Parliament AIIndependent · non-official

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Wednesday, May 31, 2023 · sitting No. 203

Commons debates child care legislation amid Poilievre-Trudeau clashes

The House spent the largest share of its sitting on debate of Bill C-35, the Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act. Conservative MP Michelle Ferreri moved an amendment to delete the short title and cited constituent messages about families unable to find spaces or return to work.

Question period featured repeated exchanges between Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Poilievre pressed on the number of Chinese police stations operating in Canada, the impact of carbon pricing on food costs and the contribution of deficits to inflation, while Trudeau defended the RCMP investigations, the carbon price and federal investments.

Liberal MP Francesco Sorbara and NDP MP Gord Johns also raised dental benefits and substance-use policy during the period.

Decided that day

  • Bill C-244 concurred at report stage
  • Bill C-281 passed
  • Opposition motion for foreign-interference inquiry passed
  • Bill C-334 introduced

From the Hansard record of the sitting. Full Hansard

Question Period – May 31, 2023. Video from CPAC. Watch on YouTube

Who held the floor · 2023-05-31

Government (Liberal)OppositionOver the day: government 34%, opposition 66% of the words spokenQuestion PeriodGovernment businessGovernment business▲ Government side held the floor▼ Opposition held the floorOpened 14:0015:0016:0017:0018:0019:0020:0021:0022:00Last speech 23:55Time of day, Ottawa · the House sat 9 h 55 min · each dot is a stretch of debate, placed at the minute it began
61Bills Advance, Inquiry Motion PassesThe House devoted most of its time to substantive legislation, especially child care, and recorded four successful votes on bills and a motion. Question period produced mostly deflected answers, yet the share of words on actual business remained high.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

Democratic Institutions

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet accused the Prime Minister of pandering to China and fostering secrecy, and Trudeau replied that Blanchet had refused a classified briefing.

Read the exchange

Indigenous Affairs

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh described the collapsing roof, mould and lack of running water at the Wahpeton Dakota Nation school and asked when the government would act.

Read the exchange

Carbon Pricing

Conservative MP Clifford Small said Atlantic premiers had demanded that carbon tax 2.0 not be applied to fuel because it would harm residents already facing higher costs.

Read the exchange

Indspire Lifetime Achievement Award

Liberal MP Jaime Battiste recognized Mi'kmaq elder Albert Marshall for receiving the Indspire lifetime achievement award for developing the two-eyed seeing approach to knowledge.

Read the exchange

World No Tobacco Day

Liberal MP Élisabeth Brière said new health images on cigarette packages would help prevent the 48,000 annual tobacco-related deaths in Canada.

