QP: Competing misuses of “ironic”

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Neither the PM not his deputy were present today in spite of being in town, and most other leaders weren’t either. Pierre Poilievre was, however, and he led off in French with hyperbolic nonsense about deficits driving inflation (they are not), and worried that Canadians are cutting back to be able to afford to eat, and wanted the government to cancel their “inflationary policies” in their economic update, and called it “ironic” that it would mean cancelling everything they’ve done for seven years, which is neither ironic, nor in any way resembling reality. Randy Boissonnault responded by insisting that the government has a concrete plan for inflation including child care, the GST rebate, and the dental and rental supports, and said that it was “ironic” that the Conservatives voted against these measures, which again, is not actually ironic. Poilievre switched to English to misquote Tiff Macklem and Mark Carney about the domestic drivers of inflation, and then repeated his misuse of the term “ironic,” and once again, Boissonnault repeated his response, and his own misuse of the term “ironic.” (Make it stop!) Poilievre quoted the statistic on food bank usage, and pointed out that one in Toronto had to close because rent doubled, blaming the federal government for that, somehow. Boissonnault recited that this government has lifted people out of poverty, and wondered why the Conservatives voted against measures to help Canadians. Poilievre tried to call out the NDP for supporting the government’s carbon price as home heating bills increase, to which Sean Fraser stood up to take exception to this line of questioning, pointing to the Hurricane Fiona damage that his province suffered, and that most families get more back than they spent on it. Poilievre insisted this wasn’t a climate plan but a tax plan because the government hasn’t hit any climate targets (never mind that this is largely impossible under the sabotage of the previous government on the environmental file). Fraser got back up to insist that Poilievre has been repeating the same false points for years, and keeps being proven wrong.

Alain Therrien led for the Bloc, and he decried the story in the Star that claimed the government planned to freeze out certain provinces in negotiations for health transfers, to which Jean-Yves Duclos insisted that all health ministers have the same goals for the same dollars. Therrien shouted that this as about breaking provinces and it was blackmail, but Duclos calmly recited that the federal government has been there for the provinces and listed the billions of dollars transferred to them.

Alexandre Boulerice rose for the NDP, and in French, accused the government of letting people starve while CEOs get rich. François-Philippe Champagne said that this was theatrical, and listed actions he has taken such as calling up the grocery CEOs and getting the Competition Bureau involved. Daniel Blaikie repeated the same in English, hoping for measures in the Fall Economic Statement, and Champagne repeated his response in English.

Round two, and Jasraj Hallan recited the “triple, triple, triple” ear worm, made populist hay of the hotel rooms for the Queen’s funeral and decried so-called tax increases (Boissonnault: Most families get more back than they spend; Khera: We have done more for seniors), Melissa Lantsman ratcheted up the hyperbole on the same faux points (Boissonnault: You voted against our tax cuts; Are you saying you wouldn’t have supported Canadians in the pandemic), and Pierre Paul-Hus blatantly misquote Mark Carney to demand a stop to “taxes” and “inflationary spending” (Boissonnault: You keep voting against help for the Canadians who need it).

Kristina Michaud misquoted Chrystia Freeland to pretend that Canada is going to have a hard time at COP27 (Duguid: We have the most ambitious climate plan in the history of Canada), accused the government of trying to accelerate oil projects (Wilkinson: We have a plan to fight climate change and it’s probably the most detailed plan in the world).

Dane Lloyd tried to accuse the government of directing the RCMP commissioner over several issues (Blair: This is pure speculation and conjecture that ignores the facts; Your own members demanded disclosures that I could not order the police to provide), and Gérard Deltell tried the same again in French (Blair: Same again).

Laurel Collins called Steven Guilbeault’s calling out oil companies to be “fake outrage” (Duguid:  Energy companies must put their shoulders to the wheel to reduce emissions), and Charlie Angus repeated this with added clownery (Wilkinson: I would advise you to actually read the emissions reduction plan).

Round three saw questions on government spending (Boissonnault: The Conservatives are saying that they would have scrapped supports for Canadians and businesses in the pandemic and are trying to revise history; You just want to cut; Holland: When you guys were in power, you didn’t care about poverty and had no plan to eliminate it; Duguid: Eight out of ten families are better off with our climate rebates, and your province paid a $6 billion price tag from fire and floods, and 600 deaths from the heat dome), EI reforms ahead of a possible recession (Qualtrough: EI reforms are on the way), false concerns about supposed tax increases (Khera: Your plan was to raise the age of eligibility for OAS, while we reversed it and increased supports; Holland: It’s irresponsible to amplify the fears of those who are struggling by misleading them; Fraser: You are calling pensions and EI tax hikes, and we will defend those programmes), emergency room closures—even though this is a provincial issue (Duclos: We are working with provinces), and EI sickness benefits (Qualtrough: The extension goes into effect by December).

Overall, it was a pretty painful day, from the misuse of the meaning of “ironic,” to Mark Holland’s unctuous antimony about the Conservatives irresponsibly amplifying fears by misleading people. Holland isn’t wrong, but his sanctimonious tone around it is starting to feel a bit grating. And really, if the government were that concerned about the misleading information causing anxiety, they would actually do something to correct it rather than pat people on the head and feed them bromides and feel-good pabulum. I’m not sure that does very much to ease anyone’s anxieties either, because it comes with the strong whiff of bullshit.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Adam Chambers for a navy suit with a white shirt and a pink tie, and to Jenna Sudds for a black jacket and slacks over a white top. Style citations go out to Stephanie Kusie for a black dress with an orange front panel with a black lace pattern across it, and to Luc Desilets for a black suit and tie with a pale orange shirt. Special mention goes out to Martin Shields for a black suit and shirt with a black tie with pumpkin patterns. Dishonourable mention goes out to Julie Vignola for a black jacket and slacks with a yellow top.