The drinking game of the day could have been \u201cWe learned today in the Auditor General\u2019s report\u2026\u201d Because for about the first half of QP, nearly every question was prefaced by that statement. Thomas Mulcair started off by reading off a question about cyber-security from the report, who which Harper insisted the report said that they were making progress, and then a pair of questions on the hidden costs of cuts to OAS, which Harper insisted was a misnomer because there were not cuts \u2013 just changes coming down the road. Peggy Nash asked a pair of questions about changes to the labour code, to which Tony Clement first gave a bland non-answer about respecting taxpayers and fair changes, before Lisa Raitt answered the supplemental about how these changes gave clear deadlines for payments for employees where they didn\u2019t exist previously. Bob Rae was then up, asking a pair of questions relating to the AG\u2019s report, wondering why our Cyber-security response centre couldn\u2019t be staffed 24\/7, to which Harper insisted that they were making investments in cyber-security and had accepted the Auditor General\u2019s recommendations. For his final question, Rae asked about the Correctional Investigator\u2019s report on the skyrocketing number of aboriginal women in prisons, but Harper\u2019s response wasn\u2019t terribly edifying.<\/p>\n
Round two started off with Linda Duncan and Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe asking about the AG\u2019s comments on long-term fiscal sustainability (Flaherty: We\u2019ve accepted the recommendations and are working with him), Rosane Dor\u00e9 Lefebre and Randall Garrison asked again about the cyber-security threats (Toews: We\u2019ve taken action and continue to enhance our programme), Jack Harris asked about the AG\u2019s report on complex veterans services paperwork before he and Christine Moore both asked about the reports of the treatment a soldier with PTSD received by the department (MacKay: This was recently brought to my attention and I\u2019ve asked the department to look into it), and then Moore and Matthew Kellway asked about the reports that the Canadian Forces hadn\u2019t been asked to look at any other options than the F-35s (Ambrose: There is an options analysis taking place). Judy Sgro returned to the issue of the AG\u2019s findings on veterans (Blaney: We\u2019re launching a Transition Action Plan\u2122!), St\u00e9phane Dion warned that the Canada-China FIPA may be unconstitutional (Fast: That professor is wrong), while Wayne Easter worried that said FIPA gave an unlimited liability to the federal government (Fast: You had four opportunities to debate this treaty and didn\u2019t). Megan Leslie wondered about what the changes to the Navigable Waters Act would mean about a plan for diverting the Muskeg River (Lebel: This Act is about navigation and transport, not the environment), and Alexandre Boulerice and Charlie Angus asked about the Lobbying Commissioner\u2019s report on Julie Couillard\u2019s activities (Clement: There are issues of privacy, and there are rules around the registry).<\/p>\n
Round three saw questions on the Petronas rejection \u2013 Peter Julian suggesting that they change the rules mid-decision as though that wouldn\u2019t land in a court challenge, the XL Foods plant being sold, keeping Parliament in the dark over national security issues, whether there would be sanctions for Russia following the Delisle spy case (Baird: I will let them know our displeasure in no uncertain terms), a sole-source contract regarding embassies (Baird: There are guideline exceptions in cases of urgency), training food inspectors, a rusting bridge in Quebec City, and more on the Canada-China FIPA.<\/p>\n
Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to James Bezan<\/a> for a brown suit with a whit shirt and a grey checked tie and pocket square, and to Judy Foote<\/a> for a dress with descending red, black, and grey panels. Style citations go out to Cathy McLeod<\/a> for a black turtleneck with a bright red jacket, and to Mike Sullivan<\/a> for a fluorescent blue shirt with a black suit. Dishonourable mention goes to Anne Minh-Thu Quach<\/a> for a mustard jacket with a black top and skirt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The drinking game of the day could have been \u201cWe learned today in the Auditor General\u2019s report\u2026\u201d Because for about the first half of QP, nearly every question was prefaced by that statement. Thomas Mulcair started off by reading off … Continue reading