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Wednesday, February 6, 2019 · sitting No. 379

Liberals move time allocation on divorce act overhaul

Liberal House leader Bardish Chagger moved a time allocation motion to limit debate on Bill C-78 at third reading to one further sitting day. The bill amends the Divorce Act, the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act and related legislation. Conservative MP Michael Cooper said the move broke a Liberal promise that all voices would be heard, while minister David Lametti defended the step as necessary for a bill already 20 years overdue.

In Question Period, Conservative leader Andrew Scheer pressed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on his remark that low-income Canadians do not benefit from tax breaks because they do not pay taxes. Trudeau replied that Conservatives had favoured the wealthy while his government had cut taxes for the middle class and introduced the Canada child benefit.

New Democrat MP Guy Caron questioned the government's approach to pharmacare, warning that Ottawa was leaning toward a public-private patchwork rather than a universal public plan. Trudeau said an expert panel had been created to study the best path forward.

Decided that day

  • Time allocation for Bill C-78 passed
  • Opposition motion for single tax return in Quebec failed

From the Hansard record of the sitting. Full Hansard

No CPAC Question Period upload is on file for this day. CPAC’s channel goes back to December 2019.

Who held the floor · 2019-02-06

Government (Liberal)OppositionOver the day: government 48%, opposition 52% of the words spokenQuestion PeriodRoutine proceedingsGovernment business▲ Government side held the floor▼ Opposition held the floorOpened 14:0515:0016:0017:0018:00Last speech 19:20Time of day, Ottawa · the House sat 5 h 15 min · each dot is a stretch of debate, placed at the minute it began
61Bills Creep Forward, Answers Mostly SidesteppedThe sitting devoted most time to taxation and Divorce Act changes, advancing three bills through early stages while approving time allocation. Eight points of order, frequent question deflection, and a failed opposition motion kept the tone argumentative.AI-rated Score out of 100; the verdict and the answer ratings behind it are a model’s reading. How the AI rates this

AI-rated The sitting score and the rating of each answer come from a language model reading Hansard. How the AI rates this

Other moments

Indigenous Affairs

NDP MP Niki Ashton told the Prime Minister that 85 per cent of First Nations in Manitoba report mould in their homes and asked whether the government would move from talk to action on the housing crisis.

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Point of Order

Conservative MP Luc Berthold apologized in the House for remarks that had offended the Minister of National Revenue and francophone colleagues, saying the comments did not reflect his views on the right to speak French.

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Resignation of Member

Liberal MP Scott Brison announced that February 10 would be his last day as member for Kings—Hants after 22 years in the House.

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Criminal Code

Conservative MP Michael Cooper spoke in support of his private member's bill C-417, which would allow jurors to discuss their experiences with mental health professionals after a trial.

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Question Period, exchange by exchange

AI-rated Each answer’s rating (answered, partly answered, deflected, answered something else) is a model’s reading of the exchange. How the AI rates this

