QP: Keeping up the focus on auto thefts

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Both the prime minister and his deputy were present today, as were all other leaders, and it wasn’t even a Wednesday. Pierre Poilievre led off in French and complained that CBSA was only inspecting one percent of containers, and demanded that the government do more about it. Justin Trudeau responded that organised crime is largely responsible for car thefts, which is why they sent $121 million to Ontario, which the Conservatives voted against. Poilievre complained that the money was just going to managers, and demanded the government agree to his “plan” of buying new container scanners. Trudeau noted that they had to rehire the border officers that the Conservatives fired when they cut their budget. Poilievre switched to English, and claimed that the Conservatives cut car thefts and Trudeau saw them explode, which is a bit of specious reasoning. Trudeau noted that this would be more credible if the Conservatives didn’t vote against their plans to invest in the border. Poilievre insisted that his plan would scan every single container in the four major ports, to which Trudeau again reminded him that the previous government which Poilievre was part of fires the very boots on the ground he touts. Poilievre then pivoted to the invitation to Yaroslav Hunka to a Toronto event for Volodymyr Zelenskyy and demanded Trudeau resign like the previous Speaker did. Trudeau said that this was a slam against the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, and that it shows the Conservatives no longer support Ukraine.

Yves-François Blanchet led off for the Bloc, and demanded support for a Bloc bill to remove the religious exemption for hate speech. Trudeau said that he agrees that there was no place for hatred and that Canadians need to stand against it no matter how it manifests. Blanchet insisted that law enforcement needs the ability to make those arrests. Trudeau said that they know it’s important to defend the Charter while standing against hate speech and glorification of violence.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and demanded the government impose new taxes on grocery giants, and accused them of not being tough because the housing minister got donations from the Sobey’s family. Trudeau read a script about the changes to the Competition Act they have made. Singh repeated his demand and insinuation in French, and got the same scripted response in French.

Round two, and Melissa Lantsman returned to the Hunka invitation in Toronto (MacKinnon: The list came from a community organisation, and the PM had no idea who was on it, but you are trying to distract from the vote on the Ukraine trade bill), Marty Morantz gave another script of the same (MacKinnon: This is fake outrage because you want to distract from the vote and your moral failing of historic proportions), Luc Berthold read the French version of the same script (MacKinnon: Same answer in French), Michael Chong accused the government of not being serious about international organised crime (Virani: You should vote for the fall economic statement because it has measures to fight organised crime and money laundering), to which Chong insisted it didn’t go far enough (Virani: Same answer).

Rhéal Fortin complained that the Liberals voted against a requirement that all members of the wrongful conviction commission be bilingual (Virani: Requiring bilingualism is a priority for all judicial appointments; Boissonnault: I know that francophones across the country are frustrated and we need to learn lessons do better in the future), and Mario Beaulieu considered this an attempt to “erase francophones across Canada” (Boissonnault: You’re just trying to pick a fight).

Jake Stewart accused the government of increasing auto thefts (LeBlanc: We have invested seriously in the CBSA and RCMP in order to combat organised crime), and Pierre Paul-Hus did the same in French (LeBlanc: We are meeting with police and provinces on Thursday).

Bonita Zarrillo demanded more federal action to protect people with disabilities like those who were abused on Air Canada (Rodriguez: I have summoned the Air Canada CEO, and they must do better), and Jenny Kwan said the visas for families of Palestinian Canadians was too shambolic (Miller: We are flexible with the cap, and I am disappointed with local authorities who are not letting people out).

Round three saw yet more questions on auto thefts (Anand: The Harper government cut boots on the ground and we are bringing together all stakeholders to find a collaborative solution; Slogans and videos won’t solve complex problems; LeBlanc: The insurance industry is participating with our summit on Thursday). It also saw questions on paying Quebec for asylum seekers (Miller: We have invested billions in Quebec under our agreement; You are just looking for squabbles), emissions reductions directly reduced by the carbon price (Guilbeault: A recent study shows that it will be responsible for between 20 and 30 percent of emissions reductions by 2030; Freeland: Your leader’s senior advisor lobbied for Loblaws), food hamper distribution as it relates to carbon prices (Freeland: We have been making generational changes to competition laws which your leader denounced, so was that because of Jenni Byrne’s lobbying?), funding for a fire hall in a First Nations community (Hajdu: I have been working with them, and we did air lift in a fire truck and we are working to build a hall for them), and Haida self-government (Anandasangaree: I will meet with the leader of this nation later today).

Overall, it wasn’t the worst day, but it did start getting toxic when the story about the Hunka invitation came up, because of just how disingenuous the accusations were, and have been the whole time, first with former Speaker Rota’s invitation, and now this one. Otherwise, the bulk of the day was kept up by yet more talking points about auto theft, because Poilievre made another announcement on it in order to win the media cycle, and because it was the subject of their Supply Day motion. So, we got yet more facile suggestions and a government that has a hard time dealing with them properly. It’s all well and good to say that slogans won’t do any good, but you need to communicate in 35 seconds why it won’t do any good, and that’s the challenge this government repeatedly fails at doing.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Rob Oliphant for a tailored blue-grey suit over a crisp white shirt and a dark purple tie, and to Anita Anand for a long fuchsia jacket over a black turtleneck and slacks. Style citations go out to Marie-Claude Bibeau for a rose coloured jacket with large florals off a dark blue top, and to John Aldag for a dark grey suit with a medium blue shirt and a pale green tie. Dishonourable mention goes out to Ginette Petitpas Taylor for each wearing a mustard yellow jacket over a black top and slacks, and to Anna Roberts for a mustard yellow jacket with tassels over a navy blue top and black slacks. 

One thought on “QP: Keeping up the focus on auto thefts”

  1. Question Period is a grind to watch lately, anyway, but it’s painful seeing Greg Fergus so slack on control. Joking with them, apologetically asking them to tone it down. I wish he’d go and they’d find someone with more experience.

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