In a case of being careful what one wishes for, it turns out that all of the hopes that hybrid sittings would mean an end to heckling didn’t happen. In fact, MPs are now complaining it’s worse because when someone unmutes to heckle, it creates even more disruption as the camera shifts to them (but of course, this is also a completely selfish thing because it causes even more strain for the interpreters, who are burning out and MPs just don’t care).

What the Hill Times piece missed, because none of their reporters have shown up to QP during the pandemic, is that there are still shenanigans in the Chamber while the exchanges are happening over zoom. Most days, it’s Liberal MP Mark Gerretsen (the most consistent Designated Liberal™ in the Chamber) sniping back and forth with one or two Conservatives opposite – often Pierre Poilievre or Gérard Deltell, and this can be fairly distracting because you can’t hear the exchanges happening on screen. The worst was the Friday where Poilievre decided he was going to have a running commentary on everything going on on-screen, and when I say that he has a singular wit, I mean that he’s the only one who thinks he’s funny. He’s not. It was so bad that I couldn’t hear what was happening on the screen because of the constant running commentary that the Speaker wasn’t cracking down on. And I get it – they’re bored because there’s nothing for them to do but sit there as room meat as the charade carries on over Zoom, but it’s terrible.

Hybrid QP is actually pretty demoralizing. There is no spark or energy to what happens. It’s a lifeless recitation of talking points where they can’t inhabit the same space, and thus there is zero frisson to any of it. It’s unnatural and yet MPs seem to want more of this rather than fighting to have proper sittings in a safe way.

Good reads:

• In Question Period, Justin Trudeau said that PMO was aware an allegation against General Vance was forwarded to appropriate authorities, but didn’t know details.
• More documents showed just what kind of leverage the PMO was planning to use against the Trump administration if they cut off PPE shipments to Canada.
• Surprising nobody who has paid attention, Statistics Canada data shows that more racially diverse neighbourhoods experienced more COVID cases.
• Marc Miller says that the government isn’t setting a new deadline to end the remaining boil water advisories on First Nations.
• The man who invaded the grounds of Rideau Hall was sentenced to six years in prison, minus a year for time-served.
• Some MPs are looking into making changes to the Competition Act in order to tackle wage collusion, in addition to price-fixing.
• At committee, Bill Blair was grilled over quarantine hotels only for him to keep reminding them that it’s not his jurisdiction, but that of Public Health.
• During the same hearing, officials stated that there was no directive about removing locks from doors in quarantine hotels, as was alleged with the sexual assault case.
• There remain questions about the Kielburger brothers’ appearance at committee on Monday given their demands, particularly around the inclusion of legal counsel.
• Apparently there was an “airing of grievances” at Conservative caucus yesterday, around O’Toole’s leadership and western MPs feeling they’re being blamed.
• It looks like the anti-abortion resolution won’t be made a “priority resolution” at the Conservative convention, but its advocates are not giving up their fight.
• Jody Wilson-Raybould is planning to release a memoir about her time in Cabinet and the Double-Hyphen Affair.
• The inquiry into Ontario’s long-term care failures finds that the government rejected measures to protect residents because they were “too expensive.”
• Éric Grenier looks at the polls and finds that Erin O’Toole has not benefitted from a bump as previous new leaders have, including Andrew Scheer.
• Kevin Carmichael parses the latest guidance from the Bank of Canada, and their intention to keep interest rates low for the time being.
• Colby Cosh notes that those calling for the abolition of the monarchy have short memories of what happened in the US, and seem to be asking for a revolution.

Odds and ends:

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