  1. deflected
    TaxationAndrew Scheer (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.Question traps PM on a selective quote without engaging policy substance; answer attacks Conservatives instead of addressing taxes paid by low-income Canadians.from the beginning, the Conservatives have always given advantages and benefits to the wealthy and made the rest of Canadians pay more.
  2. deflected
    TaxationAndrew Scheer (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.Repeated loaded framing of quote; answer again pivots to Harper record and opposition votes without addressing the tax question.for 10 years under Stephen Harper, the Conservatives put forward an economic plan that gives advantages and benefits to the wealthiest 1% while neglecting to help low-income Canadians who actually need that help.
  3. misdirected
    TaxationAndrew Scheer (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.Question escalates with personal attacks on PM's wealth; answer counters with opposition voting record and accusations of misleading rather than clarifying the original statement.we know the Conservatives like to mislead the House, but it is blatant in that they actually did vote against the guaranteed income supplement increase for our most vulnerable single seniors.
  4. partly answered
    TaxationAndrew Scheer (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.Question continues personal attacks and lists credits; answer directly explains non-refundable credits do not help lowest-income but still attacks Conservatives.non-refundable tax credits do not help the lowest-income Canadians who need it the most.
  5. misdirected
    TaxationAndrew Scheer (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.Question attacks PM's personal background and tax understanding; answer shifts to defending his choices and service record instead of engaging tax policy.The choice I made was to serve, to serve as a high school teacher, to serve as the member of Parliament for Papineau and now to serve Canadians as Prime Minister
  6. answered
    PharmacareMr. Guy Caron (NDP) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.Question challenges Liberal pharmacare approach with specific criticisms; answer directly states creation of expert panel to study options.That is why we created an expert panel to make recommendations.
  7. partly answered
    PharmacareMr. Guy Caron (NDP) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.Question presses for universal public system with cost figures; answer cites existing savings and reforms but avoids committing to universal model.we are moving forward with concrete measures to make drugs more affordable for Canadians.
  8. partly answered
    PharmacareMr. Don Davies (NDP) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.Question demands universal public pharmacare in final budget; answer affirms commitment to pharmacare via expert panel without promising full universal coverage.we are committed to moving forward on pharmacare but moving forward in the right way.
  9. partly answered
    PharmacareMr. Don Davies (NDP) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer discusses an expert panel and some savings measures but does not address why the current system is being pursued.we have not yet determined the best path forward.
  10. deflected
    TaxationMr. Alain Rayes (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer attacks the previous government's record instead of acknowledging current tax levels for low-income Canadians.the previous Conservative government was fond of using tax credits to help the rich, as always, but it did nothing to help low-income families.
  11. deflected
    TaxationMr. Alain Rayes (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer shifts to public transit investments and average gains rather than addressing whether taxes have risen.Canadians have $2,000 more on average with our approach than with that of the Conservatives.
  12. deflected
    TaxationLisa Raitt (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer focuses on the Conservatives' voting record instead of addressing the Prime Minister's statement on low-income taxes.it seems like the Conservatives do not want to stand by their own voting record, where they voted against the Canada child benefit
  13. deflected
    TaxationLisa Raitt (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer pivots to the Canada workers benefit and EI changes without addressing the specific tax statement or example given.I am pleased to have this opportunity to talk about the Canada workers benefit that goes directly to low-income workers
  14. deflected
    TaxationMr. Gérard Deltell (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer highlights small business tax cuts and student grants instead of responding to the insult claim or the tax statement.small and medium-sized businesses are very pleased that we lowered their tax rate to 9%, which is the lowest rate in the OECD.
  15. deflected
    TaxationMr. Gérard Deltell (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer criticizes Conservative policies rather than addressing the request for an apology on the tax statement.the Conservatives are so transparent.
  16. partly answered
    PharmacareMs. Brigitte Sansoucy (NDP) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer notes existing investments and the pending expert report but does not specify a timeline for pharmacare implementation.That is why we are waiting for the expert report before moving forward.
  17. partly answered
    PharmacareMr. Pierre-Luc Dusseault (NDP) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.Lists some pharmacare-related actions but does not address why another report is needed or commit to immediate action.we have joined the pan-Canadian pharmaceutical alliance, helping Canadians save $1 billion a year.
  18. deflected
    TaxationMr. Mark Strahl (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.Avoids the tax amount question entirely by shifting focus to government investments and attacking the opposition.once again, while we remain focused on Canadians, the Conservatives want to focus on me.
