Tag Archives: Official Languages

QP: The overwrought demands for a gas tax holiday

Posted on by

The prime minister was in town but otherwise engaged, while his deputy was present for QP today. Most of the other leaders were present, and Pierre Poilievre led off in French, and recited a bunch of abject nonsense about the Bloc supporting the government, and wondered why the government didn’t formalise their supposed “coalition.” Chrystia Freeland noted that Quebeckers believe in a lot of things the government does, such as child care, and the that the Conservatives only want to cut, cut, cut. Poilievre said that he would cut taxes, and went on another rant about the Bloc. Freeland responded talking about social solidarity, and raising the rate of capital gains. Poielivre switched to English to take a swipe at the out-of-context comments by Mark Holland on Friday, and wondered if he would also call out his leader for taking his so-called “private jet” (which is not a private jet, it’s the Canadian military’s plane). Holland says that he was mistaken on the math, that it wasn’t 37,000 kilometres, but 44,000 kilometres to meet the supposed savings the Conservatives promised, and that they were meeting the existential challenge of climate change unlike the Conservatives. Poilievre dismissed this as “whacko math,” and decried the government’s climate plans before demanding the gas tax holiday. Steven Guilbeault repeated the point about the Conservatives’ math, which meant that a person could drive from the North Pole to the South Pole and back, and have kilometres remaining. Poilievre again dismissed this and demanded people get their gas tax holiday from the “miserable economy.” Guilbeault replied with another example of how far someone would have to drive to achieve the supposed savings the Conservatives claim.

Alain Therrien led for the Bloc, and decried another Liberal MP’s comments on bilingualism, to which Pablo Rodriguez pointing out that the Bloc keeps voting against language funding. Therrien continued on his tear about the Liberals disrespecting French, and Rodriguez dismissed it as a ridicule question.

Leah Gazan rose for the NDP, and decried the lack of progress on the MMIW report, and Gary Anandasangaree read some anodyne talking points about systemic racism, and that they tabled their progress report today. Heather MacPherson went on a rant about the Liberals not doing enough to stop the war in Gaza. Mélanie Joly agreed the situation was catastrophic, which is why Canada supports the Biden plan.

Continue reading →

QP: Blaming federal dollars for permit delays

Posted on by

Both the prime minister and his deputy were present today, as were all of the other leaders. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, and worried that the time to get a permit in a Montreal has doubled, blaming the prime minister for it. Justin Trudeau read an attack script about how terrible Poilievre’s housing “plan” terrible was. Poilievre insisted that the built all kinds of housing when he was “minister,” taking credit for all builds that happened during that period, and for rent being cheaper then. Trudeau pointed to how the Conservatives withdrew from affordable housing and co-op funding. Poilievre switched to English to worry about rents rising in Toronto and how the city there raised development charges, and wondered why he was spending money on bureaucracy. Trudeau repeated his attack script on Poilievre’s bill in English. Poilievre repeated his false claim about how many units he ostensibly built, and Trudeau repeated the line about the Conservatives withdrawing from affordable housing and co-ops. Poilievre worried about the rise in homeless encampments, and Trudeau listed the measures they are taking to help combat homelessness. 

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and worried about the NSIRA report on foreign interference and the worry therein that certain briefings may not have been read. Trudeau read a line about the challenges of foreign interference. Blanchet called this unacceptable, before demanding more cooperation with the Hogue Commission in turning over documents, and Trudeau insisted that they have shared more documents than ever before, and that they were transparent. 

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and demanded the federal government build a hospital in Moose Factory near James Bay, to which Trudeau insisted that they were working with the province and First Nations in order to make it happen. Singh switched to French to accuse the Liberals of abandoning Montreal, and Trudeau dismissed this as rubbish, and listing all of the things they have done for the city.

