passengers (Alghabra: We won’t aid airlines if they don’t offer refunds), Xavier Barsalou-Duval again demanded all travel halted (Alghabra: We have halted some arrivals and told people not to travel, and have instituted pre-boarding testing; Hajdu: We have some of the strictest measures in the world). Rosemarie Falk, John Brassard, and Scot Davidson demanded “strong federal leadership” on vaccine deliveries (Anand: We are working to ensure that all Canadians will have access to a vaccine as soon as possible, and shipments will ramp up in a couple of weeks). Don Davies worried about the audit into the Public Health Agency of Canada (Hajdu: Our response has been based on science and evidence, and I want to thank those employees and we will spare nothing to ensure they have what they need), and Leah Gazan worried about cases of trench fever in her riding (Hajdu: We are working with provinces, and I am having conversations with your province’s health minister).

https://twitter.com/AaronWherry/status/1353791210054418432

Round three saw questions on whether the treatment of Uyghurs counts as genocide (Garneau: This is being investigated by an international body to make the determination), the vice-regal appointments committee (LeBlanc: We accepted the resignation of the Governor General and have not yet decided on the process for the next appointment), Pfizer doses (Anand: This is a temporary shortage and we are still on track for the quarterly goal), the cancellation of Keystone XL affecting the self-determination of local First Nations (O’Regan: We advocated for this project and will be there for the affected workers), small businesses being affected by vaccines (Anand: I take exception with this being called a “botched plan”), help for entrepreneurs (Freeland: We need to ensure the integrity of our programmes and we are looking at the challenges around new businesses), the lack of refunds for cancelled flights (Alghabra: We have committed to supporting key players in the industry, and discussions are ongoing about ensuring Canadians get their refunds), and Canadian real estate being used to launder money (Freeland: We are focused on a tax-based mechanism around unused housing owned by non-residents).

Overall, I find myself both unnerved and absolutely livid at the fact that the Liberals only had a single MP in the chamber throughout QP – first Paul Lefebvre, and at some point he swapped out with Mark Gerretsen, but that was it. It’s not “setting a good example” and working from home – Parliament is not some nine-to-five office job. It’s essential to the proper functioning of this country and in holding the government to account, and that’s certainly not how it’s being treated, or the message that they are sending, and that is shocking and alarming. I also find it wholly irresponsible the way in which all three opposition parties were trying to score political points on the Pfizer vaccine delays – we know that this is temporary so that they can retool a production line and increase production afterward, and that means that within a couple of weeks, we’ll be getting more than the doses we were promised and didn’t get these past couple of weeks. Instead of working to reassure Canadians that they’re coming, they are instead inciting panic, which I think is reprehensible in the current climate.

Sartorially speaking (and the pickings were very, very slim), snaps go out to Gérard Deltell for a tailored navy suit with a white shirt and burgundy tie, and to Michelle Rempel Garner for a short-sleeved black dress. Style citations go out to Julie Vignola for a red dress with multi-patterned sleeves and a built-in scarf-like neckline in the same multi patterned fabrics, and to Alain Therrien for a medium grey jacket with a white shirt, navy tie and blue jeans.