QP: The increasing hyperbole meets the wall of pabulum

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The translation system was haywire in the Chamber, which made for a very awkward and very late start to the day. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, and he started off with the falsehood that  government spending caused inflation (he didn’t), and railed about increasing interest rates as a result. Justin Trudeau got up and said that he would respond in a second but wanted to mark that this is the 40th day since the murder of Mahsa Amini in Iran, and that he stood with the Iranian-Canadian community. Poilievre switched to English to say that people are now paying $7000 more on mortgage payments and wondered who was going to pay it. Trudeau said that the government made the decision to support people in the pandemic, and are now supporting them with the GST rebate, dental care and rental supports. Poilievre trotted out his misquote of Mark Carney and wanted to know how many people would lose their homes because of higher interest rates, and Trudeau pointed out that inflation is a world-wide problem, which is why they have supported Canadians. Poilievre chanted that the cost of government is increasing the cost of living (not true), trotted out falsehoods about ArriveCan and cited a problem with the disclosure from CBSA. Trudeau said that the appropriate ministers are looking into this discrepancy before patting himself on the back for pandemic supports. Poilievre accused the prime minister of personally handing out ArriveCan contracts and then complained about the cost of the hotel in London for the Queen’s funeral delegation. Trudeau reminded him they had a large delegation that went to the funeral and that they stayed in the same hotel and it was expected for us to have a strong presence as a Realm country.

Yves-François Blanchet worried that seniors between 65 and 75 were being discriminated against because they didn’t get the OAS top-up. Trudeau said it’s great that seniors are living longer but those older seniors can run out of savings, so the government was there in a proportionate way for those with the most needs. Blanchet made a dig about King Charles before demanding more healthcare transfers without strings attached. Trudeau said that the law states equitable treatment and the federal government was happy to talk to provinces about getting Canadians the services they need.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and he railed about interest rates and demanded action from the government. Trudeau reminded him they are supporting those who need it most. In English, Singh noted that the prime minster’s own former economic advisor was concerned about the increasing interest rates and wanted help for families, and Trudeau repeated his response.

Round two, and Melissa Lantsman accused the government of fuelling “record inflation”—which is nowhere near record levels (Trudeau: Why are you trying to block our dental and rental supports; it takes a special kind of Conservative politician that calls CERB flooding the market with cheap cash), Jasraj Hallan called the government “climate zealots” driving people to poverty (Trudeau: I have a hard time following your logic today), and Pierre Paul-Hus gave a bizarre recitation of Chrystia Freeland’s record before demanding an end to carbon prices (Trudeau: Climate change is real and we need to grow the economy by going greener; We are not going to cut services like the Conservatives want).

Jean-Denis Garon decried that the dental benefit “discriminates” against Quebec—because they have an established provincial benefit (Trudeau: If any Quebec family has expenses beyond the provincial benefit they will be covered by this benefit).

Tracy Grey listed a bunch of non-sequiturs as “proof” of poor government spending (Tracy: If you cared about people, you wouldn’t oppose our affordability measures), Adam Chambers did more of the same (Trudeau: During the pandemic, all parties worked together to get help to Canadians and now you’re walking it back, and you need to explain that to Canadians), Luc Berthold complained the prime minster wouldn’t answer questions (Trudeau: While you are attacking our presence at the Queen’s funeral, we are supporting Canadians).

Lori Idlout accused the government of continuing to discrimination against Indigenous children based on the Human Rights Tribunal’s rejection of the settlement agreement (Trudeau: This agreement was Indigenous-led and we stand with them to deliver compensation as quickly as possible), and Lisa Marie Barron decried investments into big oil to reduce their emissions (Trudeau: There is a disagreement between our sides on technologies like CCUS as a transition method, but our carbon price incentivises reductions).

Round three saw questions on the dubious allegation that Bill Blair interfered in the Nova Scotia mass shooting investigation (Trudeau: We did not make any orders or interfere; The communications coming out of the RCMP during the event has been a concern which is being explored in the inquiry), police testimony saying the Emergencies Act not required to clear the occupation (Trudeau: This was not a decision taken likely, and we are participating in the inquiry), carbon prices (Trudeau: You keep saying we were too generous in our supports and you are trying to block our dental and rental supports; Here is how much people in your riding are getting back in climate rebates), an exemption needed for a mobile unit to prevent drug overdoses (Trudeau: We are moving forward to getting supports they need), and support for Palestinian human rights (Trudeau: We are committed to a two-state solution).

Overall, it was a bit of a rowdy day, but I found in particular that it was marked by an escalating amount of hyperbolic statements about the economic situation that grow increasingly divorced from reality, but the prime minister challenged very few of these false assertions. We are back to the old pattern of lies versus pabulum, and it’s tiresome and frankly corrosive to the political discourse in this country. Does anyone seem to care? Not enough, apparently. Trudeau made the point a couple of times that the Conservatives did unanimously support the very COVID measures that they now decry, while they respond that there was billions of spending that was not COVID-related, but again, if that’s actually the case, they signed off on all of it with little to no debate or scrutiny. This is why Parliament shouldn’t have given such swift passage to so many pandemic spending measures, but everyone wanted to look like a hero, so they did, and look where we are now.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Marci Ien (bending my usual rule of not awarding someone twice in a single week) for a black jacket with metallic circles across it over a black v-necked top and slacks, and to Maninder Sidhu for a tailored navy suit with a white shirt and a medium blue tie. Style citations go out to Dane Lloyd for a navy jacket over a blue gingham shirt and tan slacks with no tie, and to Kamal Khera for a blueberry toned floral-print top with puffy shoulders over black slacks.