Tag Archives: Inflation

QP: Mary Ng will only apologise twice

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The prime minister was present today, while his deputy was off in Paris. Shortly before things got underway, the Ethics Commissioner released his report on a contract Mary Ng’s office awarded to a friend of hers, so that was also going to come up. All of the other leaders were present today, save Elizabeth May, for what it’s worth. After a statement about the passing of Jim Carr, Pierre Poilievre led off in French, and he first offered condolences to Carr’s family and to the Liberal caucus for their loss. With that out of the way, he asked about the list of soon-to-be banned hunting rifles and wanted more work on fighting criminals instead. Justin Trudeau thanked Poilievre for his thoughts about Carr, and said a few nice words about Carr’s legacy in both French and in English. Poilievre switched to English to repeat the question about “Grandpa Joe’s hunting rifle in Cape Breton” versus criminals, and this time, Trudeau insisted that Canadians are united about keeping communities safer from assault weapons, but they needed to ensure the ban stays in place, which is why they were moving ahead with their legislation but they would continue to consult to ensure they are capturing the right weapons. Poilievre raised the concerns of his backbench MPs about those weapons, and tried to insist this was a big plot against hunters. Trudeau dismissed this as misinformation and said they were going to continue to consult on the list because they were not interested in hunters, but the Conservatives only wanted to make assault weapons legal again. Poilievre then changed topics to story about immigration case files assigned to employees who are no longer there, to which Trudeau read some pabulum lines about modernising the system and resolving the “technical issues.” Poilievre changed topics again to the Ethics Commissioner’s finding that Mary Ng violated the rules in giving a contract to a friend, which he tried to tie to other previous scandals. Trudeau instead countered with some crowing about last night’s by-election victory in Mississauga—Lakeshore and how Canadians rejected Poilievre instead.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and after giving condolence about Jim  he concern trolled about immigration levels in Quebec before raising the story about the case files going to phantom employees before demanding that Quebec be given full control over its immigration system. Trudeau said that Quebec has the capacity to take more immigrants and they are there to help them with it. Blanchet insisted that Roxham Road-arriving asylum claimants were difficult to integrate and demanded more control over the system. Trudeau reiterated that they did not set a target for Quebec and they were there to work with the province.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and in French, demanded the government do something about the paediatric health crisis in the country. Trudeau said that they realise there is a crisis, but they are not going to send a blank cheque like the NDP wants and will ensure they get outcomes. Singh repeated his demand to “find solutions” in English, and Trudeau repeated his response.

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QP: A rare ejection from the Chamber

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The prime minster was present for the first time in over a week, and unusually, none of the other leaders were present. Jasraj Hallan led off, and accused the government’s deficit spending of “forcing” the Bank of Canada to raise interest rates, which is obvious nonsense to anyone who pays a modicum of attention. Hallan accused that spending of hiring Canadians, complained about the carbon price, and demanded it be scrapped. Justin Trudeau said that the Conservatives were consistent in opposing the government being there for Canadians, listing measures they voted against, while the government would continue to be there for people while being fiscally responsible. Hallan accused Trudeau of sitting in an ivory tower, spending money, and driving inflation, and insisted he was the “architect” of sending children to food banks. (Honestly, who is writing this material?) Hallan concluded by wondering when the prime minister would understand that Canadians can’t afford any more of his “failures.” Trudeau pointed out that Conservatives complain the government doesn’t help people and then oppose their measures to help people, whether it’s dental care, rental supports, or child care. Tracy Gray took over to complain that people can’t afford to heat their homes, blaming the prime minister on “tripling down” on carbon prices. Trudeau said that he has heard that people are facing difficult times, which is why they are there with supports in spite of Conservative opposition. Richard Martel took over in French to decry the interest rate increase, and he too blamed the government for inflation and carbon prices. Trudeau recite that while they are concerned about the rising cost of living, they are doing something about it unlike the Conservatives. Martel said it was “ironic” that the government says they understand concerns while they gave benefit cheques to dead people, before he demanded the cancellation of carbon prices. Trudeau said it was incredible to see Conservatives attack and make fun of benefits that helped Canadians during the height of the pandemic.

