Tag Archives: Border

QP: Politicising a tragedy because of course he did

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For Wednesday, proto-PMQ day, the prime minister was indeed present, and had a binder full of prepared responses, not that he was going to need most of it given how utterly repetitive QP has become in the past number of weeks. Pierre Poilievre led off, and started with condolence for the murder of a police officer in Burnaby, BC, and wanted action on the “crime wave” gripping the country. Justin Trudeau agreed that they need to do more, and spoke about their plans to increase funding for mental health supports. Poilievre then moved to the inflation numbers, and food inflation in particular, accusing the government of raising taxes on food, which of course is not true, and the biggest driver of food price inflation is climate change. Trudeau disputed the characterisation, and raised their GST credit, and wanted support for their other measures. Poilievre cited the figure that average families will pay $3000 more in inflation and interest, and blamed inflation on deficits, which is not the driver. Trudeau repeated that the Conservatives are not supporting measures that will help the households that need it most. Poilievre repeated his questions in French, and Trudeau poked holes in Poilievre’s assertion that inflation is so high that they shouldn’t do anything to help people. Poilievre spouted a bunch of nonsense about food price inflation on things gown in Canada, ignoring that drought wiped out 40 percent of crops last year, and blamed the costs on carbon prices. Trudeau raised the climate rebates that people got on Friday, and that they need to take action on climate change.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and raised both the contracts for a lease near Roxham Road and wanted a better way to accept asylum seekers. Trudeau recited that there is no magic solution and that we need to work with the Americans to find a sustainable solution. Blanchet claimed that the government wanted to use Roxham Road to get cheap labour, and wanted African francophone students instead who are being discriminated against with their visas. Trudeau read a script about having no tolerance for racism and that the minister was looking into the issue.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and first gave condolences for the slain officer, then switched to French to accuse the government of doing nothing about inflation. Trudeau listed their actions and the plans still waiting passage. Singh switched to English, and blamed food price inflation on “greed-flation” (which is not a thing), and took credit for “forcing” the government to study the issue. Trudeau repeated his response about the GST credit and demanding support for dental care and rental supports.

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QP: Chaining us to oil oligarchs

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Both the prime minister and his deputy were present today, which tends to always be a better day than when they’re away. Pierre Poilievre started off in French, where he cited a report stating that inflation and interest rates will cost Canadians an extra $3000 this year. Justin Trudeau responded with a fairly standard rebuttal of his government helping Canadians while the Conservatives, who were free to disagree with their affordability measures were now blocking them from passing. Poilievre switched to English to insist that the rental supports would help no one, and that the government oversaw the worst housing bubble on planet Earth. Trudeau reiterated that no only does he not support people, he his also blocking the measures from going forward. Poilievre took the opportunity to decry the cost of rent and housing, and that the government was tripling the tax on the costs to heat them (not true), and Trudeau dismissed this as attack politics, and repeated that Poilievre was blocking their supports rather than simply disagreeing. Poilievre tried to sound wounded, and demanded that home heating be exempted from the carbon price, to which Trudeau insisted that most families get back than they spend on carbon prices. Poilievre then dismissed this, and tried to call Trudeau a “high-carbon hypocrite,” to which Trudeau accused Poilievre of simply trying to help the rich, and pointed out that trickle-down economics doesn’t work, as the UK is learning right now.

Alain Therrien led for the Bloc, and he accused the government of secrecy on the contracts linked to Roxham Road, and Trudeau took up a script to say the contract decisions were made by public service and CBSA contacted the land owner, where they could not change the location, and they got market value for the use. Therrien railed that the government insisted on national security clauses in the contracts to hide them from the public, and Trudeau reiterated the same response.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and in French, he worried about a possible recession on the horizon, and demanded a plan from the government before people suffer. Trudeau insisted they were already engaged, and called on support for the other affordability measures like rental supports and dental care. In English, Singh raised the state of the EI system and repeated his demand for a plan in the event of a recession, and Trudeau repeated his tired line that they have Canadians’ backs.

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Roundup: City officials detail police incompetence

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The day at the Emergencies Act inquiry was spent with city officials, and in particular the city’s top bureaucrat and the mayor’s chief of staff. There was a lot of discussion about police believing it would be over in a few days in spite of the occupiers saying they intended to occupy the streets, and booking hotels for at least 30 days, but the police kept treating this like a non-issue until it was too late. They also insisted that the Ontario government rebuffed their calls for more police resources. At a press event in Ottawa that morning, Doug Ford professed that he supported the use of the Emergencies Act, but the testimony on display was that he was nowhere to be found in managing the crisis, having dropped out of tripartite calls, and his solicitor general shrugged and said that she can’t direct police. Out of desperation, those city officials turned to the offer from Ford’s former chief of staff, Dean French, to try and negotiate with the occupiers about moving trucks away from residential streets, and packing more of them on the Hill. Well, the Parliamentary Protective Service was outraged by that deal, particularly after they had done bomb assessments with regard to those trucks. The most hilarious revelation of the day was that city officials wanted the occupiers to park their trucks outside of downtown and to take the LRT into the city centre to protest. Laughable, and unfortunately not satire. Literally unbelievable.