Continue reading →

QP: Concern trolling about homelessness and food insecurity

Posted on by

The prime minister was off in Toronto, having taken part in the WNBA expansion announcement, and his deputy was at a finance ministers’ conference, while most of the other leaders were also absent. Pierre Poilievre led off, and blamed government spending on homelessness and food insecurity, with Bloc complicity. Soraya Martinez Ferrada considered the question hypocritical because the Conservatives voted against housing programmes. Poilievre insisted that government programmes to eliminate homelessness have doubled the problem, and again blamed the Bloc, and trotted out his “feeding obese government” line because apparently he thinks that plays well on the socials. Martinez Ferrada repeated that the question was hypocritical because they voted against the school food programme. Poilievre switched to English to repeat his first question, minus the swipes at the Bloc, and this time called it a “morbidly obese government.” Anita Anand said that they would take no lessons from the Conservatives because they voted against all of their programmes to help people. Poilievre insisted that those government programmes were what doubled housing or homelessness, and Anand insisted that they have focused on keeping inflation lower while helping people, but did nothing to call out the absolute lack of coherence in the question. Poilievre gave a slow, incredulous recitation of how many homeless encampments had cropped up. Mark a Holland pointed out that when Poilievre was minster responsible for housing (sort of), there were more people living in poverty and without housing, and shamed them for promising to cut things like dental care.

Alain Therrien led for the Bloc, and claimed that the Hogue Commission complained about withheld documents (she didn’t really), and railed about government secrecy. Dominic LeBlanc said that they had committed to share Cabinet information, and were available to work with the Commission to have access to all “appropriate” documents. Therrien railed that if the Commission doesn’t have all information, that Quebeckers would lose confidence in the process. LeBlanc repeated that they are committed to sharing all necessary information. 

Alexandre Boulerice rose for the NDP, and he railed about the serious problem about the St. Lawrence river and that it needed its own rights to protect its biodiversity. Steven Guilbeault pointed out that when they took power, there were no protections for any waterways, and now they were at fifteen percent, with twenty percent reached by next year. Laurel Collins took over in English to complain about a BC watershed fund. Jonathan Wilkinson did acknowledge the wildfires, and pointed out the measures they are taking, and took a shot at the Conservatives’ climate plan being to let the planet burn.

Continue reading →

QP: Sophistry on the carbon levy

Posted on by

Fresh from his trip to Philadelphia, the prime minister was present for QP today, while his deputy was off to Toronto. All of the other leaders were present, and Pierre Poilievre led off in French, and blamed the prime minister and the Bloc for debt, taxes and inflation, and raise a Food Banks of Canada report that cites half of people saying they are in worse situations than before, with more use by young people, and blamed the prime minister of feeding the “obese government” when people can’t feed themselves. Justin Trudeau said Poilievre’s outrage would be more credible if he didn’t oppose things like their school food programme, and praised dental care. Poilievre said that the school food programme has created zero meals and only created red tape. Trudeau said that the Conservatives are trying to score points on the backs of the challenges Canadians are facing, and patted himself on the back some more for their programmes. Poilievre switched to English to repeat his food bank report/“obese government” lines, and Trudeau repeated that Poilievre lacked credibility for voting against school food and things like dental care. Poilievre wondered aloud if the government’s programmes were working, why so many people we lined up at food banks. Trudeau said that he vote on the school food programme was coming up after QP, and Poilievre would have a chance to show his support. Poilievre wondered why all of those government programmes were showing for naught, and Trudeau sang the praises of dental care and seniors getting the help they need.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, worried about the decline of French in Western Canada, and turned this into another swipe at Francis Drouin and his outburst at committee. Trudeau said that the Bloc don’t really care about francophones outside of Quebec, and disputed that the only way to protect French is with separation, but by investing. Blanchet railed that he wasn’t allowed to talk about French outside of Quebec during the last English debate in the election, and Trudeau shot back that he always defends the French fact in Canada.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and railed about greedy CEOs, and how the government hasn’t lowered prices (which is not what anyone promised), to which Trudeau cited the StatsCan data showing cellphone fees decreasing, and praised their bill empowering the Competition Bureau. Singh repeated the question in French, and got much the same response. 