Alain Therrien led for the Bloc, and raised the RCMP contract for the company with Chinese ties, wondering how the prime minister could explain the lack of checks on this bid. Trudeau noted that they were concerned by the contract and that they would ensure that national security interests were not jeopardised. Therrien wondered why they didn’t consult with the CSE on this procurement, and Trudeau reiterated that they are looking into the contract.

Alexandre Boulerice rose for the NDP, and he shouted that they prime minister was absent on the file with the crisis in children’s hospitals. Trudeau took a script to read the measures that have taken around procuring medications and transfers. Don Davies read the same condemnation in English, demanding the prime minster sit down with premiers to solve the crisis. Trudeau insisted that they were increasing transfers and that they would be there to ensure there were significant improvements. 

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QP: “Bludgeoning” the Auditor General

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The prime minister was still in Montreal at the COP15 biodiversity conference, and his deputy was in town but elsewhere, while only some of the other leaders were present today. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, and he decried the interest rate hike from the Bank of Canada, but blamed “inflationary deficits” from the government as the cause, which is not actually true, no matter the misquote that Poilievre attributed to the Bank Governor, and told the government to stop spending. Randy Boissonnault responded that the Bank is independent, that Canadians are living through difficult times, and he rejected the notion that their investments caused inflation, quoting the former Bank Governor, Stephen Poloz, that the investments stopped deflation, and then implored them to support Bill C-32. Poilievre switched to English to repeat the same misleading concerns before quoting a single mother from a news story, saying that she listened to the government’s assurances that interest would be low for long. Boissonnault responded that Poilievre shouldn’t talk about advice given that he told people to invest in crypto, before he listed measures the government has taken to help people. Poilievre then changed topics, and raised objections from the Liberal MP for Yukon to the firearms legislation as currently envisioned and needled the government about it. Marco Mendicino gave a fairly standard response about not targeting hunters and farmers and that the bill gives resources to police and border agencies. Poilievre switched back to French, to raise the story of the RCMP getting a contract linked to someone under criminal suspicion for espionage in the United States, and whose parent company is in China. Helena Jaczek noted that they are studying the issue, but the company did meet their needs, so they are ensuring that they are protecting national security. Poilievre returned to English to accuse the answer of being “encrypted in bureaucratese” before repeating the question, and Mendicino noted that there is a rigorous process for contracts and they are scrutinising the process run by independent civil servants, and then raised the independent panels observing the last two elections to point out that they took actions but the Conservatives did not.

Alain Therrien led for the Bloc, and gave an analogy about dangerous driving as a way of demanding the federal government increase health transfers to provinces. Mark Holland stood up to offer bland assurances that they are continuing to invest in the system. Therrien insisted there was no cooperation, and demanded increased transfers. Carolyn Bennett insisted they were working with the provinces to ensure there was not only funding but a national vision on healthcare, and listed the transfers sent to provinces.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and decried the interest rate hike, and demanded the prime minister find a way to tackle inflation without hurting workers. Boissonnault reminded him that the Bank of Canada is independent and the government is doing their job of keeping fiscal firepower for when they need it and listed actions they have taken. Singh switched to French to worry about consumer debts and repeated his same demand, Boissonnault repeated his same answer.