Meanwhile, the CBC has a profile of Justice Rouleau, leading the commission. In pundit reaction, Matt Gurney notes that the Ontario government is not being summoned to the Emergencies Act public inquiry, in spite of their complete dereliction of duty. Susan Delacourt makes a similar observation, and in particular how Doug Ford is now presenting himself as being in lockstep with Trudeau on the invocation. Paul Wells gives his take on the day’s testimony, and what he reads into the responses.

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 236:

The Russians continue to launch suicide drones on Kyiv, some of which seem to be targeting the city’s heating infrastructure. Because those drones are Iranian in origin, there is pressure on Israel, who has expertise on tackling the Iranian drone programme, to join the US and EU in providing military technology to Ukraine to fight those attacks.

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QP: Some new faces with the same repetitive lines

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Neither the prime minister nor his deputy was present today, but Pierre Poilievre was, as he so frequently is. He led off in French, and claimed that government spending caused inflation (false), and cited an RBC report saying that inflation and higher interest rates would cost families an additional $3000 next year, before he demanded that the government stop “raising taxes” (which they aren’t, but if they were, higher taxes actually fight inflation). Rachel Bendayan said that they know Canadian are facing higher expenses, which is why they are putting forward supports, that the Conservatives are opposing, such as rental supports and dental care. Poilievre switched to English to blame the federal government and the outgoing (formerly) NDP mayor of Vancouver for overdose deaths, violence and higher housing prices. He praised the election of a new mayor and demanded that the federal government “get the message.” Mark Holland said he appreciated the leader’s interest in the mayoralty campaign in Vancouver, but here in Ottawa, he was looking for support for their affordability measures. Poilievre insisted that the federal government was forcing British Columbia to “triple, triple, triple” their carbon price and demanded that they cancel the plan. Steven Guilbeault remarked that families in provinces under the federal price got their quarterly climate rebate payments on Friday. Poilievre then said the government was forcing “energy poverty” onto the Atlantic provinces, to which Guilbeault corrected him in that they are providing support for them to transition to cleaner and cheaper alternatives. Finally, Poilievre insisted that the government was just taking the carbon price revenue, and mocked the notion that it would “trickle down” back to people (false–the revenues don’t go to federal coffers and go to each province to recycle in the way they chose, including the federal climate rebates). Holland responded with some mockery about the Conservative belief in trickle-down economics, which doesn’t actually work.

Alain Therrien led for the Bloc, and he insisted that Chrystia Freeland announced a policy of “drill, baby, drill,” and that she drove the nail in the coffin of climate change. Jonathan Wilkinson noted that she did not contradict the government and that they would only move ahead on the right projects. Therrien insisted that the government was using the war in Ukraine to sell more oil, and Guilbeault reminded him that there is a rigorous environmental assessment process and that Canada is moving ahead on renewable energy, which is why Germany came to us for hydrogen.

Alexandre Boulerice rose for the NDP, and in French, he noted the Loblaws “price lock” on generic food products and demanded support for their Supply Day motion on making companies pay more. Rachel Bendayan recited that the government raised taxes on corporations. Alistair MacGregor took over in English, with the took credit for the Loblaws move, to which Terry Beech called for support for their affordability measures.

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Roundup: The fiscal stance is tight

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The Parliamentary Budget Officer was doing his actual job of providing alternative fiscal forecasts for Parliamentarians, and his projection of the economic situation is that growth will slow over the second half of this year, which isn’t a bad thing because it will help to tackle inflation, particularly as the Bank of Canada continues to raise rates. The deficit continues to shrink, as does the federal debt-to-GDP ratio, which shows our fiscal stance is not too loose.

Here’s economist Kevin Milligan putting things into more context, but the bottom line is that the Conservatives’ assertion that government spending is fuelling inflation is not true, and they need to come up with some more credible talking points. (Yeah, yeah, good luck with that one, I know).

https://twitter.com/kevinmilligan/status/1580598737906597894

https://twitter.com/kevinmilligan/status/1580602979140632576

https://twitter.com/kevinmilligan/status/1580605473476476929

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 232:

It was another day of Russian strikes against civilian targets, including by Iranian-built kamikaze drones, while Volodymyr Zelenskyy continues to request more air defence systems to protect the country. Ukrainian forces boasted that they took down four Russian helicopters in the space of eighteen minutes.

