QP: The kings of misinformation

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The prime minister was absent, somewhat unusually for a Wednesday, jetting off to the Bahamas for a CARICOM meeting to discuss the situation in Haiti. His deputy was also absent though in town, and even Pierre Poilievre was away, spending the day in Calgary. Melissa Lantsman led off with a script in front of her, and she went on a disappointed tirade about the government constantly breaking the law, and raised the Ethics Commissioner’s report on Greg Fergus, and wondered why nobody gets fired. Mark Holland said that Fergus apologised and was trying to promote a Black business in his riding, but realised his error. Lantsman listed other past ethics violations and wondered why nobody got fired. Holland said it was important that everyone show up and do their best, and then praised their economic record and poverty reduction. Lantsman tried a third time, and Holland said that the government is trying to shepherd the country though some of the most difficult economic times since the Second World War. Luc Berthold took over in French and worried about people not meeting their financial needs and blamed the prime minister for it. Pascale St-Onge noted that while times are difficult, they are ensuring supports for people who need it. Berthold tried again, and this time Randy Boissonnault gave the usual talking points about the Conservatives voting against supports for people.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and he blamed the government for underfunding healthcare, and Adam van  Koeverden read a script about the deal the government has imposed on the provinces and what it entails. Blanchet railed that the money was not enough, and this time Pablo Rodriguez enthused about how great the deal was, and how it only bad news for the Bloc.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the Bloc and railed about private clinics that are operating in the country, to which van Koeverden recited by rote the talking points about upholding the public system. Singh repeated the question in French, and van Koeverden read the French version of the same talking points.

Round two, and John Barlow tried to equate farm input costs to carbon prices (Guilbeault: We recycle all carbon price revenues to the provinces, and most of the increases are to provincial taxes and refining margins; Bibeau: We are helping farmers), Lianne Rood doubled down on the same misleading points about farms and carbon prices (Wilkinson: Eight out of ten families get more back than they pay, and you need to have a climate plan; Bibeau: Same answer as before), and Richard Lehoux tried the same again in French (Bibeau: The federal carbon price doesn’t apply in Quebec; Guilbeault: Same answer).

Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe wanted details on the negotiations with the Americans on the Safe Third Country Agreement (Lalonde: We are committing to modernising the agreement; The migration crisis doesn’t just affect Canada but everyone in the world).

Leslyn Lewis read some hyperbolic scripts about the carbon price (Guilbeault: GHG emissions are down, and methane emissions are down ahead of schedule), and Michelle Ferreri gave her own misleading script about carbon prices (Boissonnault: You all ran on a plan to price carbon, but you don’t seem to have one any more; Holland: It doesn’t help people’s mental health to prey on their anxieties).

Rachel Blaney demanded higher OAS payments for all seniors, not just those over 75 (Khera: We have increased benefits for seniors), and Brian Masse demanded more help with climate adaptation for Windsor (O’Connell: We are investing in climate-resilient infrastructure).

Round three saw questions on Bill C-11 failing Quebec (Rodriguez: There is a consensus on this bill with everyone other than the Conservatives), the rifts in the Liberal caucus over the languages bill (Petitpas Taylor: We will protect French around the country; Rodriguez: This is good legislation), some inchoate bluster vaguely connected to McKinsey (Holland: Canadians decide who gets to sit in government, not Conservative MPs, and you are promising to politically interfere in civil service contracts), the housing market (Hussen: Our record is clear that we have been investing record amounts to build more houses), the Greg Fergus ethics report (Holland: He apologised, and the level of his mistake does not warrant resigning), Roxham Road and the Safe Third Country Agreement (Lalonde: this is a bilateral tool and we will work with the Americans to modernise it), and a tax law that penalises local producers (Boissonnault: We are listening, and we will discuss this issue further).

Overall, if there was any particular surprise today it was the level of outright hypocritical gall from the Conservatives, both in terms of trying to assert that the Liberals are the ones trading in misinformation when the Conservative questions are predicated on false premises, bad faith, half-truths at best, and outright lies in many cases. Add to this the crocodile tears about the contracting practices of the civil service, when the Conservatives oversaw the explosion in the use of outside consultants because they did not trust the civil service, was frankly too much to bear. The rank and utter hypocrisy of trying to take these positions is absolutely stomach-churning, and not once has the government actually pointed this out, because lo, you can’t accuse anyone of lying, because that would be unparliamentary, even when they are lying. There are ways around it, and they would involve being frank in responses and not just spouting some self-congratulatory pabulum, but that’s what this government does, and so the cycle continues and gets progressively worse.

I am also going to call out the Conservatives’ demands that Bill C-11, as amended by the Senate, go back to committee in the Commons for study. This is bullshit. There is no procedural mechanism for this to happen, and they know it. This is one hundred percent concern trolling, using Quebec as the excuse. They oppose the bill and are trying to tie it up even further, with one false premise after another. It’s transparent nonsense, and fortunately the government has somewhat called it out as such, albeit wrapped up in back-patting which dulls the effectiveness of doing so.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Christine Normandin for a half-sleeved white top over a black skirt, and to Eric Melillo for a tailored navy suit and tie with a crisp white shirt. Style citations go out to Darren Fisher for a brown suede jacket with added pockets over a white and blue jeans with no tie, and to Lianne Rood for a hot pink jacket over a black top and slacks. Dishonourable mention goes out to Hedy Fry for a dark yellow dress with a black vortex pattern.