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QP: Being ham-fisted on the hunting rifle concerns

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The prime minister was off having a photo op with Doug Ford about electric vehicles, and his deputy was also absent, leaving Pierre Poilievre as the only leader in the Chamber. Poilievre led off in French, worrying about a report released today that predicts the price of food will increase by another seven percent next year, but blamed the federal government’s “inflationary spending” for it, which is utterly risible because we know that food price inflation has bene in large part because of climate change causing droughts in food-producing regions around the world. Randy Boissonnault noted that high food prices are global, because extreme weather events have led to poor harvests and supply chains remain snarled, while the government has taken action like the doubled GST credit and dental care. Poilievre switched to English to blame rising food prices on carbon prices, which is again not the problem. Karina Gould praised their measures to help vulnerable Canadians, and noted that if Poilievre was sincere about affordability, he would have voted for their measures. Poilievre then claimed that the government was trying to ban hunters because the of the sweeping nature of the list in the amendments at committee, and demanded the reverse the “ban.” Marco Mendicino first noted that tomorrow is the 33rd anniversary of the École Polytechnique shooting, and they remain in solidarity with victims. Poilievre insisted that they too are concerned about gun crime, but the problem are guns coming across the border rather than hunters, and demanded they reinforce the border rather than attacking hunters. Mendicino reminded him they invested $450 million in the border over the past two years, and invested in CBSA, while the Conservatives voted against all of those measures. Poilievre insisted that the results of the Liberal policy was an increase in violent crime, and that their expensive policies are not working, and switched to French to demand to know why the government isn’t targeting “real crime.” Mendicino repeated his previous response in French.

 Claude DeBellefeuille led for the Bloc, and raised a report that raises the alarm about species at risk, while the government has authorised oil exploration off the shore of Newfoundland and Labrador, which is the right whale’s habitat. Julie Dabrusin read that the marine protected area will remain protected and any exploitation activities in the area will be determined on a case-by-case basis, and that the tender process does not authorize production activities. DeBellefeuille repeated her question, calling it special treatment for oil companies. Dabrusin repeated that any proposal to drill in those areas would be subject to the Impact Assessment Act, but they are not there.

Leah Gazan rose for the NDP, raising the murder of three more Indigenous women in Winnipeg to an alleged serial killer, and the decision by the city not to look for remains in a landfill, and demanded more help. Marc Miller said that he too was concerned and that he spoke with the mayor and wanted to do more where he could. Niki Ashton took over by video on the same issue, raising that the alleged killer has ties to white nationalism, and again demanded more action. Miller said that he was concerned and has a meeting in January about coming to solutions.

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QP: Legitimate points lost in the partisan noise

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While the PM was off at a photo op in London, Ontario, to praise the rollout of the kludge they are calling dental care, only two other leaders were present in the Chamber. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, and he raised the increase in violent crime statistics, and wondered why the government wasn’t investing in police or CBSA and were banning hunting rifles instead with an estimate that the buyback could cost an additional billion dollars. Marco Mendicino offered the bland reassurance that their legislation doesn’t target farmers and hunters, but targets assault weapons like have been used at mass shootings. Poilievre switched to English to list some of the rifles in the list to be banned, insisting they were about ducks and vermin on farms, while Mendicino insisted that the goal was to target assault-style rifles. Poilievre cited a statistic that 82 percent of guns used in crimes in Toronto were smuggled across the border, and accused the government of targeting hunters. Mendicino accused Poilievre of spreading disinformation (though there is some grey area here because there are concerns about some of the guns listed), and accused the Conservatives of not voting in favour of supports for CBSA. Poilievre switched topics, worried about particular survey results about housing affordability, and wondered how people can’t afford housing in the country with the second-largest landmass on the planet (which is a really, really stupid talking point because we’re not building residential subdivisions on Baffin Island or in the middle of the Canadian Shield and he knows full well that’s the case). Ahmed Hussen pointed to their funding for municipalities to help accelerate their processing and permitting, along with other measures like their rent-to-own programme. Poilievre switched to French to decry this same shortage of housing, along with some disinformation about inflation, but somehow managed to blame the federal government for preventing housing from being built, which is utter nonsense. Hussen repeated his points, with the added jab that the Conservatives don’t have their own housing plan.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and worried about Chinese interference, along with his particularly odd accusation about Chinese money flowing into the prime minister’s riding. Marco Mendicino got up to recite the lines about creating the two independent panels and their conclusion that there was no interference. Blanchet demanded an inquiry into his allegation about the money going to the prime minister’s riding, and Mendicino shrugged it off with some more talking points about the two panels.