Continue reading →

QP: Gas tax holidays and make-up jabs

Posted on by

For Monday-on-a-Tuesday QP, the prime minister was off in Philadelphia, but his deputy was present, as were most of the other leaders. Pierre Poilievre led off in French, rattled off some slogans, and accused the Bloc and government of scheming to raise gas taxes when other countries have cut their taxes, and mentioned his demand to cut fuel taxes over the summer. Chrystia Freeland said that she was glad he raised inflation because it allows her to mention this morning’s inflation figures, which showed another decrease thanks to their responsible management. Poilievre switched to English to insist that the government shouldn’t pat themselves on the back because inflation is still 35 percent above target, and repeats the demand to cut gas taxes. Freeland noted that he doesn’t even know that the target is between one and three percent. Poilievre returned to French to insist the target was two percent, and then lambasted the government for not locking in longer-term treasury bonds, meaning higher government interest payments. Freeland insisted he was incompetent, and Poilievre returned to English to call her incompetent, and repeat his lines about treasury bonds. Freeland suggested he was grouchy because he doesn’t like that inflation is at a three-year low. Poilievre switched to a demand to support their motion on banning all hard drugs for all times. Freeland pointed out that Poilievre was wearing more make-up than she was—got a warning from the Speaker—and after withdrawing the remark pointed out that Poilievre was phoney to the core, and that he didn’t really care about the economy or people dying from opioids, but only wants to score partisan points.

Christine Normandin led for the Bloc, and lamented a lack of government interest in the Francophonie. Freeland says that the situation of French in Quebec is not a joke, and they are taking it seriously. Normandin took a swipe at Francis Drouin and the Liberals sticking by him, and Freeland repeated her statement of support for the French language. 

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, raised the pending arrest International a criminal Court warrants for senior Hamas and Israeli officials and demanded to know if the government would support it. Freeland said that they respect the independence of the ICC, condemn Hamas, and doesn’t believe you can draw an equivalence of Hamas’ actions with Israel’s. Singh insisted that it wasn’t the question, and repeated it in French, but got the same answer.

Continue reading →

Roundup: Fix nominations how?

Posted on by

Over in the Globe and Mail, Andrew Coyne points to Hogue Report’s comments on party nomination races as a possible vector for foreign interference, and declares that they need to be cleaned up, but declines to say how. He disputes that parties are entirely private clubs, because “Their sole purpose is to seek and wield coercive power over the rest of us. How they go about it is therefore a matter of vital public concern, and regulation in the public interest – at the least, transparency – is entirely justified.”

But how exactly does one propose to do that? Involve Elections Canada with all internal deliberations of these parties, whether it’s a nomination contest, leadership race, or policy convention? While I get the temptation, we have to ask ourselves if any of this is practical, not only because when an election happens, there are a tonne of last-minute nomination meetings, but there are hundreds of registered political parties. Should they only concern themselves with parties that have seats in the Commons? Would they create disparate sets of rules for the big four parties than any others? Could they get away with that in the courts? I’m not sold that this is a solution because it would involve a massive expansion of their powers and bureaucracy, and because they are ultimately reporting to an Independent Officer of Parliament who has no real accountability, the potential for abuse if enormous.

This isn’t to say that things don’t need to change, because they do, but it’s not exactly something that external monitors can fix. In fact, the solution on its face is much less mysterious than it might sound, but it goes back to the original sin of Canadian politics—the decision to remove leadership selection from the caucus to the party membership. Restore this to caucus selection, and you can start separating the parliamentary and constituency party powers again, so that the parliamentary party leader can’t exert outsized influence on the nomination races, and the constituency party is motivated to keep a closer eye on the nomination races, particularly because that’s their job rather than the parliamentary leader trying to stuff the races with its parachute or hand-picked candidates. I would also note that the number of races that would be vulnerable to foreign interference is actually very small, given that you’re not going be able to find diasporic communities in most rural ridings, so again, we should beware what we’re talking about here. I think we need to better appreciate the scope of the problem, and ensure that the right incentives are there for the parties to clean up their own messes rather than involving Elections Canada.

