QP: Repeating the same Ukraine questions once again

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The prime minister was present for QP today, as was his deputy, so we would see how the questions about the war in Ukraine would shape up with him in the room. They weren’t much improved—or different for that matter. Candice Bergen led off, script in front of her, and she demanded the expulsion of the Russian ambassador and to recall ours from Moscow, because they seem to believe that diplomacy is a cookie for good behaviour, which it absolutely is not. Justin Trudeau said that the foreign minister had summoned the Russian Ambassador to be admonished, but that they were keeping all tools on the table, which one assumes includes diplomacy. Bergen then demanded visa-free travel to Canada for Ukrainian refugees, for which Trudeau read that they have bolstered capacity and priorities Ukrainian applications. Bergen then stated that the longer Canadian oil and gas stays in the ground, the more Putin wins, and demanded a policy of drilling. Trudeau noted their supports for Alberta, their support for the Trans Mountain expansion, and that they were working toward a cleaner future. Bergen then pivoted to the Emergencies Act invocation, and insisted that the only used it for political reasons, for which Trudeau read that law enforcement found it essential, and accused the Conservatives of being unable to pick a lane. Bergen then demanded that all federal vaccine mandates be lifted and accused the government of “dragging their knuckles” because vaccine mandates are “so yesterday.” Trudeau reminded her that they base their decisions based on science.

Yves-François Blanchet rose for the Bloc and wanted to ensure that sanctions would remain in place until the last Russian soldier was out of Ukraine, and Trudeau largely agreed with the notion. Blanchet then worried about the rhetoric of using the war in Ukraine as a propaganda tool for western Canadian oil and gas, for which Trudeau noted that while Canada imports negligible amounts of Russian oil and gas, they need to work with Europe to end their dependence on it, talking about a clean energy future.

Jagmeet Singh appeared by video in French to ask about sanctions on Belarus, for which Trudeau reminded him that they already imposed them for their complicity in the invasion of Ukraine, and that they were looking at future ones. Singh switched to English to demand a barrier-free process for Ukrainians seeking refuge in Canada, and Trudeau note that they have been preparing this for a month now.

Round two, and Luc Berthold returned to the demand to expel the Russian ambassador and to recall Canada’s ambassador from Moscow (Oliphant: Our foreign minister summoned the Russian ambassador and we will continue to have that dialogue), Jasraj Hallan worried that Ukrainian immigration applications that predated the invasion were not being prioritised (Fraser: We are prioritising files and supporting Ukraine; We will be announcing more measures shortly), James Bezan asked for more weapons and medical supplies to be sent to Ukraine (Anand: All options remain on the table, but here is what we have done to date), and Pierre Paul-Hus demanded the plans to modernise NORAD (Anand: Canada is working with our American counterparts and have committed money to the efforts).

Monique Pauzé worried that the Conservatives were using the war in Ukraine to push “dirty oil” (Guilbeault: We are moving toward a clean energy future), and demanded that the government say no to the Baie du Nord offshore project (Guilbeault: The assessment agency is still studying this project; We are the government that has done the most to fight climate change).

Dane Lloyd shouted about the Emergencies Act parliamentary review committee (Holland: You decided to cheerlead the occupation, so it would not be appropriate for you to chair the committee), Jake Stewart went to bat for the occupiers and give them rhetorical succour (Holland: I would hope that you might be asking question on things that are more pressing in the world), and Joël Godin was confused as to why the Emergencies Act was revoked three days after it was voted on (Mendicino: We took the advice of law enforcement).

Richard Cannings worried that the government was still subsidising the fossil fuel sector (Guilbeault: We need to take bold action, and we have been dramatically cutting emissions, and we need to do more), and Alexandre Boulerice repeated the question in French (Guilbeault: Same answer).

Round three saw questions on bureaucratic backlogs versus unvaccinated civil servants (Fortier: We thank the 99 percent of public servants who got vaccinated), demands to lift all federal vaccine mandates (Duclos: We are grateful for vaccines), testing requirements at the borders (Alghabra: We have eased the measures), modernising the Official Languages Act (Rodriguez: We re-tabled the bill today, to protect French), inflation versus the increased carbon price (Freeland: You continue to talk down the economy with a false narrative, and in Q4, the GDP grew at 6.7 percent), inflation increasing poverty (Freeland: Our benefits are indexed to inflation), housing prices (Hussen: You keep voting against our measures to invest in affordable housing), increased excise taxes on wineries and breweries (Freeland: This is an automatic increase, and it’s less than one fifth of one penny on a can of beer, with measures to help craft breweries), tourism versus border measures (Duclos: The measures have been reduced while we are assisting the tourism industry), cracking down on housing speculators (Hussen: We reintroduced federal leadership in the housing sector), and homelessness in Winnipeg (Hussen: I have lost count of the number of announcements I have made in Winnipeg to invest in housing) there).

Overall, there weren’t any fireworks, but it got loud on a few different occasions. The prime minster also wasn’t doing himself any favours by relying on scripts for most of his answers rather than giving something more heartfelt and extemporaneous. In particular, he didn’t push back against some of the more foolish asks, like to expel the ambassador when it’s nowhere near the last resort, or to point out why they are still requiring for visas for possible refugees. But hey, happy-clappy talking points and pabulum in the face of a major global conflict, so that’s just swell. 

Sartorial speaking, snaps go out to Anita Anand for a faded green jacket over a white collared shirt and black slacks, and to Peter Fragiskatos for a dark grey three-piece suit over a crisp white shirt and a dark pink tie. Style citations go out to Darren Fisher for a brown corduroy jacket with a navy blue shirt and grey tie, and to Marci Ien for a tan wrap dress with pink florals across it. Dishonourable mentions go out to Monique Pauzé for a gold-yellow jacket over a black top and trousers, and to Arielle Kayabaga for a bright yellow long jacket over a black top and slacks.