QP: It’s hogwash and poppycock

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In advance of the Fall Economic Statement, neither the prime minister nor his deputy were present, and neither was Pierre Poilievre, for a change. That left Jasraj Hallan to lead off, and declared the Statement to be the “last chance” to stop tax increases and inflationary spending (of which there are no actual taxes being raised for ordinary Canadians, nor is the spending actually inflationary). He insisted that people are paying more in taxes than ever before (not sure that’s actually true), and railed about the so-called “Liberal inflation tax,” and demanded the prime minister stop spending. Randy Boissonnault reminded him that the plan would be released in two hours, but that they could rely on the government to do what is right, and supporting Canadians who need it. Hallan insisted the government’s “greed knows no bounds” and decried rising interest rates because of the “Liberal inflation tax” and demanded the government stop spending. Boissonnault reminded him that they reduced taxes on Canadians five times, and that the Conservatives voted against it every time. Hallan repeated his demand a third time, to which Boissonnault listed that the Conservative plan is to cut benefits, EI, climate incentives, child care, and so on. Pierre Paul-Hus took over in French, and declared that the government is in no hurry to reduce inflation because that would reduce its revenues (which doesn’t actually match what the government is doing and is completely misleading), and demanded no new taxes, and Boissonnault said the statement was both economically false and cruel, as helping Canadians who need it is not inflationary. Paul-Hus misquoted Mark Carney about inflation and blamed it on “irresponsible spending” (which, once again, is not true), and Boissonnault quoted former Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz in saying that the government’s measures stopped a deflationary spiral, while the Conservatives only want to cut, cut, cut.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and he worried about the announced immigration targets, insisting that Quebec cannot handle that many and wanted a slowdown. Sean Fraser stated that the Quebec doesn’t set targets, the federal government does, and we need immigration. Blanchet insisted that this was about trying to weaken the Quebec nation and drown them out, to which Pablo Rodriguez needled that the Bloc was so concerned about percentages when these are about men, women and children.

Alexandre Boulerice rose for the NDP, and in French, he cited a report stating that the government was losing $30 billion per year to tax evasion and the Irving family in particular was  a prime offender. Diane Lebouthillier said that those who evaded taxes would get a knock on the door from the CRA. Daniel Blaikie then worried about Loblaws’ profits, demanding that the chains “pay what they owe,” and a windfall profit tax, to which Boissonnault listed the actions they have taken around raising income taxes and investments in the CRA to combat evasion.

Round two, and Tim Uppal insisted that the government was raking in taxes thanks to inflation (Gould: We are supporting people in need; Helping low-income people pay for basic needs is not inflationary), Tracy Gray asked a variation on the same false premise (Gould: Same answer), and Luc Berthold gave the same talking points in French (Boissonnault: The Conservatives are only interested in austerity).

Mario Beaulieu complained that the government was limiting debate on amendments to the Official Languages bill in committee to seven hours (Petitpas Taylor: The Bloc are playing games and trying to stop the bill), and complained that groups were not able to appear at committee (Petitpas Taylor: We needed to move onto the next step in order to pass the bill), and made his plea to ensure that Bill 101 covers federal workplaces in Quebec (Petitpas Taylor: I don’t understand why you want to stop this bill in its tracks).

Philip Lawrence accused the government of trying to keep inflation high to rake in taxes (Gould: You talk about compassion when you vote against supporting Canadians at every opportunity), Mark Strahl conflated a number of concepts to attack the government (Boissonnault: It’s hogwash and poppycock, and misinformation and disinformation have no place in this Chamber; Gould: When they talk about taxes, they mean EI and CPP).

Lori Idlout invoked UNDRIP for Indigenous housing (Hajdu: The gap is immense and we are spending to close it, and solutions are Indigenous-led in design), and Jenny Kwan insisted that money was not enough (Hussen: We are committed to working with Indigenous people to co-developing a strategy).

Round three saw yet more questions on the same inflation/taxes talking points (Gould: We are here to support Canadians; Canadians can’t afford an opposition that only cares about cuts; Conservatives voted against benefits for Canadians at every opportunity; Boissonnault: If inflation was caused by our pandemic supports, we would be alone in the world, but it’s global), the cost of the GG’s trip to Middle East (Sidhu: These costs incorporate a number of factors), some nonsense about Pierre Trudeau’s economic record versus the current Trudeau’s record (Gould: If you want to compare economic records, the Harper government’s was the worst since the Great Depression), small business taxes (Ng: We have been there for small businesses), the lack of a local passport office in Northern BC (Gould: We have added 13 new locations, and we are look to ensure those services are accessible), and the clean fuel standard (Duguid: We re phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies).

Overall, I was mildly surprised that we didn’t see the usual heavy-handed framing around a budget or fiscal update where demands are made for a document that is already baked in and being pored over in the lock-up rooms, though there was still some of it. Mostly, however, it was the same extremely repetitive exercise where key economic concepts are being conflated and mashed together, with the bullshit talking point of the day being “Liberal inflation tax.” Their entire framework of what taxes are keeps growing, mendaciously, when the only taxes that are going up are on profitable corporations and on luxury cars, yachts, and private planes. Of course, the government rarely says this part, preferring their new talking points about “cold-hearted” Conservatives looking for austerity and cuts (though every once in a while they will point out that something is misinformation, but it remains rare). Again, they respond to questions that purport to be rational with values-based answers, and it’s just so gods damned tiresome.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Karina Gould for her half-sleeved grey dress, and to Greg Fergus for a tailored navy suit with a light blue shirt and a navy bow-tie. Style citations go out to Mike Kelloway for a light brown jacket that gave the illusion of being suede with a white shirt and navy slacks but no tie, and to Filomena Tassi for a dark orange jacket over a black dress with red florals.