Ukraine Dispatch:

Russian infantry has been trying to breach local defences in the Kharkiv region, but so far, Ukraine has been holding them off. Ukraine is due to start receiving their first F-16s by summer.

Continue reading →

QP: Going hard for March for Life day

Posted on by

Despite being in town, the prime minister was not in QP today, though his deputy was, fresh from an appearance at committee. All of the other leaders were also absent, leaving Andrew Scheer to lead off in English, reciting a couple of slogans before giving some ignorant talking points about government spending, inflation, and interest rates, which had as much credibility as a crypto bro video on YouTube. Chrystia Freeland said that as it was her first opportunity to speak in the House today, she wanted to raise a grave threat—Pierre Poilievre saying that he wants to tear up Charter Rights, and that today, the so-called “March for Life” on the Hill, Conservative MPs were outside attacking a women’s right to choose, and that this proves Conservatives would attack the rights of every woman in Canada. Scheer insisted that she was trying to deflect, and cited a Desjardins report about a national measure, and demanded she “cut up the government credit card.” Freeland said that the Conservatives were upset because people are starting to see them flirt with white supremacists and threatening to tear up the Charter. Scheer insisted that they would take no lessons, because the government was trying to control the internet, before raising Mark Carney’s testimony at a Senate committee yesterday, capped off by reciting slogans. Freeland went on a paean about the rights of women to control their own body, and invited the Conservatives to affirm this right. Gérard Deltell took over in a French, and raised that July 1st is “moving day” in Quebec, and demanded to know what the government is doing about rent (which is provincial jurisdiction). Freeland went on a Quebec-specific paean about women’s rights to bodily autonomy. Deltell insisted that all Quebec women and everyone else in the country was suffering from the government’s so-called “inflationary policies.” Freeland once again insisted that women have a right to control their own body, and that there were Conservatives outside at the anti-abortion rally.

Alain Therrien led for the Bloc to again return to the non-issue of Francis Drouin’s outburst at committee and demanded he resign from his Francophonie role. Freeland raised the Bloc for standing up for women’s rights before noting their support for the French language. Therrien repeated his demand, and Freeland repeated her praise for their investments in French.

Alexandre Boulerice railed about grocery CEO profits, and accused the government of a sweet deal with then. Freeland praised their changes to competition law as an important step. Alistair MacGregor repeated the same in English, and Freeland this time praised their plan to make those at the top pay a little more with the capital changes, before repeating the point about competition reform.

Continue reading →

QP: Back-patting on the global fiscal position

Posted on by

The prime minister was present for proto-PMQ day, though his deputy was not. All of the other leaders were in the Chamber, and Pierre Poilievre led off in French, recited his slogans, and turned that into a question about rent in Montreal, blaming it on so-called “inflationary policies.” Trudeau suggested that Poilievre share facts instead of disinformation to stoke anxiety, and praised their international fiscal position. Poilievre mocked the notion that he is spreading disinformation, and continued his rant about rent. Trudeau again repeated their strong fiscal position, and how they were using that position to help families. Poilievre switched to English to repeat his slogans and cherry-pick a few down economic statistics, to which Trudeau again praised using their strong fiscal position to help people when they need it. Poilievre accused him of spending the most to achieve the worst, and Trudeau dismissed this as coming from a former “housing minister” who didn’t believe in investing in housing, before touting what the government is investing in. Poilievre padded his record as minster, and again cherry-picked certain statistics. Trudeau asked if they should be investing in Canadians,or cutting their services.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, mentioned the controversy of Francis Drouin’s comments at committee, before worrying about funding of French-language universities. Trudeau noted that Drouin apologised before pointing out that the Bloc don’t care about French outside of Quebec. Blanchet took another swipe at Drouin, and Trudeau said this was the Bloc attacking Franco-Ontarians.

Jagmeet Singh rose for the NDP, and with a hoarse voice, accused the government of giving “big grocery” a free ride, and demanded they do something. Trudeau took up a script to praise their competition reforms, the grocery code of conduct, and the school food programme. Singh repeated the question in French, and got the same response in French.

