QP: Triple, triple, triple the clip-gathering

Posted on by

The prime minister was in Halifax to announce new support programmes for those who were affected by Hurricane Fiona, but his deputy was present. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, and he cited a faux report that half of Canadians are $200 away from insolvency, which is not actually true, and accused the government of raising taxes, returning his false “triple, triple, triple” the carbon price line. Chrystia Freeland praised their solution of the doubled GST rebate, and called on the opposition to support their other measures. There was another round of the exact same in English, and then Poilievre lamented high gas prices. Freeland again called on the rest of the House to support the rental support and dental care provisions. Poilievre pivoted to the downing of Flight PS752 1000 days ago, and insisted that it was legal for them to plan a similar plot, which is absurd and wrong. Marco Mendicino gave a pro forma condemnation of the downing before insisting that Canada is not a safe haven for terrorism. Poilievre disputed this, and demanded that the IRGC be listed a a terrorist group, to which Mendicino called on all members to stand with the families, and listed actions they have taken for those families.

Alain Therrien led for the Bloc, and he accused the government of changing EI rules for seasonal workers, to which Carla Qualtrough said that benefits continue to remain available as the pilot project has been extended to 2023, and broader reforms are coming. Therrien insisted that seasonal workers didn’t qualify, and Qualtrough reiterated her answer.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and in French, demanded that tax loopholes be closed for the “ultra rich” (because it’s just that simple, you see). Freeland reminded him that they have taken measures to ensure that the rich pay their fair share, particularly banks and insurance companies, and note their luxury tax. Singh repeated the question in English, and Peter Fragiskatos reminded him that $1 billion has been invested in combatting tax evasion, including audits related to the Panama Papers.

Round two, and Luc Berthold praised Pierre Poilievre (Gould: We lowered taxes for most Canadians and you voted against it), and demanded that Quebec be spared the carbon price increase (Guilbeault: Quebec has a cap and trade system), Raquel Dancho gave a righteous condemnation of the carbon price (Guilbeault: I did social science in university but I took enough math to know that this isn’t tripling, and I can’t believe you want to write a budget for the whole country), Tracy Gray worried that gas prices are keeping families apart at Thanksgiving (Guilbeault: We are working collaboratively with BC), Ben Lobb gave his carbon price condemnation a sad, lamentable tone (Freeland: We have a plan, and we will hopefully pass the GST rebate this week), and Fraser Tolmie was sad that a veteran as to pay GST on carbon prices (Holland: This is not a sporting event, it’s an opportunity to help people in need).

Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe wanted to know how negation around the Safe Third Country agreement was going (Lalonde: Closing Roxham Road doesn’t solve the problem, but we are working to modernise the agreement; Rodriguez: I would ask you to lower the tone, because this affects men, women and children trying to seek safety), and René Villemure demanded the contracts for Roxham Road facilities (Jaczek: We have 

Corey Tochor accused the government of “gaslighting” on EI premiums (Qualtrough: EI premiums are lower today than any time during the Conservative government; We could also pass the disability support bill if we want to help Canadians), Adam Chambers listed countries who cut fuel taxes to deal with inflation (Guilbeault: All of the counties on this list have a price on carbon), and Marc Dalton tried some confusing math about EI premiums (Freeland: What Canadians need is to know that when they retire, they have pensions, or that EI is there when they lose their jobs).

Leah Gazan lamented that progress on MMIW has been painfully slow, particularly around police responses (Mendicino: We are accelerating the rollout of our Indigenous police programme), and Lori Idlout worried about the suicide rate and mental health supports in Nunavut (Vandal: We are committed through the actions we are taking, and are working with Inuit rights-holders).

Round three saw questions on the carbon price increase (Freeland: We have a plan with concrete solutions and we want you to support; Guilbeault: The PBO confirmed most families will get more back in rebates than costs; the forest fire in Fort McMurray cost $7 billion, and the costs of Fiona will likely be even higher; Khera: Your plan for seniors was to cut benefits for seniors while we increased them), Hockey Canada’s secret fund for sexual assault payouts (St-Onge: I suspended their funding, and it will only be restored if they are investigated by the sports investigator; voting members need to ensure there is a complete change at Hockey Canada and their culture), the IRGC (Oliphant: We have been taking action every day to get justice for Flight PS752, and are listening to the families; Canada will never be a sanctuary for any terrorist group; Mendicino: We are taking concrete action to ensure that no one in the IRGC can operate in Canada), the vacancy tax (Hussen: We are taking action including reviewing housing as an asset class), and extending Magnitsky Sanctions to members of the IRGC (Oliphant: We will work with anyone to find the most effective ways to impose sanctions).

Overall, it was much the same as yesterday—the same terrible “triple, triple, triple” talking point that is not actually tripling, the same misinformation around just what is a “payroll tax” or carbon pricing, and we also got even more performative outrage about Iran because it was also the 1000th day since Iran shot down Flight PS752, so of course there were even more calls for the government to list the IRGC as a terrorist entity, despite the fact that it’s not their call, and even if it were, we don’t have the resources to actually enforce such a declaration, so it would be a hollow symbol regardless. (My latest column is on this very topic). But this all being said, having the same questions based on the same misinformation asked by a handful of different backbenchers doesn’t really change things up—it’s just more clip-gathering for their social media channels, because that’s all this is anymore.

Otherwise, I will give half-marks to Steven Guilbeault for pointing out the bad math of the so-called “tripling” of the carbon tax and then applying that to the Conservatives’ desire to write a full budget. It’s a good line. He needs more of those, but they’re few and far between, and don’t really address the kind of economic disinformation that the Conservatives are spreading under the guise that this is somehow “plain language” communication. It’s not, and it should be called out.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Peter Fragiskatos for a dark grey three-piece suit with a lavender shirt and a purple tie and pocket square, and to Dominique Vien for a black to and jacket over a white and black patterned skirt. Style citations go out to Brenda Shanahan for a short-sleeved boat-necked off-white top with bright red florals over khaki slacks, and to Stephen Guilbeault for a pale maroon jacket with a white shirt, pink tie and black jeans. Dishonourable mention goes out to Julie Vignola for a dark yellow jacket over black slacks.

One thought on “QP: Triple, triple, triple the clip-gathering”

  1. Do the Liberals know what a Gish gallop is? Skippy and his crew of dancing jackasses are the Gish gallopers of the apocalypse. But I guess we can’t make equestrian jokes anymore…

Comments are closed.