QP: A raucous disagreement on the Emergencies Act

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All leaders were present for what promised to be a fraught Question Period, where the prime minister would be responding to all questions. Candice Bergen led off, and wondered just what was the threat to Canadians that required the Emergencies Act, citing the test in the legislation. Justin Trudeau trotted out his line that using the Act is a serious issue, and that the test was met so they are giving police new tools. Bergen insisted that the situations were already de-escalating on their own, and that this was just about saving his political skin. Bergen repeated the allegation, insisted that Trudeau was name-calling, stigmatising and “traumatising” Canadians, and Trudeau said that by first insisting the opposition wanted to try and have it both ways. Bergen raised Blackface, Omar Khadr and a few other non sequiturs and then decried a “mental health” crisis before demanding all mandates be ended, and Trudeau accused the Conservatives of playing personal, partisan games.

Speaker Rota had enough of the noise, and turned the speaking list upside down and called on Mike Morrice, who asked about committing to mental health, and Trudeau praised their plans for a dedicated mental health transfer to the provinces and bragged the government’s Wellness Together app.

Rota returned to Bergen, who raised domestic assault stats to decry mandates, before she demanded capitulation to the occupiers’ demands, and Trudeau trotted out his worn lines about having Canadians’ backs.

For the Bloc, Yves-François Blanchet decried the application of the Emergencies Act in Quebec, and Trudeau reminded him that the Bloc were demanding action, while the application is limited and proportional, and a province who doesn’t need it doesn’t have to access it’s powers. Blanchet railed about the sensitivities of Quebeckers to the War Measures Act in its new form, and Trudeau listed federal tools that helped Quebec in the pandemic.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and he decried how Black and Indigenous protesters were treated as compared to this occupation, and Trudeau admitted that they acknowledge systemic racism and they are committing to make changes. Singh switched to a French to demand the Emergencies Act not be applied in jurisdictions it is not wanted—a sop to Quebec—and Trudeau repeated that if the province doesn’t want the tools, they don’t need to use them.

Round two, and Dominique Vien wanted the justification for invoking the Act (Trudeau: We have been providing resources and invoked the Act to give local police new tools) and repeated the Quebec concerns (Trudeau: The illegal blockades are happening across the country), Leslyn Lewis decried that the Act was a blunt force tool and that not all measures were exhausted beforehand, and wanted judicial advice made public (Trudeau: You keep trying to have it both ways, first encouraging the illegal blockades and now that police have new tools you are complaining we have acted), and Michelle Rempel Garner demanded to know what other actions Trudeau took before invoking the Act (Trudeau: We made sure the RCMP was there to offer resources to the police of jurisdiction to take action, and as time went on, we saw a need for more tools), and called it a “power grab” (Trudeau: We laid out the rationale, and we are going to have days of debate on these issues in the House of Commons).

Blanchet said that the government orders invoking the Act doesn’t allow a province to opt in or out, and tried to shame the NDP for supporting it (Trudeau: Canadians were there for one another in the pandemic), and went on a tear about “real people” (Trudeau: We provided tens of billions to the provinces to help in the pandemic).

Melissa Lantsman quoted 2015 Trudeau to his recent denunciation of the occupiers and wondered where he lost his way (Trudeau: You can choose to stand with people who wave swastikas, but we stand with Canadians), and said he lost control of the country (Lantsman: A are you for the blockades, or are you for communities and the economy?), and Andrew Scheer tried to equate these blockades with Indigenous blockades and tried to compare him to a Chinese dictator cracking down on dissent (Trudeau: You should look to your own support for what these occupiers are really advocating for).

Singh was back up to complain about billionaires and millionaires (Trudeau: We’ve had Canadians’ backs with unprecedented supports in this pandemic), and asked again in French (Trudeau: Hooray daycare spaces, and we hope Ontario will sign on).

