QP: Leaning harder into the Winnipeg Lab conspiracy theory

Posted on by

It was the prime minister’s first appearance in the Chamber since the discovery of the mass grave in Kamloops last week, and he was joined once again by Mark Gerretsen. Erin O’Toole led off, and with his script before him, he asked for swift action on the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission around the residential schools. Justin Trudeau gave some platitudes about reconciliation and mentions their investments in those Calls to Action. O’Toole then moved onto the National Microbiology Lab, and deliberately conflated the issue around the two fired scientists with the global demand for answers around the origin of COVID, for which Trudeau reminded him that there are mechanisms to review national security matters. O’Toole dismissed NSICOP as the prime minister’s “secret committee” and tried to conflate the issue around those scientists, for which Trudeau hit back about the secrecy of the Harper government and their refusal to subject national security agencies to independent oversight. O’Toole switched to French to repeat his first question on the two scientists, for which Trudeau reminded him of the oversight mechanisms. O’Toole switched back to English to try and tie in this with approvals for foreign investment from China and Huawei, and Trudeau replied that the Conservatives never hesitate to play politics with national security, before he returned to his praise of the creation of NSICOP.

Yves-François Blanchet rose for the Bloc, and pressed for the swift passage of Bill C-10 in spite of Conservative opposition, for which Trudeau praised the cooperation of other parties in trying to pass the bill, and that they hoped to pass it before summer. Blanchet warned that if it did not pass by summer, there would be a heavy political price to pay in Quebec, and Trudeau reminded him that they have been there for artists since the beginning, starting with reversing the Harper-era cuts, and that it was the Conservatives blocking culture.

Jagmeet Singh led for the NDP, and he raised the court challenges around Indigenous children and residential school survivors (which are about narrow points of law and not compensation). Trudeau stated that every survivor deserves compensation and they are working on that, and they have also been guiding “transformative change” around Indigenous child and family services. Singh repeated the question in French, and got much the same answer.

Round two, and Michael Chong returned to the attempt to tie the two fired scientists from the NML with the attempt to determine the origin of COVID (Garneau: Those scientists are no longer employed, and we support efforts to find the origins of COVID; Hajdu: International collaboration is part of any scientific research), Pierre Paul-Hus repeated the allegations (Hajdu: We provided documents with redactions and you are trying to use national security for partisan gain), and Garnett Genuis continued to demand documents related to the firing (Hajdu: Either you don’t understand national security or you don’t care).

Xavier Barsalou-Duval railed about Air Canada executives getting bonuses while negotiating government assistance (Freeland: There were measures put in place to ensure limits on executive compensation), and demanded those bonuses be returned before they get aid (Freeland: Same answer).

Cathy McLeod demanded full support for investigations at all residential school sites in Canada (Bennett: We have supported the National a centre for Truth and Reconciliation, and we gave $33.8 million in Budget 2019 on engaging communities on how they want to move ahead on the actions), and more mental health supports (Miller: We are increasing supports), and Stephanie Kusie theatrically read some condemnation of Air Canada executive bonuses (Freeland: We ensured there were clear limits on compensation).

Rachel Blaney repeated the demand to end court challenges against Indigenous children and survivors (Miller: We stand with the communities, and we will provide compensation), and Gord Johns worried about DFO guidelines for Mi’kmaq fishers (Jordan: They have an absolute right to fish as we work toward long-term agreements).

Round three saw questions on the CRTC’s wholesale internet pricing decision (Champagne: We are trying to ensure more competition and lower prices, while trying to improve quality and increase coverage), making a permanent LGBT+ refugee programme (Mendicino: We have worked closely with the community to ensure they are able to resettle in Canada), not resettling enough refugees (Chagger: We will always take a strong position on LGBT rights, while your party is stalling the conversion therapy bill), making French the language of work in Quebec (Rodriguez: We are looking to protect French; Lalonde: You are looking for an argument where there isn’t one), the National Microbiology Lab firings (Hajdu: I’m not sure what that mishmash question was,but you shouldn’t put national security at risk for partisan gain), housing prices (Hussen: We are ensuring there are taxes on housing not being used), compensation for Supply Managed farmers under the New NAFTA (Bibeau: It was in the budget, and we are confident that tariff-rate quotas will be applied properly), pension increases for seniors (Schulte: We want to ensure all seniors get their proper compensation), gun crime (Blair: We have promised to strengthen gun control while your party wants to weaken it), and strengthening the climate accountability legislation (Wilkinson: We are committed to meeting Net-Zero by 2050 and will be amending the bill to introduce the principle of progression to targets).

Overall, the Conservatives decided to really lean into their attempt to spin a conspiracy theory around the two fired scientists from the National Microbiology Lab, and tried to tie it to the attempt to find the origins of COVID-19 in Wuhan, despite the fact that there is no linkage between them whatsoever. Internal emails from the lab indicate that the firing was a breach over intellectual property protocols, and their research had nothing to do with coronaviruses, nor is there anything actually nefarious in scientists sharing pathogen research across international lines. That’s how science works. O’Toole, Chong and others deliberately spun facts to create a false narrative, and the government’s non-responses have only fuelled their ability to spin this narrative, which isn’t helpful either.

Otherwise, we barely got any Bill C-10 questions – only a demand from the Bloc that it be passed faster – and we had a coherent and sober question from Pierre Poilievre today, which was as much of a shock to me as it was to the rest of you (for which the minister gave a less than illuminating reply). I am still less than sold on the Conservatives asking questions about LGBTQ+ issues as though they moral authority on the matter given their history and track record, but maybe it’s not a bad thing that they are finally starting to progress as a party – at least in part, though their actions around the conversion therapy bill demonstrate that this is very much a work in progress.

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

One thought on “QP: Leaning harder into the Winnipeg Lab conspiracy theory”

  1. I swear, if anyone played a drinking game for the number of times that Erin O’Trump and his merry band of MAGA hatters shouted their conspiracy theories about GHINA GHINA GHINA, they’d end up with cirrhosis of the liver by the end of a single QP session. Michael Chong, the supposed “moderate,” playing sellout in his turn as Joe McCarthy (or is it Kevin McCarthy?): “Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Liberal Party?”

    I won’t even go into how their ‘chan trolls on social media have been framing the “Manchurian Candidate” narrative casting Margaret Trudeau in the Angela Lansbury role. They’re not only unmoored from reality; they’ve gone into the realm of the perverse.

    Michael Harris finally names the diagnosis in his excellent piece for the Hill Times: there is no Conservative Party of “Canada” — they’ve completely mind-melded (without much of a mind to meld, or to waste) with the GQP.

Comments are closed.