QP: Won’t somebody think about the GDP?

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The first prototype-PMQ day of the fall sitting promised to be a caustic set of exchanges between the PM and the leader of the opposition, and it did not disappoint. Well, it’s always disappointing, but it went about as well as expected, though perhaps not quite as caustic as one might have assumed. Pierre Poilievre led off in French with a swipe at the Bloc for their plans not to topple the government, and listed a bunch of nonsense about what the federal government allegedly did—but it wasn’t really a question for the government. Justin Trudeau listed things they have done that the Conservatives would cut. Poilievre recited some slogans, and wondered again why the Bloc allowed it, which was again not a question for government, and the Speaker said nothing. Trudeau listed things that Poilievre voted against in his “thirst for power.” Poilievre switched to English to make the same swipe, but this time directed to the NDP, and wondered why they weren’t saying they would vote against the government, which again was not a question for government. Trudeau repeated that Poilievre voted against Canadians’ interests because he only cares about himself, and that he was in a bad mood because the economy was performing well. Poilievre recited a litany of slogans, and Trudeau said this was mere performance because he doesn’t care about Canadians and repeated the points about inflation coming down and that Poilievre can’t use his “justinflation” slogan anymore. Poilievre took this as an excuse to list the people using food banks or who are in tent encampments, and Trudeau said this empathy was false because he was using the vulnerable for his own gain.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and he lamented the remarks of the special advisory to counter Islamophonia, and wanted the government’s definition of Islamophobia. Trudeau spoke about the rise of it and antisemitism, but did not provide a definition. Blanchet noted this and accused the government of polarising Canadians, and Trudeau pointed out that he is a proud Quebeckers and there are more Liberals from Quebec than in the Bloc, and that they need to combat intolerance. 

Alexandre Boulerice rose for the Bloc, and decried the increasing privatisation of healthcare and demanded the government put a stop to it. Trudeau said that the NDP can’t deliver the goods on progressive policies, as shown by their backing out of their agreement, because they didn’t like it when things got hard. Alistair MacGregor took over in English to worry about grocery prices, and accuse the government of “caving to CEOs.” Trudeau accused them of taking a page from the Conservative playbook in choosing slogans over hard work.

Round two, and Poilievre got back up to read a New York Times headline from April 2015 to decry falling GDP-per-capita and blamed the carbon levy (Trudeau: You can’t have a plan for the economy without a plan for the environment), he demanded the “true cost” to the economy from the carbon levy (Trudeau: Eight out of ten families are better off and we have cut emissions faster than anyone in the G7), Poilievre listed government documents that showed the cost in billions to the economy—without a counterfactual (Trudeau: The price of inaction is even higher), trotted out lines about the price not stopping fires or floods (Trudeau: He believes in slogans but not action on climate), demanded the “loss of GDP” figure again (Trudeau: Foreign direct investment is up 60 percent since 2015), and cited a deputy Bank of Canada governor talking about productivity (Trudeau: You’re frustrated that every expert backs our plans while you are stuck with late-night far-right YouTube videos).

Blanchet got back up to demand that the special envoy Amira Elghawaby be fired for suggesting that universities hire more Muslim professors (Trudeau: Universities can make their own hiring decisions but they should reflect the community; To suggest that a member from Quebec doesn’t represent the province in this place is shameful).

Poilievre cited Canadian investment in the U.S. and blamed the carbon levy (Trudeau: We are projected to have stronger economic growth than the U.S. in part because of our carbon price), returned to the per-capita-GDP worries (Trudeau: That performance shows you want to cut to claim it will draw in investment but we already have the strongest fiscal position in advanced economies and we are using that to invest in Canadians), he again listed the plight of Canadians (Trudeau: You can’t admit that the rebates help more families), and tried to confuse the rebates with the economic impact (Trudeau: Millions have received the rebates, and that allows us to fight climate change and boost the economy while helping with affordability).

Leah Gazan complained about rent in Winnipeg—which is provincial jurisdiction (Trudeau: I look forward to working with the NDP premier of Manitoba on a renters’ bill of rights), and Blake Desjarlais worried about homes on public land being destroyed—which again doesn’t sound like federal jurisdiction (Trudeau: We are working to use public lands to build affordable housing).

Round three saw more questions from Poilievre on housing (Trudeau: We won’t take lessons from someone who failed to get housing built when he was so-called housing minister; Your plan was universally panned by experts; Your plan consists entirely of slogans and personal attacks, while we are working with provinces and municipalities), a stabbing near a safe consumption site (Trudeau; All Canadians deserve to live in safe communities, but taking this challenge seriously includes listening to experts and those on the front lines of the opioid crisis), a thirteen-year-old overdose victim (Trudeau: Tragedies like that are unthinkable which is why we work with provincial and local authorities to find solutions that suit them; That was just an ad for John Rustad), mandatory jail-time for “career car thieves”—in advance of a vote on a Conservative bill (Trudeau: Mandatory minimums don’t work but more scanners and AI will), the terror suspect who came to Canada (Trudeau: If you were serious in your concern over national security, you would get your clearance to get briefings), Mark Carney and Brookfield’s pension fund plans (Trudeau: That was a hard pivot from your security clearance, and you’re jealous that top-notch experts want to work with us and not you). There were also questions on religious grounds for hate speech (Trudeau: You keep saying that federal MPs from Quebec have less legitimacy than members of the National Assembly, but if that’s the case, what is the Bloc even doing here?), not supporting a UN vote on Israel (Trudeau: We call for an immediate ceasefire and the release of hostages, and a path to peace based on a two-state solution), GO Train expansion—which is provincial jurisdiction (Trudeau: We have invested in transit solutions and we call on all premiers to step up).

Overall, there was very much a sense that nothing has changed from June, though I would note that the exchanges were not quite as acrimonious as one might have expected. If there was any overall feature in Poilievre’s questions today, slogans aside, was about lying with statistics—taking some cherry-picked figures out of context regarding the economic impact of the carbon levy and doomsaying around it without either a counterfactual or anything other than “big number bad.” And Trudeau rarely calls that out—he did say once that “the cost of inaction is higher,” but that was it. He doesn’t actually call out the lie, so once again, it festers and people start to believe it could be true. That’s one of the reasons why simply responding with the happy-clappy pabulum is such as stupid policy, but hey, I’m not one of the communications geniuses that the Liberals employ.

Otherwise, I am getting mighty sick of the sheer volume of questions that relate to provincial jurisdiction, including several from Pierre Poilievre, which he tried to blame Trudeau for. But while it’s expected from the NDP, and Trudeau did needle them a little bit about that regarding his repeated mentions of “the NDP premier of Manitoba,” the most egregious was Green MP Mike Morrice, who basically wanted Trudeau to tell Doug Ford to smarten up. It’s not his job. He’s not the father of the provinces. He can’t tell them what to do or threaten to withhold their allowance. Stop this.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Yasir Naqvi for a tailored navy suit over a white shirt with a purple and blue paisley tie, and to Julie Dzerowicz for a purple jacket over a cream top and black slacks. Style citations go out to Michelle Ferreri for an off-white jacket with brownish-pink floral over khaki slacks, and to Bernard Generoux for a dark blue jacket over a light blue suit, taupe slacks, and no tie.