QP: Resurrecting a five-year-old scandal

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After a number of tributes for Guy Lafleur, and one for former astronaut Bjarni Tryggvason, things got underway after the two-week break. While he was in town, the prime minister was absent, but his deputy was present, so that was something, though no other leaders were present either. Luc Berthold led off in French, and he he decried the budget, accusing the prime minster of being out of touch. Chrystia Freeland replied that Canadians understand that inflation is a global phenomenon, and she listed some international comparisons to show that Canada was lower, citing the reasons as COVID and Putin. Berthold then pivoted to the story in the Globe and Mail about the RCMP considering laying a fraud charge against the prime minister for the trip to the Aga Khan’s private island, to which Mark Holland stood up to say that this matter was settled years ago. Berthold insisted this proved Trudeau’s lack of judgment, and decried the loophole in the law, and demanded to know when Trudeau last met with the RCMP, and Holland repeated his response. James Bezan repeated the question about the story in English, and he wondered if the prime minister gave himself the power to break the law, and Mark Holland got back up to recite in English that this was settled five years ago and that the Ethics Commissioner had a report. Bezan repeated his question, and Holland sang the praises about the government’s economic actions.

Alain Therrien led for the Bloc, and he led with this dubious court decision of the appointment of a unilingual lieutenant governor of New Brunswick, saying it demonstrates that the government treats francophones as second-class citizens, and Ginette Petitpas-Taylor insisted that the LG was taking French lessons, and why they were modernising the Official Languages Act. Therrien kept after this, and added to his outrage the appointment of a unilateral anglophone board of directors at CN Rail, and Omar Alghabra insisted that this board would be rectified in the next round of appointments.

Rachel Blaney rose for the NDP, and she raised the fact that the seniors reimbursed for GIS clawbacks were subjected to a time limit, for which Kamal Khera rose to recite her praise for the government’s actions on seniors. Don Davies raised the fact that the government was backing down on some PMPRB regulatory changes for drug pricing, and Adam van Koeverden read a statement about balancing access for new medicines and lowering drug prices.

Round two, and Raquel Dancho worried that certain documents related to the invocation of the Emergencies Act were protected by Cabinet confidence (Blair: It was a serious situation and we announced the public inquiry into it today; Blair: The Commissioner has the broad ability to compel witnesses and documents), Gérard Deltell demanded more documents related to the invocation (Blair: We fulfilled the obligations under the Act with this commission), and Larry Brock and Glen Motz gave his own thundering denunciation of the use of Cabinet confidence (Blair: We are complying with the Court’s orders, but some documents are privileged, such as legal advice).

Mario Beaulieu returned to the CN Rail unilateral anglophone board (Petitpas Taylor: All Canadians can choose the official language of their choice under a federally regulated company, and we will solve this situation in the briefest of timelines), and demanded that Quebec’s language charter be extended to federal workplaces (Petitpas Taylor: Same answer), and Denis Trudel repeated the same question with added bombast and added in the appointment of the Governor General who can’t speak French (Rodriguez: They are trying to make this a partisan issue when it isn’t).

Ed Fast mischaracterised the Bank of Canada Governor’s statement at committee about transitory inflation (Freeland: You keep talking down our economy, and inflation is caused by COVID and Putin; Our credit rating was reaffirmed and we have the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7, and look at all of these affordability measures), and Matt Jeneroux denounced the government’s housing measures (Hussen: We are seeking to double housing supply over the next decade, and tackling speculation). 

Alexandre Boulerice appeared by video to demand legal status for the Saint Lawrence river (Guilbeault: We worked with partners on a project to protect biodiversity), and Jenny Kwan demanded visa-free travel to Ukrainians (Fraser: Our mission was to create the fastest possible pathway and we will continue to do the right thing).

Round three saw questions on housing prices (Hussen: I would if invite you to read the entire budget), home equity taxes (Hussen: This is disinformation), a government grant to Flair Airlines (Alghabra: I am aware of the situation, but why are you opposed to helping Canadians?), demanding airlift for more Ukrainian refugees (Fraser: We have announced charters flights, and we have measures for donations; We are advancing new measures to support them on arrival), supports for farmers (Bibeau: We are working closely with all agricultural sectors so that they have the equity they require), the three-digit suicide prevention hotline (Bennett: We have tasked the CRTC, and this is a complicated issue to ensure people are connected with appropriate care), Canadian vaccines that the WHO won’t approve (Champagne: We made sure we would invest in all types of vaccines, and we will find a solution), fisheries licences being revoked without compensation (Murray: We are implementing the First Nations rights and are building a willing-buyer-willing-seller process), federal disability supports (Qualtrough: We are working hard to move forward with this legislation and action plan).

Overall, it was a relatively rowdy day, which one could probably attribute to the pent-up energy of not having been sitting for the past two weeks, so that’s not wholly unexpected. That said, I did note that the Deputy Speaker, Chris d’Entremont, was having none of it today, and he did call out a couple of MPs at one point—who smiled and waved at him when named—but he didn’t give an official warning, but he seems to be getting closer to it. More than the full-time Speaker, in any case, whenever he returns from medical leave.

As for the quality of the exchanges, it was pretty low today, both from the perspective of scandal necromancy, and from the fact that the government is still not answering questions on either inflation or housing very effectively. They’re getting closer in some cases, but simply not effective in countering what is being said, mostly because they can’t be candid, preferring the good news talking points instead. I will grand that there were a couple of halfway decent exchanges over the course of the day, but it’s too few to make much difference through the entire spectacle.

Sartorial speaking, snaps go out to Blake Richards for a fitted navy suit, a light blue shirt and purple tie, and go Sophie Chatel for a navy suit with a white collared shirt. Style citations (and it was very difficult to pick just two today) go out to Kamal Khera for a long-sleeved dress covered in a tight brown and pink floral pattern, and to Michael Kram for an eggplant suit with a navy shirt and pink tie.

3 thoughts on “QP: Resurrecting a five-year-old scandal”

  1. Robert Fife has no ethics and needs to retire. The Globe & Mail, the so-called “paper of record” in Canada, is a useless, RW propaganda gossip rag not worth lining birdcages with or making use of as emergency pandemic toilet paper.

  3. Dale I wonder if like a lot of Anglophones in Canada if you have ever considered a situation where a person is nominated to a job and only speaks French and no English. Can you imagine the outcry. This is never considered by the Anglos, so why is it so difficult to accept that someone in a position like G.G. or Provincial L.G. or any other senior position needs to be fully bilingual. None of this excuse oh they are learning French. What a joke. Look at the CBC President unilingual anglo, Head of the National Gallery another unilingual Anglo. Shows how Francophones in Canada are not considered equal.

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