  19. deflected
    TaxationMr. Mark Strahl (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.Ignores the specific tax loophole question and pivots to past tax policy changes and opposition criticism.The very first thing we did was lower taxes on the middle class and raise them on the wealthiest one per cent, which the Conservatives voted against.
  20. deflected
    TaxationPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.Refuses to answer the tax savings question and instead criticizes Conservative policy on benefits for the wealthy.once again, the Conservatives have difficulty understanding that one does not advance as an economy when one continues to give benefits to the wealthy
  21. deflected
    TaxationPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.Dodges the direct question on tax savings by accusing the opposition of torquing numbers and personal attacks.between the torquing of the numbers and the personal attacks, the Conservatives do not want to face the facts
  22. partly answered
    Indigenous AffairsMs. Niki Ashton (NDP) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.Addresses investments in housing and other areas but does not directly confirm knowledge of health impacts or promise immediate new action.We are investing in hundreds, indeed thousands, of new housing units right across the country in indigenous communities.
  23. partly answered
    Indigenous AffairsMr. Romeo Saganash (NDP) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.Discusses working with the community on repairs but does not commit to the specific independent team or Jordan principle measures requested.We are working with the community and our partners to fast-track the necessary repairs and the construction of new housing units.
  24. deflected
    TaxationPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.Avoids answering the tax loophole question by redirecting to benefits delivered in the opposition member's riding.
  25. deflected
    TaxationPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.Answer promotes programs without addressing tax credit removals or the tax statement accusation.We stay focused on making sure there are historic investments in transit to help low-income students get to school
  26. deflected
    TaxationMrs. Sylvie Boucher (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.Answer shifts to criticizing Conservatives' votes instead of addressing whether low-income people pay taxes.I would like to know how the Conservatives can look low-income families in the eye when they voted against increasing the guaranteed income supplement for seniors
  27. deflected
    TaxationMr. Joël Godin (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.Answer highlights child benefit without addressing the claim that low-income families pay no taxes.for all single mothers and for all mothers in this country, we have helped low- and middle-income families through the Canada child benefit
  28. deflected
    The EnvironmentMr. Alexandre Boulerice (NDP) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.Answer defends environmental record without addressing candidate absence or pipeline spending.as a government, we understand that we must invest in environmental protection.
  29. deflected
    The EnvironmentMr. Alexandre Boulerice (NDP) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.Answer defends record by contrasting with Harper era instead of addressing Canada's low ranking.for 10 years under Stephen Harper's Conservative government, we lost a tremendous amount of leadership on the environment.
  30. deflected
    TaxationMrs. Shannon Stubbs (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.Answer lists programs Conservatives opposed without addressing the tax payment claim.once again, I wonder how the Conservatives actually talk to their constituents when they know they voted against the Canada child benefit.
  31. deflected
    TaxationMr. James Bezan (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.Answer cites investments without addressing payroll taxes, gas tax or the specific constituent example.once again, the Conservatives resort to personal attacks when they cannot defend the fact that they consistently have voted against all the initiatives
  32. deflected
    TaxationMr. Glen Motz (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.Answer emphasizes middle-class investments without addressing whether low-income Canadians pay taxes.our focus from the very beginning has been investing in the middle class and people working hard to join it
  33. deflected
    TaxationMr. Michael Cooper (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer pivots entirely to job creation and attacks on Conservatives without addressing whether low-income Canadians pay taxes.over the past three years, we have seen over 800,000 jobs created in Canada and the lowest unemployment rate in 40 years.
  34. partly answered
    Agriculture and Agri-foodMs. Ruth Ellen Brosseau (NDP) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer confirms protection of supply management and new working groups but does not address the timing or mechanism of compensation promised to dairy farmers.We announced three working groups made up of representatives from the supply management sector to help farmers and processors adjust to the new NAFTA
  35. deflected
    TaxationMr. Alexander Nuttall (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer ignores the tax question and instead criticizes Conservative positions on housing and benefits.The choices the Conservatives consistently make are to stand against investments in public and affordable housing and to stand against investments in the Canada child benefit
  36. answered
    Fisheries and OceansMs. Elizabeth May (Green) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer directly confirms agreement on ending whale captivity for display and notes support for the bill plus existing measures.We agree that the capture of whales and dolphins for the sole purpose of being kept for public display should be ended.