QP: The provocation and the restraint

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After all of yesterday’s drama, it was a real question as to what was going to go down today, with the prime minister present, and there to respond to (but not necessarily answer) all questions. His deputy was absent, but all other leaders were present. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, worrying about the public health director suggesting decriminalisation in Montreal and Quebec, and demanded the government deny the request. Justin Trudeau said that they should take a moment to reflect on what happened yesterday, and said that the government takes the tragedy in BC seriously and they work with science and compassion, and will work with BC on adjusting their pilot project. Poilievre demanded to know if he would reject a request from Quebec, and Trudeau said that they worked with BC when they made the proposal, and he has received no other proposals. Poilievre switched to English, dropped the Montreal angle and demanded he reverse course on BC’s decriminalisation. Trudeau repeated that they will work with BC to adjust their pilot project. Poilievre insisted that Trudeau still hasn’t answered the question, and went into six British Columbians dying every day, and Trudeau repeated that BC approached them with the pilot project, and they worked with them to develop the project, and they looking into the modifications of the project they have asked for. Poilievre very slowly demanded that he reverse decriminalisation, and Trudeau again said they were working with BC.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, needled the Bloc for declaring they will support the budget, before going on about Amira Elghawaby making comments about the challenge to Quebec’s Law 21. Trudeau said that they build bridges by funding infrastructure and by helping communities come together. Blanchet railed about Elghawaby and halal mortgages, somehow, and insisted that some communities were getting other privileges. Trudeau said that in a pluralistic democracy, it’s important to talk to communities in order to meet their concerns.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and he raised the Loblaws boycott, and the fact the grocery task force has done no work. Trudeau says that they are concerned with Loblaws not signing onto the grocery code of conduct, and they have given the Competition Bureau new powers. Singh repeated the question in French, and got much the same answer.

Round two, and Poilievre got back up to again demand the prime minister reverse course on BC decriminalisation (Trudeau: We have been working on an evidence-based pilot program with BC, and pivoted to Diagolon), Poilievre said that was “false” and demanded Trudeau stop trying to score political points on people dying of overdoses (Trudeau: We are working with the province to adjust their pilot project, and you refuse to condemn Diagolon), he worried about Toronto making a request (Trudeau: When Vancouver wanted to go ahead, we said no because we work with provinces and their health systems), Poilievre raised that collision in Toronto, saying the person was out on bail (Trudeau: I did answer your questions, but you haven’t condemned Diagolon or Alex Jones), back to the opioid epidemic (Trudeau: We have been working to save lives with science and compassion, we don’t have some secret plan, but you seek support from groups like Diagolon), the request by the minister on BC’s request (Trudeau: We can talk about the challenges faced in places like Alberta or Ontario, and how some work better than others, but we are there to help support them).

Blanchet got back up, and returned to Elghawaby, insisting that he respects the Muslim community but worries they were getting “privileges” (Trudeau: When Law 21 reaches the Supreme Court, we will share our opinions then), and demanded he condemn Elghawaby for not respecting Quebec’s secularism (Trudeau: In a democracy, people can challenge laws they don’t like in the legal system, as is their right).

Poilievre raised gun crime in Toronto, and the collision in Toronto, and demanded “jail not bail” (Trudeau: We are working with provinces on bail reform, and we have gun control plans that you stand against), wondered how many guns have been seized to date (Trudeau: We have made thousands of rifles illegal to buy, sell or use, and we are working on the buyback programme), and insisted that those guns are not banned because they haven’t been seized (Trudeau: You didn’t deny that you would reverse the ban on assault-style rifles).

Lori Idlout worried both delays in processing healthcare requests for Indigenous children in the North in a timely manner (Trudeau: We have increased funding but there is more work to do), and Gord Johns worried about toxic overdose deaths in Alberta and BC where deaths are soaring and demanded safe supply (Trudeau: We are anchored in compassion and evidence, and are working with provinces).

Round three saw Poilievre asking about housing starts (Trudeau: Here is a list of measures we are taking; We are challenging the provinces to step up with ambition; When you were in government, you did nothing for housing because you said it wasn’t a federal responsibility), blaming the federal deficit for interest rates (Trudeau: We have one of the best fiscal positions in the G7 and the world; You accuse us of wasting money on child care, dental care, and investing in a greener economy; We have affordability solutions for Canadians; You are mixing different factors facing Canadians, and we are supporting people who are facing mortgage hikes because of global factors). It also saw questions on the Trans Mountain pipeline (Trudeau: It is part of our climate plan, but let’s talk about dental care), the disability benefit versus CEOs (Trudeau: Hooray for the benefit), and a CBSA computer system possibly not being ready (Trudeau: We are aware of the concerns, and are working to ensure success).

Overall, it was a very strangely sedate day in comparison to yesterday, and there was a very restrained tension in the room. Poilievre and his team obviously decided that they were going to go for a different tactic, and put on this air of false gravitas and being somber, particularly when it comes to the deaths to overdoses. The narrative Poilievre was spinning was false—the BC government didn’t call for decriminalisation to be reversed, but to merely ban drug use in public spaces (which has its detractors who say this puts users at risk because they can’t get help if they overdose and no one sees them). Nevertheless, Trudeau spent the first round repeating that this pilot project was at BC’s behest (not his), that this was because the province wanted it, not Vancouver (hence the concerns about Montreal and Toronto), and that they were working on modifications to the project (because the request is not to reverse decriminalisation entirely). From there it went to some of Poilievre’s particularly nonsensical narratives about housing starts and the federal deficit impacting inflation, but that’s pretty much par for the course.

But Trudeau and the Liberals were certainly trying to provoke Poilievre and the Conservatives, even though they waited until the second round to do so. And Poilievre didn’t take the bait, simply saying anything about associating Diagolon was “false,” and kept accusing the prime minister of essentially murdering people using drugs. It wasn’t until the backbench suck-up questions where the Conservative benches started rumbling and a few heckles were heard, and the Speaker did warn them about questions needing to pertain to the administrative responsibilities of the government, but at this point, it was looking like needless provocation and like they were the ones on the schoolyard trying to pick the fight, and it perhaps wasn’t the best look on a day where everyone else was showing restraint.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Iqra Khalid for a fuchsia suit over a cream scoop-necked top, and to Peter Fragiskatos for a dark grey three-piece suit over a white shirt with a matching pocket square with a dark pink tie. Style citations go out to Randall Garrison for a moss green jacket off an off-white shirt and a brown tie , and to Kristina Michaud for a dark pink long-sleeved silk dress with floral patterns across it.