Alexandre Boulerice appeared by video to lead for the NDP to worry about the state of hospitals, demanding the government act, somehow. Adam van Koeverden read a script about the federal government working with provinces. Charlie Angus demanded that the government end the underfunding of Indigenous children in care, and to end the court challenge, to which Patty Hajdu reminded him that they have put forward a record sum of money in partnership with First Nations leaders.

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QP: Careful hewing to prepared lines about national security

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The prime minister was in the Chamber for his usual Wednesday spot of proto-Prime Minister’s Questions, as were all of the other leaders, which hasn’t happened for a few weeks. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, and he once again returned to the Global News report that China had funnelled money to federal candidates in 2019, and wanted to know if the prime minister had gone back to CSIS to ask if there was any evidence to support such an allegation. Justin Trudeau said that he has to be very careful in answering questions about national security, and with a script in front of him, recited that Canada and its allies are regularly targeted by foreign states like China, including during election campaigns, and that his government had more steps than any other including creating an independent panel tasked with assessing the risk coming from foreign countries, and those panels confirmed that the electoral integrity was not compromised, and concluded with yes, he receives regular briefings. Poilievre switched to English, said it was interesting that he said he did get briefings, and repeated to know if he got one post Global News report on the allegations. Trudeau repeated his same response in English, word-for-word, but added at the end that all parties are briefed about elections. Poilievre said that wasn’t the question, and wanted a yes-or-no answer on a post-Global News briefing. Trudeau very slowly enunciated that in all of the briefings he received, there has never been any mention of candidates receiving money from China in either 2019 or 2021, and praised the panels once again. Poilievre wanted a yes-or-no answer on whether Trudeau asked for briefings after the Global News story, but Trudeau went on about how Poilievre, a former minister, knows the importance of respecting national security guidelines and that because Poilievre was the former minister for elevations integrity, he knows this, but also added that when Poilievre was minister, he did nothing about adding security against interference while the current government did. Poilievre was incredulous by the notion that Trudeau didn’t demand a briefing on the story, but moved on to ask if there was any electoral interference at all. Trudeau reminded him that Canada is regularly subject to some level of foreign interference, including from China, including during elections, which Poilievre would know when he was minister of elections, and noted that the two previous leaders did get briefings before, during and after the elections on foreign interference.

Yves-François Blanchet wondered at what point the interference goes from a little to a lot, and wondered about Chinese money flowing into Trudeau’s riding was interference or influence. Trudeau stated that rather than allowing partisan accusations to muddy the waters, they created a panel to precisely look at those issues in an objective and non-partisan manner. Blanchet was more specific about Chinese money flowing into Trudeau’s riding at a time a bank was trying to get approval, and Trudeau said that while the Bloc was trying to cast doubt on the integrity of our institutions, he could assure them they were not affected.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and in French, worried about an overloaded hospital in Quebec, and accused the prime minister of sitting on his hands, and demanded the government do more like they did in the pandemic. Trudeau reminded him that they have been working with the provinces. Singh switched to English to worry about Danielle Smith’s “Sovereignty Act” and that she would use it to undermine the Canada Health Act, which proves he doesn’t know what he was talking about because the whole gods damned point of the Act is to put conditions on federal dollars. Trudeau noted that he could understand why people were concerned, but he was going to focus on getting good results for Albertans.

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QP: We created two independent panels!