Read the exchange

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
    Public SafetyPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer addresses foreign interference generally but provides no number.The RCMP is currently following up on all of these police stations.
  2. deflected
    Public SafetyPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer restates that the RCMP is investigating without giving a number.the RCMP is conducting investigations and taking action against these illegal acts in Canada.
  3. misdirected
    Public SafetyPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer attacks the asker for not taking a briefing instead of answering the number.If the Leader of the Opposition is so curious about the details of foreign interference, then he should accept the briefing that has been offered to him
  4. deflected
    Public SafetyPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer emphasizes government actions since 2015 and RCMP role without stating a number.The RCMP is quite rightly charged with the responsibility for investigating and following up on these reports of Beijing-funded police stations
  5. misdirected
    Public SafetyPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer accuses the asker of partisan games and personal attacks rather than providing a number.Instead, he chooses to play partisan games.
  6. deflected
    Democratic InstitutionsMr. Yves-François Blanchet (Bloc) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). rhetorical question.The question is a rhetorical attack rather than a factual query, and the answer notes refusal of briefings.He is entitled to his own opinions, but not his own facts.
  7. deflected
    Democratic InstitutionsMr. Yves-François Blanchet (Bloc) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). rhetorical question.The answer continues to criticize the asker for avoiding facts instead of addressing the secrecy claim.we just heard directly from the Bloc Québécois leader that he is choosing not to learn the facts.
  8. partly answered
    Democratic InstitutionsMr. Jagmeet Singh (NDP) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer explains the government's position against a public inquiry and references expert advice.Current leadership across our intelligence agencies and across the public service continues to say that the best way to move forward is not with a public inquiry
  9. deflected
    Democratic InstitutionsMr. Jagmeet Singh (NDP) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.Answer lists existing measures but ignores the donor conflict and motion vote.He found that the 2019 and 2021 elections were not compromised and he will continue his work.
  10. misdirected
    Public SafetyPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.Answer attacks Poilievre for refusing briefings instead of stating arrest numbers.the leader of the Conservative Party chooses to remain ignorant and refuses to accept briefings on the facts in the matter of Chinese interference.
  11. deflected
    Public SafetyPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.Answer claims registry is being created but pivots to attacking the opposition leader's motives.the opposition leader's decision to refuse access to the intelligence and briefings needed to get to the bottom of foreign interference demonstrates that he does not want to fix this problem.
  12. deflected
    Public SafetyPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.Answer lectures on the Security of Information Act and offers a briefing rather than addressing arrests.any serious politician in this place should understand how the Security of Information Act actually works
  13. misdirected
    Public SafetyPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.Answer cuts off by attacking the leader's character instead of answering the funding amount.hiding behind "a veil of ignorance" is very characteristic for a leader who has no interest—
  14. deflected
    Democratic InstitutionsPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.Answer dismisses the question as partisan attacks without addressing the appointments.while the Leader of the Opposition continues with his personal and partisan attacks, we are going to continue to—
  15. misdirected
    Democratic InstitutionsPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.Answer shifts to protecting intelligence sources instead of addressing the repeated Trudeau Foundation appointments.The idea that he does not understand how much we, as members of the House and as Canadians, need to protect those who serve Canada in this regard is—
  16. deflected
    Democratic InstitutionsMr. Yves-François Blanchet (Bloc) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.Answer accuses the Bloc of old arguments and avoids the 1995 referendum interference request.The Bloc is caught up in old arguments, and that is just what it is banking on.
  17. deflected
    Democratic InstitutionsMr. Yves-François Blanchet (Bloc) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer attacks the asker for refusing briefings rather than addressing the demand for an inquiry or policy change.the leader of the Bloc Québécois just said, "we already know more than enough", but the reality is that he does not know because he refused to receive briefings on confidential intelligence
  18. deflected
    Carbon PricingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer discusses climate policy and rebates but provides no estimate of the carbon tax impact on food costs.we have stepped up on the fight against climate change, including with a price on pollution that puts more money back in the pockets of eight out of 10 Canadians
  19. deflected
    Carbon PricingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer criticizes the question as a bumper sticker and pivots to unrelated benefits instead of quantifying the tax effect on groceries.once again we see that the leader of the official opposition is not willing to let the facts get in the way of a great political argument
  20. deflected
    Carbon PricingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer shifts to past Conservative inaction and weather events without answering the specific question on grocery cost increases.the inaction by a decade of Conservative governments and the continued resistance of Conservatives to taking action on fighting climate change are costing them incredible amounts
  21. deflected
    Carbon PricingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer dismisses the asker personally and offers no response to the repeated question about the carbon tax's effect on food costs.here is the problem with the Leader of the Opposition. He is in love with the sound of his own voice and his own attacks, but he does not actually check the facts
  22. partly answered
    Indigenous AffairsMr. Jagmeet Singh (NDP) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer acknowledges the issue and notes past school construction but does not commit to action on the specific Wahpeton Dakota Nation school.We have built hundreds of new schools across this country in indigenous communities over the past seven and a half years, but there is much more to do
  23. answered
    Indigenous AffairsMs. Niki Ashton (NDP) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer directly addresses the recent abuse case, confirms outreach to the community, and states commitment to accountability and healing.We have obviously reached out to the community, and we are working closely with them on what is needed for healing and moving forward
  24. deflected
    Carbon PricingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer mocks the asker and lists unrelated programs without estimating the carbon tax impact on grocery costs.yes, I was a high school teacher before getting into politics, and I am having a little trouble remembering what exact job the Leader of the Opposition had before getting into politics
  25. deflected
    The EconomyPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer discusses G7 ratings and fiscal responsibility instead of quantifying any inflation impact from the spending.we have the lowest deficit in the G7, and we have the best debt-to-GDP ratio of the G7.
  26. misdirected
    The EconomyPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer attacks the opposition's positions on programs rather than addressing the inflation calculation requested.perhaps he would be open with Canadians and share how he would not have funded child care at $10 a day right across the country for Canadians.
  27. misdirected
    The EconomyPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer shifts to gun control and attacks the opposition instead of answering the inflation question.no Canadians doubted he would pull back on measures to fight gun crime.
  28. deflected
    Democratic InstitutionsMr. Yves-François Blanchet (Bloc) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer criticizes the asker for refusing briefings rather than explaining treatment of the House vote.the leader of the Bloc Québécois need only demonstrate that he is open to understanding the impact of the issue, to see the intelligence that was collected about what happened.
  29. deflected
    Democratic InstitutionsMr. Yves-François Blanchet (Bloc) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer reframes around protecting Canadians from interference without addressing the specific accusations about secrets or the Trudeau Foundation.First and foremost, I am protecting Canadians by fighting Chinese interference.
  30. deflected
    The EconomyPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer contrasts austerity with investments but provides no calculation of inflation effects from the deficit.we will continue to be there to invest in Canadians.
  31. misdirected
    The EconomyPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer attacks the opposition's austerity stance and cites dental care instead of quantifying inflation from spending.They are saying that Canadians are already facing hard times, so it is okay to make matters worse by spending less, investing less and providing less help for families in need.
  32. deflected
    FinancePierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer defends investments and rejects the broken Canada narrative without addressing the inflation or suffering quantification.
  33. deflected
    HousingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer promotes government investments and growth instead of addressing reversing specific policies on housing and inflation.At the same time as we do that, we are going to continue to invest in programs and supports for first-time homebuyers, for low-income renters and for construction of new rental homes by working in partnership with municipalities.
  34. misdirected
    The EconomyPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer pivots to attacking the opposition's pandemic record rather than addressing deficits or interest rate increases.Imagine how much worse off we would be if the Conservatives' plan on not encouraging vaccinations had led during the pandemic, if their reliance on ideology and conspiracy theories instead of science and experts had governed our pandemic response.
  35. deflected
    Government PrioritiesPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.The answer begins by referencing the opposition leader without engaging the substance of reversing policies on housing, food banks or division.we have all heard the Leader of the Opposition , and according to him—
  36. partly answered
    HealthMr. Gord Johns (NDP) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer discusses ongoing work on decriminalization and evidence-based action but provides no timeline for a comprehensive plan.we have continued to step up, while being grounded in science and evidence and working in partnership with others.
  37. answered
    Public SafetyMr. Alain Rayes (Independent) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer directly confirms consideration of tangible safety measures for ministers and parliamentarians amid rising threats.We are looking at tangible measures to increase the safety of our ministers, and we also are working with the Sergeant-at-Arms to ensure the safety of all parliamentarians.