With Justin Trudeau and much of the cabinet off at an investor summit in Toronto, the front bench was full of seat warmers, but there were still 17 ministers present, which is okay for a Monday. Rona Ambrose led off, warning that the new Trump era will mean a carbon tax sets Canada up for failure. Dominic LeBlanc responded, saying they were looking to transition to a low-carbon future, and that the government looked forward to working with the new administration. Ambrose warned that while the Americans are our closest allies, they’re also our biggest competitors. LeBlanc noted the COP22 conference taking place right now, and that pricing pollution was good for our economy. Ambrose wondered about the future of the Keystone XL pipeline, at which LeBlanc said that it was the company that needed to reapply for a US permit, not the Canadian government. Ambrose demanded public support for the pipeline,\u00a0 but LeBlanc stuck to fairly anodyne talking points about working with the incoming administration. Ambrose then moved onto NAFTA and the uncertainty the PM created by saying he would renegotiate it. St\u00e9phane Dion said they looked forward to working with the US administration on a number of issues, including trade. While Thomas Mulcair was present, it was actually Jenny Kwan who led off for the NDP, demanding that mothers not be punished with CPP benefits changes. Jean-Yves Duclos said that the CPP changes were important, and that he was glad to see that they had other points of view to further improve the CPP. Brigitte Sansoucy asked the same in French, got the same answer, before Tracey Ramsay asked about the TPP, softwood lumber, and NAFTA renegotiation. Dion said that they were still consulting on the TPP, and when Karine Trudel asked the same in French, she got the same answer.<\/p>\n
Round two, and G\u00e9rard Deltell railed about the lack of a softwood lumber deal (Lametti: The Minister is working hard with her counterparts) and the lack of action for farmers (MacAulay: We indicated what we were doing for dairy farmers last week), Pierre Poilievre declared that President Trump would love a Canadian carbon tax as it would mean jobs moving to that country (Wilkinson: We look forward to working with the new administration),and David Anderson railed about a carbon tax impacting farmers (MacAulay: Provinces can decide how to design a carbon pricing system). Ruth Ellen Brosseau railed about the dairy compensation package (MacAulay: We consulted and listened and that’s why we came up with this package), and Rachel Blaney decried public infrastructure being “sold off” to private investors (Rodriguez: We are creating the largest infrastructure programme in Canadian history). Mark Strahl demanded action on Keystone XL (Rudd: We will continue to work with our continental partners), and John Barlow demanded more pipelines be approved (Rudd: We need to restore trust in the way these projects are approved). H\u00e9l\u00e8ne Laverdi\u00e8re asked about weapons sales blocked to Thailand but not Saudi Arabia (Dion: We use rigour in all cases), and Sheila Malcolmson worried about the future of the Paris Agreement (Wilkinson: The minster is in Marrakesh right now and we are committed to fighting climate change).<\/p>\n
\nMark Strahl's question is so overwrought that it needs a fainting couch to go with it. #QP<\/a><\/p>\n
— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) November 14, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n