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QP: Trudeau attacks Poilievre’s incel connection

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The prime minister was present on a Thursday, which is rare, but I’ll take what I can get. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, and worried about families who can’t afford Thanksgiving dinner this year, blaming carbon prices even though that’s not the driver of food price inflation. Justin Trudeau responded that they knew Canadians were struggling with the global inflation crisis, which is why the proposed measures like the GST rebate, and demanded support for rental supports and dental care for kids. They went another round of the same in English, and Poilievre listed increasing food prices, and insisted this was about the carbon price, and Trudeau tried to shame him about not supporting “kids’ smiles” before he launched into an attack on the news report that Poilievre had been tagging his YouTube videos to appeal to incels. Poilievre stated that he “condemns this organisation” (they’re not an organisation) and insisted that he condemns all misogyny and hit back about Jody Wilson-Raybould and Blackface, because of course he did. Trudeau pressed on about Poilievre appealing to incels, to which Poilievre again insisted that he corrected the problem and repeated the accusations about the prime minister. Trudeau noted that a lot of admiration was given for Poilievre’s videos during the leadership campaign, and he once again pushed on Poilievre playing too closely to extremists.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and he demanded to know the prime minister’s intentions at Roxham Road, accusing him of increasing migrants in Quebec against their consent and of endangering French. Trudeau picked up a script to deliver some talking points about working with the French government around immigration and the protection of French. Blanchet denounced the policies that favour cheap labour (erm, you know the reliance of your province on temporary foreign workers), and demanded the unredacted contracts for Roxham Road facilities. Trudeau, extemporaneously, reminded him that Quebec already has all of the immigration powers they need and can increase francophone immigration if they want to.

Alexandre Boulerice rose for the NDP, and he listed grocery oligopoly CEO salaries before demanding the government stop the “greed-flation” of grocery chains. Trudeau listed the actions they have taken to help low-income people, and stated that they are strengthening the Competition Act. Peter Julian took over in English to repeat the question, and Trudeau repeated his same points.

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Roundup: Taking the blame, children’s cold medicine edition

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There has been a concerted effort to try and make the shortage of over-the-counter children’s cold and fever medication the federal government’s problem, even though they have precious few levers at their disposal. The Conservatives are trying to demand that Health Canada lift restrictions on imports that aren’t labelled in English and French, though I’m not sure that would really help if these shortages (which are due to high demand because COVID isn’t over!) are more widespread, and even there, that would require a lot of provincial coordination because pharmacies are also under provincial jurisdiction. But apparently the minister can’t just say that people need to talk to the provinces—that simply won’t do.

I had a bit of a debate over Twitter about this last night, and I will concede that part of this is a problem with the government’s inability to message and get ahead of these kinds of issues, or leverage some righteous anger and direct it to the provinces to do their gods damned jobs for once—but this government doesn’t like to do anger, and it really doesn’t like to blame the provinces for the things that the provinces aren’t doing when they should be, because they want to be “nice,” and “cooperative,” and “not divisive.” But that’s not helping anybody, and so we get more platitudes and feel-good pabulum that doesn’t actually make anyone feel good. I do have real problems with everyone—particularly media—trying to make every problem the federal government’s, but the government need to get better at messaging around this tendency, which they steadfastly refuse to do.

 

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 224:

As Russia’s president signed papers that purport to annex territory in Ukraine, Ukrainian forces continue to press ahead in their counter-offensive in both the east and the south, collapsing Russian lines even further. And those new troops Russia has been conscripting to send to Ukraine? Much of them come from the country’s ethnic minorities, which is a calculated move. Ukraine, meanwhile, is making a bid for the 2030 FIFA World Cup as a way of survivors of the invasion healing from the war.

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QP: Triple, triple, triple the bluster and the bromides