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Both the prime minister and his deputy were in the House together for the first QP in weeks, which is always nice to see. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, he asked if any public servants, security officials, or police inform the prime minister of Beijing’s alleged interference in elections. Justin Trudeau said that while security and police take foreign interference very seriously, he could assure Canadians that in the 2019 and 2021 elections, there was no foreign interference that could have changed any of the results in any significant way. Poilievre found the answer to be tricksy, and in English, wanted to know if there was any interference period. Trudeau pointed out that there is always some level of interference, be it cyber or disinformation, but they had assurances this was not an issue and that the elections were free and fair. Poilievre still was not satisfied, and asked again. Trudeau reiterated that they had the panel of top civil servants and national security who monitored both 2019 and 2021 and found no interference. Poilievre tried again, more slowly, if there were any briefings about alleged interference, period. Trudeau stated that he had no briefings, period, around foreign-funded candidates. Poilievre insisted this was a denial of an absurdity, and repeated yet again if he had any intelligence of any interference of any kind from Beijing during either election. Trudeau reiterated that the report from the non-partisan panel that there was no interference that impacted those elections.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the NDP, and raised that the RCMP was now investigating, and if democracy was at stake, the prime minister needed to know which alleged eleven candidates were in question. Trudeau repeated that all of the reports stated anything about any interference or funding directly or indirectly from China. Blanchet was not mollified and worried that Trudeau was somehow isolating China for the sake of grandstanding. Trudeau once again cited that China does try to interfere, which is why we work with allies to protect ourselves. 

Jagmeet Singh led for the NDP, and worried about conservative premiers trying to privatise healthcare, and demanded the prime minister do something about that. Trudeau noted that on some days the NDP demand he send more money to premiers and today he was telling them not to, but any future transfers would be subject to the Canada Health Act. Singh switched to French and sounded concern about Quebec hospitals in particular, and Trudeau reiterated that they were working with provinces to deliver “real results.”

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QP: Being happy-clappy about dental care

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While the PM was off at James Smith Cree Nation today, his deputy was present for the first time in a week. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, and he misquoted Tiff Macklem’s testimony at committee about the relationship between government deficits and inflation, and tried to wedge this into his facile narrative about blaming the government for it, and demanded the government reverse their deficits. Chrystia Freeland responded with the good news that this week, Canadians can start applying for the new dental claim benefit for children under twelve. Poilivre repeated his mendacious Macklem misquote and added in a quote from an insurance company that says they won’t accept heat pumps as primary sources of heat because they can’t be counted on to not freeze pipes, and demanded the government cancel their plan to “triple” the carbon price (which is not tripling). Freeland responded with her happy-clappy good news talking point about dental care, which was not the question, and then added in the country’s Aaa credit rating. Poilievre then worried about Canadians not being able to heat their homes in the winter and again demanded the government cancel the carbon price (which won’t do anything for affordability because the increases largely have to do with the world price of oil). Jonathan Wilkinson got up this time to note their affordability measures like doubling the GST credit, and pointed out that in spite of what the Conservatives say, the carbon price rebates benefit eight out of ten families and the Conservatives campaigned on a carbon price themselves. Poilievre then misquoted the PBO’s report on carbon prices, dropped his “triple, triple, triple” ear worm, and demanded the government cancel their planned carbon price increases. This time, Sean Fraser got up to declare that Poilievre’s questions were irrational, with his newfound opposition to heat pumps, when they are important to people who live in his part of the country, and pointed out that the cost of inaction is too great to ignore. Poilievre then pivoted to the recently announced Indo-Pacific Strategy, and a statement about challenging China for their abusive behaviours, and raised the wave of protests around that country, and he demanded that the government tell Beijing to let the protests go ahead. Maninder Sidhu got up to read a script about following the events closely, and that protesters should be able to do so peacefully.

Claude DeBellefeuille led for the Bloc, and she worried about the allegations of Chinese interference in the 2019 election, and in the absences of something more concrete from the government, wondered if the Global a news story was “fake news.” Marco Mendincino stood up to reminder her that they had an independent panel in both elections that declared that there was no interference. DeBellefeuille used this as an opportunity to make the case for a return to the per-vote subsidy as “protection” against this kind of interference, and this time Dominic LeBlanc got up to reiterate the same points.

Rachel Blaney for the NDP, and blamed Loblaws for rising food prices and demanded they pay their “fair share.” Freeland recited her well-worn talking points about corporations paying more in taxes, their Recovery Dividend, and their luxury taxes. Daniel Blaikie took over in French to repeat the same question, and Freeland recited the French version of her same talking points.

