QP: A bizarre false version of reality with a draconian coalition in place

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The prime minister was present today, which has become unusual for a Thursday, but since he wasn’t here yesterday it was good that we at least got a second appearance in the week. Not every leader was present today, and neither was the deputy PM, for what it’s worth. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, and name-checked Catherine McKenna, Mark Carney, and Senator Percy Downe in pointing out people disappointed with Trudeau, and pounced on Downe’s call on Trudeau to resign, as if Downe’s opinion carries any weight at all. Justin Trudeau stood up and recited prepared lines that they are focused on helping Canadians while tackling climate change, and that the team is togetherness. Poilievre noted that he didn’t answer the question, and accused the government of not caring about Canadians who need heating. Trudeau listed things that the Conservatives would cut if they got into power. Poilievre switched to English to say that Trudeau hadn’t denounced the things Gudie Hutchings said about people voting Lineral, and demanded a yes of no answer to whether they would support his supply day motion whether his MPs would have a free vote. Trudeau rambled about phasing out heating oil and called on provinces to sign up to the heat pump programme. Poilievre noted he didn’t answer the question and wondered if the NDP would also get a free vote, which should have been out of bounds. Trudeau instead talked about how many people in Alberta, Saskatchewan and BC use heating oil and called on those provinces to partner about heat pumps. Poilievre asked if they would make his Supply Day motion a confidence vote, but Trudeau again rambled about heat pumps and said that Poilievre was making a mistake if he thought Canadians didn’t care about the environment. 

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and raised the issue of immigration levels, and consulting Quebec on them. Trudeau read that Quebec has their own targets and that the federal government provides resources to the province for integration. Blanchet again demanded proper consultations before firm targets were set, but Trudeau repeated his response.

Peter Julian rose for the NDP, and in French, he called on support for their call to take the GST off of home heating (which, again, is unworkable administratively and disproportionately benefits the wealthy). Trudeau responded that the thousand of people in BC who rely on heating oil should take advantage of the heat pump programme. Taylor Bachrach took over to relay a constituent’s problems with the heat pump rebate and wanted the same programme for Atlantic Canadians extended to the whole country. Trudeau said they wanted to, but provinces need to partner with them.

Round two, and Melissa Lantsman demanded the government extend the carbon tax pause to everyone (Wilkinson: You call them a lucky three percent when they already hide costs that are four times as high as natural gas and whose costs went up 75 percent in 2022), Kyle Seeback gave a specious cry about someone being forced to pay carbon prices when people on heating oil doesn’t as though the base cost of heating oil isn’t a factor (Wilkinson: Only you guys deny climate change is real; O’Regan: Your carbon price was for a catalogue of green things while our rebate is cold, hard cash), and Pierre Paul-Hus decried the fictional “second carbon tax” hurting Quebec (Duclos: Climate change is real and most people get more money back; Lebouthillier: I count four members of your caucus who supported carbon pricing when they were in provincial politics who had a sudden change of heart).

Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe returned to the claim that the federal minster didn’t consult Quebec on immigration targets (Chiang: Hooray for our immigration target announcement; Rodriguez: Quebec sets its own targets, and you’re just a bunch of grumpy Smurfs), and Christine Normandin repeated the same accusation (Serré: You only want to pick fights).

John Barlow demanded support for their Supply Day motion (Wilkinson: The carbon price has a rebate that you are forgetting, Michael Cooper tried to goad the NDP into voting for their motion (Wilkinson: We work for all Canadians; Guilbeault: Reads the costs of damage from climate-related storms this summer).

Heather McPherson raised, by video, the plight of a specific Canadian trapped in Gaza (Damoff: The humanitarian situation is dire, and we are working to get Canadians out), and Gord Johns demanded the mental health transfer to provinces—which was folded into the health transfer agreements (Holland: Hooray the agreement we made with your province).

Round three questions on the Conservatives’ Supply Day motion (Wilkinson: We are working with the government of BC to get people off of heating oil and onto heat pumps; The government of Manitoba has reached out partner with us on heat pumps; Ontario can sign onto the programme if they want; Sudds: Everything we do is to support families; Bendayan: The Governor of the Bank of Canada said carbon prices contribute 0.15 percent of inflation; Fraser: You are painting a measure as benefitting only one region when it is national while you also deny economic opportunities for that region; Do you actually support the motion that will save people money; Guilbeault: Where is the common sense you have MPs who supported carbon pricing when they were in provincial government), another demand for extending CEBA loan repayment terms (Valdez: We gave them more flexible options; Martinez Ferrada: Same answer), tax loopholes for the wealthy (Khalid: We are redoubling our efforts to ensure people don’t use loopholes one the CRA has hired experts to detect non-compliance), and a calling for a ceasefire in Gaza (Damoff: The price of justice cannot come t the price of innocent civilians).

Overall, it was a much quieter day than yesterday because it wasn’t spent trying to goad the Liberals because Trudeau was absent, and it didn’t create the same raucousness. That said, Trudeau spent far too much time today rambling in his answers and trying to deliver talking points rather than taking the opportunity to shut Poilievre down with short and succinct answers. It made Trudeau look evasive, which I can’t imagine is how his communications geniuses want him to come across. Outside of the leaders’ round the Conservatives spent QP trying to pick off NDP MPs (and on a couple of occasions the Bloc) around their votes on their Supply Day motion, but in doing so presented this bizarre false version of reality where they posit that Liberal ministers instruct those MPs how to vote (as though there were a coalition, and as though that was how coalitions operate), which is laughable. This is all part of their dystopian world-building exercise that is creating a false version of reality in order to de-legitimize facts so that people will believe utter nonsense that benefits them. Nobody challenged this version of reality, however, which lets it linger, and for those watching who don’t know better, allows them to believe that’s how things work. It’s frustrating and makes it harder to teach proper civics to people if a false version of reality is coming from the floor of the House of Commons.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Rechie Valdez for a medium blue suit with a black collared button-up shirt, and to Blake Richards for a tailored navy suit with a light blue shirt and a purple patterned tie. Style citations go out to Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe for a dark blue jacket over a white blue shirt with a black striped tie and blue jeans, and to Anju Dhillon for a white wrap-top with bright florals and black sleeves.