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The prime minister was present for the first time in a week, and it was nearly a full Chamber for a change. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, and he worried about stories of students accessing food banks, and blamed food price inflation on carbon prices, which is largely false, and demanded the “triple, triple, triple” carbon price be cancelled. Justin Trudeau responded with a warning about how serious climate change is, as we have seen up close. Poilievre switched to English to cite a farm family who was allegedly being crushed by carbon prices, and recited his “triple, triple, triple” line. Trudeau stated that clever slogans won’t help people, but his government had a plan to, and demanded support for the rental and dental supports. Poilievre reiterated his question, and Trudeau reminded him that he just returned from Atlantic Canada, and that these kinds of storms are going to become more frequent, before reciting the lines about not being free to pollute, and that most families get more back in rebates than they spend. Poilievre tried to turn this onto the prime minister using his “private jet” (it’s not a private jet) and that he was a “high-carbon hypocrite,” to which Trudeau lambasted Poilievre’s lack of a climate plan. Poilievre spun a ridiculous tale about the government driving food production out of the country, and Trudeau hit back that if Poilievre put as much energy into flighting climate change as he did spinning conspiracy theories, we would all be better off.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and he demanded that all immigration powers be turned over to Quebec because French is under threat. Trudeau reminded him that Quebec has all the immigration tools they need, and if they want to increase Francophone immigration, they were welcome to. Blanchet repeated his demand, reminding Trudeau of the size of François Legault’s majority, and Trudeau repeated his answer.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and in French, he accused the government of protecting oil and gas profits, and Trudeau recited some pabulum about asking the rich to pay more to reduce taxes for the Middle Class™, which is why it was the very first thing they did. Singh repeated the question in English, and Trudeau stated that oil companies have been warned that they need to start paying for the green transition.

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QP: Triple, triple, triple the clip-gathering

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The prime minister was in Halifax to announce new support programmes for those who were affected by Hurricane Fiona, but his deputy was present. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, and he cited a faux report that half of Canadians are $200 away from insolvency, which is not actually true, and accused the government of raising taxes, returning his false “triple, triple, triple” the carbon price line. Chrystia Freeland praised their solution of the doubled GST rebate, and called on the opposition to support their other measures. There was another round of the exact same in English, and then Poilievre lamented high gas prices. Freeland again called on the rest of the House to support the rental support and dental care provisions. Poilievre pivoted to the downing of Flight PS752 1000 days ago, and insisted that it was legal for them to plan a similar plot, which is absurd and wrong. Marco Mendicino gave a pro forma condemnation of the downing before insisting that Canada is not a safe haven for terrorism. Poilievre disputed this, and demanded that the IRGC be listed a a terrorist group, to which Mendicino called on all members to stand with the families, and listed actions they have taken for those families.

Alain Therrien led for the Bloc, and he accused the government of changing EI rules for seasonal workers, to which Carla Qualtrough said that benefits continue to remain available as the pilot project has been extended to 2023, and broader reforms are coming. Therrien insisted that seasonal workers didn’t qualify, and Qualtrough reiterated her answer.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and in French, demanded that tax loopholes be closed for the “ultra rich” (because it’s just that simple, you see). Freeland reminded him that they have taken measures to ensure that the rich pay their fair share, particularly banks and insurance companies, and note their luxury tax. Singh repeated the question in English, and Peter Fragiskatos reminded him that $1 billion has been invested in combatting tax evasion, including audits related to the Panama Papers.

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QP: Triple, triple, triple the bad math

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Even though the prime minister was in town, he was not in Question Period today, though his deputy was. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, worrying that housing prices have doubled, and that bills take up 60 percent of an average paycheque, while the government’s solution is to “triple, triple, triple” the carbon price. Steven Guilbeault reminded him that the carbon price is the most effective in the world, and that emissions have been reduced by nine percent and the revenues go back to households. Poilievre switched to English to decry the carbon prices, misleadingly talking about missed targets and insinuating that it was tripling overnight when it’s over a decade, and misquoted the PBO about the cost to households, before repeating his “triple, triple, triple” line, to which Guilbeault reminded him that O’Toole stated that pricing mechanisms were the best way to go. Poilievre repeated his assertions, and Guilbeault needled the Conservatives for constantly flip-flopping on their position on carbon pricing. Poilievre insisted that the Liberals “attacked” a woman in rural Newfoundland and called her a “polluter” for heating her home, and Guilbeault pointed out their programme to help people transition off of home heating oil. Poilievre mocked the government programme to help people afford a “tax,” accused the government of putting people into energy poverty, and demanded the carbon price increase be cancelled. Chrystia Freeland responded this time, saying Canadians understand that climate change is real, and that the global economy is in the midst of a transition to a green economy, which is why the government is helping Canadians and industry make that transition.

René Villemure led for the Bloc, and he accused the government of secretly giving contracts to Liberal donors around Roxham Road, to which Helena Jaczek read in French that they negotiated fair market value and publicly releasing the details would release commercially sensitive information. Villemure insisted this was just the government sowing doubt other contracts, which were not proven to be in any wrongdoing. Jaczek repeated a version of her statement in English. 

Peter Julian rose for the NDP, and he demanded immediate EI for the Atlantic provinces in the wake of Hurricane Fiona, to which Carla Qualtrough says that Service Canada has waived the requirement for a record of employment. Alexandre Boulerice denounced Poilievre before repeating the same question on EI, and Qualtrough assured him that EI modernisation is on the way. 

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