Continue reading →

Roundup: MPs lacking a moral compass make up bizarre accusations

Posted on by

When it comes to the absolute moral decline of MPs in the current Parliament, we’ve found a good candidate who exemplifies this in the form of Conservative MP Brad Redekopp, who put out an absolutely batshit crazy video a few days ago that literally blames Justin Trudeau and his supposed “soft on crime” policies for the murders that happened in Saskatoon so far this year. Columnist Phil Tank points to all of the ways that this accusation is batshit insanity by looking at the circumstances of each of these murders, and you really can’t connect them to any of Trudeau’s policies, but that won’t stop Redekopp from not only making these accusations, but defending them in the face of Tank’s column.

The accusations against the so-called “attack” against him (because heaven forfend, we hold him to account for his batshit insane conduct) as being from an “extremist left-wing agenda,” and that both the columnist and Justin Trudeau want to hand out free drugs. I would laugh at how absolutely childish this thin-skinned retaliation is if this wasn’t a gods damned elected official who should not only know better, but should have the ability to take criticism, and to behave in a manner that is somewhat dignified as befits his office.

But it’s more than that—it’s the fact that he feels like he can get away with outright lying (and lying to such batshit insane lengths) because he feels no sense of shame or moral compass that says “Maybe you shouldn’t lie or make up batshit insane accusations and stick to some facts in the face of tragic circumstances.” But he doesn’t, and that is perhaps most concerning out of all of this.

Ukraine Dispatch:

Russian strikes have damaged several power generation plants in a fresh round of targeting them. Ukrainian artillery forces need to fire and then quickly hide their platforms from Russian drones. Ukrainian intelligence says that they thwarted (another) attempt on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s life.

https://twitter.com/rustem_umerov/status/1787917915460649244

Continue reading →

QP: The “refusing to rule out” ploy

Posted on by

On a bright and sunny Tuesday in the nation’s capital, both the prime minister and his deputy were present for QP, as were most of the other leaders (some of whom stated they would be here but were not). Pierre Poilievre led off in French, and he worried that the city of Montreal has requested the “legalization of hard drugs” in their communities, and wanted an admission that what happened in BC was a “deadly mistake,” lest the prime minister repeat the same problem. Trudeau reminded him that they are working with BC on modifying their project, and that they are working only with provinces, and no other requests have been made. Poilievre switched to a English to ask if the prime minster supports decriminalisation for using drugs in parks, hospitals or public transit, and Trudeau repeated his answer. Poilievre pointed out that Trudeau refused to answer his question, and suspected it means he wants to impose the same “radical” policy elsewhere. Trudeau said that nobody supports that, but that Poilievre was trying to use tragedies to score political points, and took a jab at Poilievre for willing to suspend Charter rights if he feels it suits him. Poilievre accused the prime minister of secretly planning to impose “legalisation” on Toronto, and Trudeau reminded him that they will only with with provinces, not the municipalities directly. Poilievre said that Trudeau was not ruling out future extensions, which was obviously ridiculous, before he accused the prime minister of killing more people in the meantime. Trudeau said that they only took three days to approve BC’s completed request, and that the opposition was only scoring cheap points.

Yves-François Blanchet led for the Bloc, and accused the government of threatening French, to which Trudeau gave a paean about defending the French language and language minorities around the country, while the Bloc was just picking fights. Blanchet raised comments by an MP about “extremists,” and Trudeau said that they stand for protecting French across the country. 

Peter Julian rose for the NDP in French, and took swipes at Conservatives for not supporting pharmacare legislation, and exhorted the government to support them in passing it (which is dumb, because it’s the government who needs their support as it’s government legislation). Trudeau thanked the NDP for their support, and said that the Conservatives were against it because their anti-choice members opposed contraception. Leah Gazan took the question in English, with more of an emphasis on birth control instead of diabetes, and Trudeau repeated his same response. 

Continue reading →