QP: Putting words in Boris Johnson’s mouth

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In the wake of yesterday’s nudity brouhaha and the subsequent calls for an investigation, the prime minister was away and there were but two Liberals in the Chamber — Mark Gerretsen and Marc Serré. Candice Bergen led off by video, and she recited a hyperbolic litany of ills that lockdowns have imposed upon the population and lamented the government’s failures, before demanding to know why the finance minister was treating the situation as a political opportunity. Sean Fraser noted that they were looking to reform the system for those who were disadvantaged by the status quo. Bergen then switched to delays in Moderna shipments, and using it to blame the government for the third wave of the pandemic. Patty Hajdu reminded her that the government has been there for the provinces all through the pandemic. Bergen then raised the Daily Mail’s coverage of vaccines in Canada, falsely attributing comments to Boris Johnson around vaccinations when Johnson has in fact credited the lockdowns in Britain for halting the spread of the virus and not vaccinations, which is a pretty important thing to realize. In response, Hajdu again repeated that they were supporting provinces and encouraged people to get vaccinated when it’s their turn. Gérard Deltell got up next and in French, slammed the Bloc for joining the Liberals in ending the defence committee study on the General Vance allegations, to which Harjit Sajjan dismissed the attacks and patted himself on the back for his six hours at committee. Deltell then tried to police the government’s feminism, and Sajjan said that they were waiting for the committee’s report.

For the Bloc, Yves Perron led off to decry delays in getting temporary foreign workers out of quarantine and into fields, for which Carla Qualtrough assured him they were working as fast as they can to resolve the situation. Perron blasted that the contractor doing the testing didn’t have capacity in French, and Qualtrough assured him they were working to ensure people in Quebec could get their services in French.

Jagmeet Singh led off for the NDP, and in French, asked to extend the tax filing deadline, and Diane Lebouthillier listed tax relief measures they have offered. Singh switched to English to blame slow vaccine rollout on the federal government, apparently believing that vaccines can be produced form thin air, and wanted an admission of failure on domestic production. Anita Anand recited vaccine arrivals and that Canada is third in the G20 for vaccinations.

Round two, and Michelle Rempel Garner asked about a news report that added screening was being dropped by travellers arriving from Brazil (Hajdu: We already have existing measures, and everyone is tested on arrival and put in a quarantine hotel; You may disagree with our mandatory measures but they are working), and Pierre Paul-Hus returned to the Moderna delays (Anand: Millions of doses are on the way), and returned to the issue of screening travellers from Brazil (Hajdu: We have multiple and layered quarantine).

Louise Chabot demanded enhanced EI sickness benefits (Qualtrough: We have improved the regime over the past five years, and we have extended the benefit period).

Andrew Scheer complained that a profitable company was given government dollars (Fisher: a the Canada Infrastructure Bank invested in this, and it will allow Ontario to export clean energy and can import clean energy in periods of extremely high demand; Wilkinson: As this relates to climate, Canadians are still waiting for your climate plan).

Alexandre Boulerice demanded the government not legislate Port of Montreal longshoremen back to work (Tassi: Negotiations have been ongoing for two-and-a-half years and our mediation service has been there every step of the way, and I would encourage the parties to reach an agreement, but we will consider all options), and Heather McPherson wanted more action to deter Russian aggression against Ukraine (Garneau: We have been in close contact with the Ukrainian government and we stand with them, and will work with our allies on this).

Round three saw questions on Laurentian University cuts (Lalonde: We are ready to collaborate with them, and this is provincial jurisdiction), a disingenuous assertion that ending the defence committee study makes women in the Canadian Forces afraid (Sajjan: We take all allegations seriously and are committed to an inclusive force, and wait for the committee’s recommendations), a particular boil-water advisory on a First Nation (Miller: That simply isn’t the case, and work with every First Nation), foreign investors crowding out housing (Hussen: We are investing more than ever in housing), Indigenous procurement promises (Anand: We are committed to meet the five percent target, and have made sure to target Indigenous suppliers), another call to extend the tax filing deadline (Lebouthillier: Those who need help at tax season will get it), dubious claims of a planned GST hike (Fraser: You will see measures to help Canadians in the budget), the size of the increase of the Old Age Supplement (Schulte: You are confusing the cost of living increase with the pandemic supports for seniors, and most couples got an extra $1500 tax-free), mercury poisoning at the Grassy Narrows First Nation (Miller: We have invested historical funding into the mercury treatment centre), and a demand for a new climate target (Wilkinson: We have developed a comprehensive climate plan that allows us to move forward, and we will bring forward a new target next week at the climate summit).

Overall, the day was slightly less overheated than it was yesterday, and the disinformation not quite as fast and furious, but it was still there, and right off the top, particularly with that Boris Johnson nonsense. Johnson praised the lockdowns for being the tool that brought their cases down, but Conservatives in this country – who like to think that they can replicate Johnson’s secret sauce in getting working class voters to flock to their banner – absolutely refuse to admit this, because they are committed to the false notion that vaccines are the way out of the pandemic. Jagmeet Singh has also decided to get in on the “vaccine shortage” game, and his commitment to Green Lantern Theory is becoming an increasingly tiresome spectacle. Meanwhile, we were back to a lot of noise in the Chamber itself as Conservative MPs and Liberal Mark Gerretsen continued to chirp back and forth at one another, and at one point it was so loud that nobody could hear what was going on over Zoom, prompting the Bloc to raise a point of order over it, and lo, the Speaker once again gently chided them and didn’t lay down the law. “Hybrid Parliament” remains as terrible as ever.

Sartorial snaps and citations remain on hiatus for lack of a sufficient sample size.

One thought on “QP: Putting words in Boris Johnson’s mouth”

  1. The CNN fracas has died down somewhat, so now they’re cribbing from the Daily Fail? The same rag that published a fake picture of Trudeau in drag? OMG I just can’t. At this point the only news outlets actually doing due diligence in reporting facts are the Onion and the Beaverton. Everything else is just lying right-wing propaganda. No point even worrying about Russia and China infiltrating with disinformation, when the corporate Western/Anglo MSM is just as guilty of it. Can’t wait for Michelle Taylor Greene to pay another visit to Tucker’s BS factory. Might as well have a backup option at Fox Noise in case Postmedia finally gets brought down for publishing revenge pr0n.

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