QP: Missing the mark on the tough-on-crime questions

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While the prime minister was off to Calgary to sign a land settlement with a First Nation, and his deputy off to Washington DC, none of the other leaders were in attendance either. Luc Berthold led off, laying out that the prime minister promised to run a transparent government, but raised the CBC story on 72 secret orders-in-council (which are secret for statutory reasons, not because the government simply declared them to be). François-Philippe Champagne noted that there are particular decisions which need to be secret, particularly under the Investment Canada Act and under national security considerations, and while they strive for transparency, there are instances where the national interest requires secrecy. Berthold tried once again on this, and Champagne repeated his response. Berthold then raised the rise in gun crimes and worried that the bill revoking mandatory minimums was making life easier on criminals. David Lametti reminded him that there are many cases where the justice system targets Black and Indigenous people and that serious crimes will still receive serious sentences. Rob Moore took over in English to also decry the same bill and demanded the government abandon the bill. Lametti repeated his response. When Moore tried again, Pam Damoff listed actions the government is taking to tackle gun violence.

Alain Therrien led for the Bloc, and claimed that the National Assembly has a democratic duty to protect secularism in the province, and insinuated that the federal government was trying to overturn democracy in the province. Lametti reminded Therrien that he too is a Quebecker, that Law 21 prevented a teacher from working, and that the federal government has a duty to protect minority rights. Therrien listed areas where the federal government turns down Quebec’s demands, and Pablo Rodriguez stated that while the Bloc is trying to pick fights, the government is trying to move society forward. 

Peter Julian rose for the NDP, and in French, he noted a lot of food bank users are disabled, before he denounced the new disability benefits bill. Carla Qualtrough recited that they have worked with the disability community and provinces to lift disabled people out of poverty, which included ensuring that provinces don’t claw back benefits. Bonita Zarillo repeated the same condemnation in English, and Qualtrough reiterated points before calling on the House to get it done.

Round two, and Stephanie Kusie delivered a one-woman play on the false reading on the bill to repeal mandatory minimums (Lametti: This is about ending the over-incarceration of Black and Indigenous people; Let’s have an honest discussion—serious crimes will still get serious time), Karen Vecchio worried about extreme intoxication defences (Lametti: This is only a small fraction of cases and we are looking at ways to address the situation), Pierre Paul-Hus accused the government of “rolling out the red carpet” for criminals (Lametti: We stand with victims and are improving the justice system, and are trying to deal with rates of over-incarceration), working with a First Nation on the border about gun smuggling (Damoff: That chief appeared at the public safety committee and outlined his concerns), and Joël Godin accused the government of not caring about public safety or victims (Damoff: We have a plan around public safety, but while you say you support victims, you don’t when they’re victims of gun crime).

Rhéal Fortin accused the government of letting Canada becoming a haven for the Mafia, and wanted support for his bill to create a registry of criminal gangs (Damoff: We are finalising a transfer to provinces to com at gun crime, particularly in Quebec; Our gun control bill is taking the issue seriously), and trying to equate this proposed registry with the terrorist registry (Damoff: Here is a list of things we are doing to take action).

Dan Albas decried the rise of housing prices (Hussen: That was a lot of hot air to cover ten years of inaction), Bob Zimmer decried a lack of support for small business facing rising fuel costs (Ng: We have supported small businesses), Larry Brock yelled about fuel prices and called the carbon price “crippling” (Gould: We have the Canada Child Benefit and new child care programmes).

Taylor Bachrach demanded more government action on rail safety (Alghabra: We are following up on recommendations by the Transportation Safety Board), and Heather McPherson decried that the government didn’t decriminalise drugs nationally to fight the opioid epidemic (Bennett: Successful implementation requires provincial cooperation, which we have in BC).

Round three saw questions on tariffs on fertiliser coming from Russia (Bendayan: You have not thought through your proposals; Bibeau: We’re looking to reduce the impact of fertiliser on the environment and are working with the industry), fuel costs on farms (Bibeau: We are here to support farmers), Quebec not getting unspent infrastructure funds paid out (O’Connell: We are committed to getting funds out, but Quebec needs to identify the projects for us to support), the Winnipeg Lab documents (Holland: We have them two different opportunities to review these documents and they keep refusing), the continued use of the ArriveCan app (Damoff: Our border measures remain flexible and adaptable), home prices (Hussen: We are investing in supply, which is what our accelerator fund is all about), bank fees while rural branches are being closed (Bendayan: We proposed a one-time tax on banks after record profits in the pandemic), support for a bill to create a national park (Duguid: Yay wildlife), and Afghan refugees stuck in Poland (Lalonde: We have been processing applications and mobilised our entire network to issue visas on an urgent basis).

Overall, it was a fairly average day, with an average number of outbursts, and a pretty average tone of collecting clips for future shitposts. When it comes to the “secret” Orders-in-Council, it was good to see that François-Philippe Champagne had an answer that was approaching reasonable, even though it could have used a touch more explanation about statutory provisions that dictate the secrecy in those cases. The Bloc continue to torture the meaning of “democracy” in their defending the fairly indefensible use of the Notwithstanding Clause to target minority populations, and the NDP once again have trouble distinguishing as to what is and is not federal jurisdiction, which is why there is a complexity to the new disability benefit bill.

Otherwise, the Conservatives continue to use Bill C-5 on removing mandatory minimums as a cudgel, with no self-awareness about the issues of systemic racism in the justice system. Instead, the desire to go hard on the “soft on crime”/“rolling out the red carpet for criminals” narrative is not unexpected, but it is certainly out of touch with what we expect, particularly in the same week that we had an Auditor General’s report that called out Correctional Services for not addressing the systemic racism in their system that disproportionately affects Black and Indigenous people who get caught up in the system. While the Liberals do point this out, they could certainly be more forceful about it and put the Conservatives into a corner better.

Sartorial speaking, snaps go out to Peter Fragiskatos for a dark grey three-piece suit with a white shirt and pocket square and a light blue tie, and to Pam Damoff for a medium-grey suit over a dark blue top. Style citations go out to Karen Vecchio for a black top with a multicoloured colour block pattern with black slacks, and to Damien Kurek for an ill-fitting dark grey jacket with a light grey shirt, dark blue tie and blue jeans. Dishonourable mention goes out to Kamal Khera for a gold-yellow and black striped top with black slacks, and to Rachael Thomas for a dark yellow top under a black jacket and skirt.