Round three saw questions on calls to capitulate to the occupiers’ demands (Trudeau: We’ve followed the science; the 90 percent vaccination rate shows Canadians have been united; 100 percent of Canadians are tired of the pandemic but vaccination is the way out; Public health measures are largely applied by provinces), pandemic spending versus increased health transfers before returning to the Emergencies Act in Quebec (Trudeau: The federal government has been there for people over these past two tough years; The measures are targeted and does not impact Charter rights), indignation about Trudeau’s comments about standing with swastikas (Trudeau: Canadians deserve their freedoms back from these illegal blockades), the Emergencies Act (Trudeau: We are offering help where it is necessary while you encourage these illegal blockades), protecting legal protests under the Emergencies Act (Trudeau: This only applies to illegal protests and the right of assembly is protected).

Overall, it was a very raucous event today, and I was surprised that the Speaker made good on a threat for once, but the fact that he simply went to the bottom of the list for a single question rather than naming an MP or ejecting someone was the gentlest of measures, and not likely to dissuade any poor behaviour going forward as everyone still got all of their questions. But the loudest moment was Justin Trudeau’s quip about Conservatives standing with people who wave swastikas, which was seen to be extremely egregious because it was in response to a swipe by Melissa Lantsman, who is Jewish and represents a very Jewish riding, which he refused to apologise for when invited to. Even after QP, when Trudeau left the Chamber, there were more demands he apologise and denunciations of his comments, to which Karina Gould, who is also Jewish, responded. This having been said, the Conservatives keep trying to be too cute by half and pretending that the organisers of this occupation aren’t far-right extremists, or that the messages put forward by these occupiers isn’t saturated with antisemitic, racist and Islamophobic rhetoric, and the vast majority of them keep trying to insist that this is just about vaccine mandates, which it never really was. Was Trudeau’s quip dumb? Yes. But the Conservatives can’t keep pretending that these elements are not permeating this occupation either.

I was quite surprised that there were no questions on inflation today given that the StatsCan numbers were released this morning and it wasn’t good, but given the issue of the Emergencies Act, it’s not unsurprising. It was also worth noting that only Yves-François Blanchet and Jagmeet Singh asked questions for their respective parties, making this an attempt at a whole-of-QP leaders’ round, once again ignoring that the point of the exercise was for any MP to ask the PM a question (not that they’ll necessarily get a real response). That both of them were still making the play to be Papa Legault’s Ottawa handmaiden didn’t add much to the conversation, or to the accountability around invoking this Act.

Sartorial speaking, snaps go out to Christine Normandin for a short-sleeved white blouse over a black skirt, and to Tom Kmiec for a blue jacket over a cream waistcoat, crisp white shirt, blue tartan tie and grey slacks. Style citations go out to Glen Motz for a dark grey suit with a bright teal shirt and grey paisley tie, and to Michelle Ferreri for a long brown jacket with pink florals. Dishonourable mention goes out to Anna Roberts for a gold-yellow sweater over a black top and slacks.

9 thoughts on “QP: A raucous disagreement on the Emergencies Act”

  1. So what if Lantsman is Jewish, and gay. Who cares. There’s no shortage of sellouts or “kapos” who think cozying up to the fascists will enable to save their own behind, at the expense of others. The female Ernst Rohm. Lantsman’s “identity” is simply that of a shameless, craven political hack and toxic Trudeau hater. In other words, a Conservative. What a seditious, treasonous disgrace they all are. But I guess credit is due to the Scheer Lunacy Party finally embracing renewable energy sources, because all the rotations John Diefenbaker must be making in his grave could power the grid for a hundred years.

  2. Sorry to be picky but did Trudeau really say “that if the province doesn’t want the tools, they do need to use them”?
    I really appreciate your reviews of Question Period. I don’t have the patience to watch.

  3. Did not hear Ms Lantsman denounce the sedition, the class to execute the PM, the torture by 150 decibel 24/7 horn honking, the coded reference to Nazis – i.e.g honk honk, nor the call for overthrowing a democratically elected government. Until she denounces all of that, she is in complicity.

  4. “Justin Trudeau’s quip about Conservatives standing with people who wave swastikas…”

    This wasn’t a “quip” made by some random guy in a bar. It was pathetic ‘you’re a Nazi’ slander used by the Prime Minister of Canada — in the House of Commons, no less! And he did so after being called out for divisive language, which rather proves Lantsman’s point.

  5. I wish Trudeau hadn’t made the remark, but it must be galling to him to think how the Conservatives welcomed the convoy for the first week and made that remark about making it his problem. And now they accuse him of politicizing it.

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