QP: Getting partisan about gendered violence

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The prime minister was off attending the big auto theft summit several blocks away from the West Block, while his deputy was similarly absent, as were all other leaders. Andrew Scheer led off in English, read some specious statistics about auto theft, and demanded more tough policies. Jennifer O’Connell countered with the fact that five years under the Harper government saw even higher auto theft rates than now. Scheer volleyed that those were the first five years with the problem they inherited, before giving a misleading statement about carbon prices and grocery prices. François-Philippe Champagne deployed his “take no lessons” line and gave a swipe about Jenni Byrne. Scheer returned with the number of former Liberal staffers who lobby for Loblaws, and gave an “it’s the carbon tax, stupid.” The Speaker warned him, before Champagne extolled his efforts to get new grocers into Canada. Gérard Deltell took over in French, and accused the government of prioritising photo ops over building housing. Champagne said that the only thing the Conservatives are good at is insulting  mayors. Deltell noted the decrease in housing stocks under the Liberals and demanded action. Champagne said that he has nothing to learn about videos and photo ops from the Conservatives, as they don’t solve problems.

Claude DeBellefeuille led for the Bloc, and she wanted the government to let Quebec proceed with advanced request for MAiD, to which Jean-Yves Duclos noted that as the former minster of health, he wanted to recognise Quebec’s movement and said that they would work together. DeBellefeuille repeated the demand for the Criminal Code changes, and Duclos said that they need to protect the most vulnerable, and promised to look closely at this.

Alexandre Boulerice rose for the Bloc, and demanded support for their “grocery prices” bill, and in response, Champagne stated that they have moved forward with competition reform and took most of the NDP’s recommendations. Lindsay Mathyssen repeated the demand in English, to which Champagne repeated the same response in English.

Round two, and Rachael Thomas blamed the government for an increase in sexual assaults (Maloney: We have taken serious measures to address this; O’Connell: We took measures to enhance women’s safety), Michelle Ferreri blamed the federal government for an intimate partner murder (O’Connell: We are working across government to ensure women are safe, and safe to report violence; That’s why we are making it harder to get firearms), and Dominique Vien repeated the same scripts in French (St-Onge: I’m glad you’re paying attentions to violence against women, which is why we are taking measures including stronger gun control; Joly: We have been taking action to restrict firearms).

Martin Champoux raised the Bell Media cuts and demanded government do something like an emergency fund (St-Onge: This is a dark day, and you know that $40 million has been offered to Bell Media, and Bell Canada makes billions of dollars, and billionaire companies don’t need government bailouts; We have been fighting to modernise the Broadcasting Act, and it would have been done three years ago if the Conservatives didn’t obstruct it), and Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe wanted action to stop Mexican cartels engaging in human smuggling (Miller: Criminals will exploit any vulnerability, and any announcement made in advance would create vulnerabilities to be exploited).

Damien Kurek blamed the carbon price for a farm sale (Guilbeault: You voted against supports for farmers making the energy transaction), Dave Epp gave a similar script (Guilbeault: There is no evidence to link carbon pricing and grocery inflation and the US has no carbon price with higher food inflation), and Dan Muys gave another family farm sob story (MacAulay: As a farmer, I know how important it is to protect the environment).

Heather McPherson railed that the government suspended UNRWA funding without seeing any evidence under investigation (Oliphant: We have increased funding to other agencies and we are a top donor for aid), and Laurel Collins complained that the Greener Homes Programme is being wound down (Dabrusin: This was an extremely popular programme, and we are working on the next phase of the programme to help people who need it most).

Round three saw questions on housing (Fragiskatos: You contradict yourself every time you speak; Anand: We are taking a comprehensive approach to increase housing supply while ensuring we are there for vulnerable Canadians; Duclos: We’ve been working for years to increase housing in Quebec), bilingualism on the miscarriage of justice commission (Boissonnault: We have official language rules on all tribunals), auto theft (Maloney: We need proper consultation and cooperation to address this systemically not with slogans), First Nations tax revenues (Battiste: That’s why we introduced UNDRIP legislation and we you voted against it), ArriveCan procurement (O’Connell: We are happy to see the committee’s work, and we expect procurement rules to be followed), First Nations stranded with melting ice roads (Atwin: We will do what it takes to ensure resources are delivered, and meetings are ongoing), and the Greener Homes Grant delays (Dabrusin: It’s great that so many people used it, and there will be a new phase coming soon).

Overall, it was a slightly strange day with none of the leaders present, and with Scheer taking the lead it felt like a bit of a bad flashback, as he got breathier with each question. That said, there was a little bit of volleying during that round, so that was a decent sign, for what it’s worth. I still think the constant swipes about Jenni Byrne aren’t helping the Liberals because they’re not making specific allegations, and what specifics they do point to tend to be misleading. I’m sure they justify this to themselves as what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, but seriously guys, if you give up on trying to remain somewhere in the fact-based reality, then what is the point anymore? Seriously. The questions on sexual assaults and murders of women were also strange and out of the blue, and to try and pin those on the federal government are also incredibly poor form and lacking in logic or coherence. 

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Peter Fragiskatos for a tailored navy suit with a lavender shirt and purple tie, and to Iqra Khalid for a well-cut black suit with a black button-up top. Style citations go out to Pascale St-Onge for a burnt orange turtleneck under a dark grey jacket and black slacks, and to Damien Kurek for a black suit over a grey sweater, white striped shirt, purple and pink striped tie and blue jeans. Dishonourable mention goes out to Monique Pauzé for a mustard yellow jacket over a black top and slacks, and to Darrell Samson for a black suit with a faded yellow shirt and bow tie.