QP: Ridicule and non-sequiturs

Things were a bit more subdued in the House today as QP got underway, as Thomas Mulcair asked about a Conservative MP’s accusation that the Canadian Association of Retired Persons was a partisan organisation. Harper responded that his government was preserving pensions while still eliminating the deficit. Mulcair wondered if the Calgary Chamber of Commerce was next on the enemies list after their criticism of the foreign takeover review process, but Harper joked about how their ideological differences with the NDP were vast. For his final question, Mulcair asked when they would get clarification on the takeover rules, to which Harper said the decision was still with the minister. Jack Harris was up next, curious about that letter Harper sent Peter MacKay about the cuts to his department, but MacKay would only respond that under their watch, spending for defence had gone up every year. Ralph Goodale was up for the Liberals, asking about reciprocity agreements with foreign takeovers, but Harper responded with ridicule and the canard that there was no growth in trade with China under the Liberals, unlike his government. (Goodale later tweeted that under the Liberals two-way trade increased 669 percent, whereas it was only 77 percent under Harper). For his final question, Goodale asked about how they could enforce conditions with those takeovers, but Harper didn’t even bother trying to answer the question, and instead read a selective quote from this morning’s Supreme Court decision on Etobicoke Centre – a complete non-sequitur if there ever was one.

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QP: No plans to privatise

Lacklustre and listless – two words that could easily describe today’s Question Period. Harper was absent, which is not unusual for a Monday, and he’d just finished entertaining the Prime Minister of Jamaica before getting ready to head to Toronto to pay his respects to Lincoln Alexander, currently lying in State at the Ontario Legislature. Thomas Mulcair read off his first two questions, in French and English, about the rejection of the Petronas deal, to which Christian Paradis responded that he was not convinced that it would be of net benefit to Canada. And hey, at least it was Paradis responding and not a back-up PM du jour. Mulcair’s third question was about the rumours that the government wanted to privatise the CMHC, which Ted Menzies stood up to say that no, they had no plans to do so at this time. Peggy Nash then stood up and said “At. This. Time.” And then proceeded to read her two scripted questions on privatising the CMHC, where Menzies gave her the very same answer twice more. Bob Rae was up for the Liberals next, and first asked just what constituted “net benefit” with regards to the Petronas rejection, not that Paradis deviated from his message. Rae then asked about the Indian Act – the subject of his private member’s motion that was up for debate – and when the government would consult and head towards true equality with First Nations. John Duncan stood up and accused him of wanting more talk when the government was taking action. For his final question, Rae asked for a judicial inquiry in to the Jeffrey Delisle spy case, to which Peter MacKay told him that the issue was still before the courts.

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Roundup: Omnibus Budget Bill 2: The Revenge

Yesterday, the government tabled Omnibus Budget Bill 2: The Revenge, and it’s largely tax code changes, along with changes to the Navigable Waters Act (which some call the erosion of those protections), and the bit about MP pensions. Predictably, the opposition is complaining about the size of it – which is their right. But I would also suggest that rather than complain about it day in and day out, they beat the government at its own game and come up with technical critiques, breaking it up by topic among the caucus. It won’t happen, but it would be an interesting tactic that they never employed the last time around.

The tale of Peter Penashue and the federal election in Labrador gets more and more interesting. First the government said it was a “rookie mistake” – err, except the appointed the official agent based on his great business experience, and Penashue stood for office in several Innu elections previous, so he wasn’t a rookie. The Liberal whom he defeated is out-and-out calling Penashue a cheater. And then, we find out that two of the polling stations were closed on election day because an Elections Canada employee drove off with the ballot boxes – mere “hiccups” the agency says. But with the vote so close – 79 votes separating them – perhaps we may see this result overturned as well.

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QP: Rejecting calls to split the bill

With Omnibus Budget Bill 2: The Revenge now tabled, Thomas Mulcair was up first to read out a trio of questions that demanded it be split up – not that Harper really cared, preferring instead to recite some careful lines about “Jobs!” and “Growth!” Malcolm Allen followed up with questions about the problems at XL Foods turned up by routine USFDA audits, but Ritz responded with a call to pass Bill S-11 without haste. Bob Rae was up for the Liberals, asking that the portion of the omnibus bill dealing with MP pensions be split out and its passage hastened – but Harper countered with a demand that they pass the entire bill in short order. For his final question, Rae asked if Ritz himself knew about those USFDA audit results, but Harper insisted that the CFIA took action when they had information.

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Roundup: Another embattled minister

It looks like Intergovernmental Affairs minister Peter Penashue overspent his campaign limit by some $20,000. Seeing that he won by a mere 79 votes, this could be a Very Big Deal. The problem? The penalty for overspending is a fine of $1000, and maybe three months in jail, which would more likely be served by the official agent, it appears. Add to that the number of people chalking this up with the other incidents in the last election with illegitimate robo-calls or the various irregularities in Etobicoke Centre that led to the Supreme Court challenge. We’ll have to see if Penashue faces any real consequences for the overspending, and if he doesn’t, what kind of precedence that creates.

Omnibus Budget Bill the Second is being tabled and is likely to begin debate on Friday. Jim Flaherty says there will be no surprises (likely a lot of tax code changes) and yes, it will have MP pensions. And please, for the love of all the gods on Olympus, don’t resurrect the inaccurate talking point about the previous bill being a “Trojan Horse” because it was not. If it was a Trojan Horse, you wouldn’t have been able to read the provisions within the bill, but since they were all in the text, well, it’s time to find a different metaphor.

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QP: Crown prerogatives and non-binding votes

It was all hands on deck for QP today, but as Wednesday is caucus day, this is usually the day when nearly everybody is in attendance. Thomas Mulcair was up first, and read off a trio of questions regarding why Gerry Ritz hasn’t taken responsibility for the tainted meat issue, and Harper repeated that CFIA is the responsible authority, since they conduct the inspections. Mulcair then switched topics for the final two questions, asking about that handful of troops over in Afghanistan in combat operations as part of officer exchange programmes. Mulcair wanted them withdrawn immediately because of that non-binding vote in the Commons – never mind that matters of national defence are a Crown prerogative and that the vote was non-binding and really only useful to Harper as a smokescreen for when thins got difficult during the mission, and it allowed him to fob off responsibility to the House rather than be accountable as he should be. Regardless, Harper wasn’t going to bite on this one, and reminded him that the exchange was for less than a dozen people, and it’s standard operating practice. Bob Rae was up next, and first asked about changing the incoming Bill S-11 so that it’s the Auditor General who audits CFIA and not the minister’s office, but Harper responded with bland assurances about how great our food inspection system is. Rae then turned to the issue of the revelations around Peter Penashue overspending during the election, declaring “rather than buying elections, why not a by-election?” Harper declared that the official agent responsible for the spending was no longer on the job, and that the Liberals fired a staffer who then later rehired – because non-sequiturs like that is great cover.

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