QP: Exasperation with housing talking points

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A bright and sunny Tuesday in the Nation’s Capital, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was present for QP, and for the first time in weeks, so was every other leader, all together. Candice Bergen led off, script in front of her, and she complained that the Liberals had moved away from “moderates” like John Manley and Anne McLellan—because it’s 1995 and will always be 1995—and she worried the budget would be an NDP document. Trudeau recited that they made the choice two year ago to support Canadians through the pandemic, and that led to the economic growth that we are seeing now. Bergen complained that out-of-control spending led to out-of-control prices and insisted that Canadians were worse off than six years ago—which I’m pretty sure doesn’t actually track. Trudeau insisted that they made the choice to prop up Canadians in the pandemic, and were working to make their lives better. Bergen again insisted that every budget made Canadians worse off, and demanded that Trudeau listen to “moderate” Liberals and produce a “responsible” budget, to which Trudeau produced a list of supports that they introduced or enriched, which the Conservatives opposed entirely. Luc Berthold took over in French, and he too insisted that these big-spending budgets led to inflation (never mind that we know the cause of the current bout of inflation and it’s not government spending), and Trudeau recited that they would be there for Canadians, which is why the economy has boomed. Berthold quoted Paul Martin to demand that they cut spending now that the economy is growing, to which Trudeau countered that they enhanced supports for Canadians to help them with rising costs, where the Conservatives wanted austerity.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and he insisted that nobody believes in the emissions reduction plan, and wanted the prime minster to admit that his plan failed. Trudeau took a script and read off that the Montreal and Quebec City mayors supported their plan. Blanchet insisted the plan was “scientifically unacceptable” and listed fossil fuel subsidies as proof, and demanded the Bay du Nord project be cancelled. Trudeau instead lamented that Blanchet badmouthed the mayors.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and after reciting a lamentation about rising prices, he wanted assurances that their shared priorities were in the budget. Trudeau responded with a rehearsed paean about how their investments in Canadians have grown the economy. Singh switched to French to demand that the ultra-rich pay their fair share starting with big banks—which was a Liberal platform promise—but Trudeau merely repeated his same paean in French.

Round two, and Ed Fast accused the government of abandoning Canadians to the scourge of inflation (Boissonnault: Why are you badmouthing the economy? Here are some good news statistics! Gould: Our Canada Child Benefit benefitted nine out of ten families, and we have their backs.) Dan Albas worried that millennials were stuck in their parents’ basements (Hussen: Your colleagues think we shouldn’t help with housing, so you should get your story straight), and Gérard Deltell worried that the housing affordability plans were not working (Hussen: Here is your former colleague Ed Holder, offering praise for our programmes; Boissonnault: You keep talking down the economy).

Monique Pauzé worried that approving Bay du Nord would mean a climate disaster (Guilbeault: We follow the best science available and this is a complex case), Kristina Michaud asked the very same thing, with some added shade about missed climate targets (Guilbeault: Our plan is based on science, and it shows how we will tackle pollution), and Pauzé got back up to repeat her demand to say no to the project (Guilbeault: We are acting on climate change).

Matt Jeneroux denounced the government’s housing programmes (Hussen: I would urge you to look at what the National Housing Strategy is doing for your home province), Eric Duncan called out Hussen’s constant talking points (Hussen: Look at how many households the Canada Housing Benefit helps in your province of Ontario),Raquel Dancho sighed and lamented Hussen’s arrogant tone (Hussen: Here is a quote from the mayor of Winnipeg), and Shelby Kramp-Neuman worried that seniors were being priced out of their cost of living (Khera: Your party’s plan was to prolong the age of retirement to 67, while we kept it at 65 and have enriched their benefits).

Lori Idlout raised the need for three thousand new housing units in Nunavut (Vandal: We have signed ten-year housing agreements with all three Indigenous organisations and this is a priority), and Leah Gazan demanded immediate action for the MMIW Calls to Justice (Miller: We are failing as a society, and we have been making funding announcements for these calls).

Round three saw questions on finalising the F-35 purchase (Tassi: We have a rigorous process; Anand: You underfunded the military and NATO for a decade and allowed spending to drop to below 1 percent of GDP in 2013), a demand for moving ahead with NORAD modernisation (Anand: We are increasing defence spending by 70 percent over nine years including modernising NORAD), seniors needs in the budget (Khera: We have been there to support seniors since the very beginning), increasing pensions for seniors aged 65 to 75 (Khera: Same answer), the slow arrival of Afghan interpreters and their families (Fraser: I did not call them security threats, and we created a stream to extend their extended families, and we have welcomed over 10,000 Afghans to date; When your government was in power, they specifically excluded these people; The Taliban are creating challenges in getting them out of the country), your automatic excise tax on wine and spirits should be passed by Parliament every year (Boissonnault: The automatic escalator ensures predictability), demands for higher health transfers in the budget (Duclos: We are collaborating well with provinces), demanding the federal government pay for the RCMP pay increases (Mendicino: There was a process), the use of consultants by government with respect to Phoenix (Tassi: We are committed to making this right, which is why we are trying to stabilise the system and outsourcing can help the backlog), and the flaws in the national housing strategy (Hussen: We have invested $30 billion since 2015).

Overall, it was a bit of an odd day, and the Conservative fascination with Liberals of yore continues to be mystifying. I remember when the names Paul Martin, Jean Chrétien and Anne McLellan were all synonymous with being great Satans for the Conservatives, and to hear them wax nostalgic about them now is disconcerting (and I would venture that they would push back about how they are being characterised if asked). It also got loud on occasion, and the Deputy Speaker did shout at one point, which he has not done to date, so perhaps his good humour is coming to an end. The focus was overwhelmingly on housing issues today, but once again, we merely had the minister reciting good-news talking points about the National Housing Strategy, and at one point reciting housing benefits for the province that the MP asking the questions received. But do you know what would be great? Acknowledging that the supply issues in the housing market are largely as a result of municipalities and that the federal government has limited levers that they can use, so that we’re at least getting an honest conversation. Happy-clappy talking points don’t address problems.

Sartorial speaking, snaps go out to Sean Fraser for a fitted navy suit with a white shirt and a blue and grey striped tie, and to Anita Anand for a long white jacket over a black top and slacks. Style citations go out to Kelly Block for a 1970s cream blouse with brown and orange geometric patterns, paired with a dark orange skirt, and to Darren Fisher for his terrible brown corduroy jacket over a white shirt and no tie. Dishonourable mention goes out to Rachael Thomas for a yellow satin blouse under a black jacket and slacks.