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Roundup: More Macklem misquotes

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I’m going to revisit more of Tiff Macklem’s appearance at the Commons finance committee, because things he said were being taken wildly out of context in Question Period yesterday, and we all have an obligation to call out egregious bullshit when we hear it. For example, when Macklem admits that stimulus may have been applied for too long, nobody knew if it was safe to withdraw it yet and they were operating on best guesses and advice from observers, and more to the point, the Bank was also engaged in forward guidance, and they needed  a cycle to wind that back before raising rates, otherwise they risked damaging their reputation as doing what they way they’re going to. This is a very important consideration for a central bank. As well, the questions about the level of spending during the height of the pandemic and whether that led to more inflationary stimulus ignores that it was impossible to better target supports like CERB because the government and its IT structure had no real ability to do that. That’s why the used the CRA’s system to kludge together CERB as quickly as they did—there wasn’t an ability to be more targeted (even though it was temporary). Trying to elicit quotes to blame the government for inflation is both cheap and intellectually dishonest, but that’s pretty much par for the course these days.

Meanwhile, former governor Stephen Poloz told an audience at Western that the economy is much more sensitive to interest rate hikes than it was ten years ago, so we should start seeing inflation start to fall shortly, but he also stated that it will only get part of the job done, so other policy action will be needed to get inflation back to its target zone. This said, Poloz also says that it’s impossible to say if rates were hiked too much over a short period, because as we should know by now, inflation can move about 18 months later than the rate changes happens, so stay tuned.

Ukraine Dispatch, Day 275:

As Russian bombing of critical infrastructure continue, people in Kyiv are collecting rainwater to survive, while Kherson is facing renewed attacks. Russia is openly admitting to these attacks now, claiming it’s about disrupting military command and control and stopping the flow of ammunition, never mind that they’re openly admitting to war crimes as they do.

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QP: Directly quoting selectively from the PBO

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The prime minister was present once again, while his deputy was busy testifying at the public inquiry. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, and he worried about deficits causing inflation (which they’re not), and demanded a course correction. Justin Trudeau reminded him that they were there for Canadians during the pandemic in order to ensure it was less severe than other places on the world, and that our economy bounced back faster, and insisted that the Conservatives only want to cut. Poilievre switched to English to denounce alleged comments from Seamus O’Regan, and demanded they cut the carbon price. Trudeau dismissed the concern as twisting the words of minister, and pointed to the PBO report on the carbon price and how it helps eight out of ten families. Poilievre picked up that report and cited several numbers out of context to “prove” his talking points. Trudeau, looking rather pleased, insisted that Poilievre did not look at the section about the rebates, and called him out about not caring about climate change. Poilievre insisted that the rebates were “tiny” and didn’t cover costs—and was called out by the Speaker for using the report as a prop—and Poilievre went on a tear about how the price is ineffective and hurts people. Trudeau disputed that the rebates were tiny, and noted the other benefits they have delivered, noting that Poilievre is only playing rhetorical games. Poilievre tried to bring up the cost of the hotel for the Queen’s funeral and insisted that the report proved that people are being hit hard. Trudeau countered that the report shows that the rebates compensate most families more than they pay, because fighting climate change is important while Poilievre only wants to nickel-and-dime them.

Alain Therrien led for the Bloc, and he returned to the alleged contradictions in the reports about the Xi Jinping confrontation and demanded a return to the per-vote subsidy to prevent foreign funding. Trudeau clapped back that the Bloc only want the subsidy because they can’t raise money on their own. Therrien was incensed, and insisted that China was exploiting this vulnerability, and Trudeau countered that political financing is robust and transparent, and pointed out that the media are invited to his fundraising events, and encouraged other parties to do the same.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and decried the crisis in emergency rooms and demanded the federal government show up. Trudeau took exception to the insinuation he doesn’t care about children, and pointed out that they have transferred billions to provinces and are sitting down with provinces. Singh switched to French to repeat the question and got the same response.

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