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Tuesday, October 29, 2024 · sitting No. 361

Privilege debate on green slush fund documents consumes most House time

The House spent the largest share of its sitting on a privilege motion concerning production of documents related to Sustainable Development Technology Canada funding, with the debate continuing without resolution. Conservative members argued that more than $400 million had been misallocated to companies in conflict of interest and called for documents to be sent to the RCMP, while Liberal members accused the Conservative leader of placing party interest above national security by refusing a security clearance briefing on foreign interference.

In Question Period the main exchanges concerned housing policy. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre pressed the government to eliminate the GST on new homes under $1 million, citing support from the Prime Minister's housing adviser, while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the proposal would cut transfers already flowing to Quebec and municipalities under the housing accelerator fund.

Other exchanges saw New Democratic Party Leader Jagmeet Singh question Rogers fees for television equipment and call for reversal of the Shaw merger, and members from several parties raise access to abortion services and medical assistance in dying.

Decided that day

  • Eighth report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage passed as amended

From the Hansard record of the sitting. Full Hansard

Question Period – October 29, 2024. Video from CPAC. Watch on YouTube

Who held the floor · 2024-10-29

Government (Liberal)OppositionOver the day: government 34%, opposition 66% of the words spokenRoutine proceedingsQuestion PeriodOrders of the Day▲ Government side held the floor▼ Opposition held the floorOpened 10:0011:0012:0013:0014:0015:0016:0017:00Last speech 18:40Time of day, Ottawa · the House sat 8 h 40 min · each dot is a stretch of debate, placed at the minute it began
33Privilege Points Crowd Out Modest Committee WinsThe sitting devoted most of its time to privilege debates and points of order, with only a fifth of words spent on substantive business. Two votes on an amended Canadian Heritage committee report passed, but no bills advanced.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

Committees of the House

Conservative MP Kevin Waugh said the CBC had paid out $18 million in bonuses and predicted chief executive Catherine Tait would claim further payments before leaving her post.

Read the exchange

The Economy

Conservative MP Stephanie Kusie said the Calgary Food Bank had paid $10,000 in carbon tax while usage rose 28 per cent in the past year.

Read the exchange

Foreign Affairs

New Democratic MP Heather McPherson said the Israeli Parliament had banned UNRWA from East Jerusalem and asked the government to sanction Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Read the exchange

Justice

Bloc Québécois MP Luc Thériault said the federal government was delaying changes to the Criminal Code that would allow advance requests for medical assistance in dying in Quebec.

Read the exchange

Public Safety

Bloc Québécois MP Kristina Michaud said correctional officers at Montreal's Bordeaux prison reported frequent drone deliveries of contraband and called for signal-jamming authority.

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
    HousingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer attacks the asker's record and pivots to unrelated cuts instead of addressing the GST proposal.when the Leader of the Opposition was Stephen Harper's minister responsible for housing, he failed.
  2. deflected
    HousingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer ignores the GST plan and instead accuses the asker of cutting Quebec funding.what the Conservative leader wants to cut is the $900 million we are sending to Quebec through the housing accelerator fund
  3. deflected
    HousingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer evades the GST question by warning about fine print and cuts to municipal programs.over the decades, Canadians have learned the hard way that with Conservative promises, one always has to check the fine print.
  4. deflected
    HousingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer sidesteps the bureaucracy critique and repeats claims about densification and cuts.the Leader of the Opposition is intending to cut the housing accelerator fund, which is all about creating densification across our communities
  5. misdirected
    HousingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer shifts to attacking the asker on tax breaks for the wealthy rather than responding to the GST or young homeowners question.if the Leader of the Opposition actually cared about young Canadians, he would not be standing against the fact that we are asking wealthier Canadians to pay a little more in taxes
  6. partly answered
    Government PrioritiesMr. Yves-François Blanchet (Bloc) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer addresses the farmers and seniors points but ignores the election call.when it comes to protecting our farmers, we are moving forward, we are there to protect supply management
  7. deflected
    Government PrioritiesMr. Yves-François Blanchet (Bloc) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer avoids the election question by contrasting petty politics with its own programs.it is pretty clear who is here in the House to play petty politics and who is here to get results for Quebeckers and Canadians.
  8. partly answered
    TelecommunicationsMr. Jagmeet Singh (NDP) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). substantive question.The answer addresses telecom fees broadly but ignores the specific Rogers contract ban request.we have seen data fees and cellphone fees decrease across this country because of the efforts of the current government
  9. deflected
    HealthMr. Jagmeet Singh (NDP) asked Justin Trudeau (Liberal). loaded question.Answer defends general rights but ignores the specific request on abortion access timeline.We will continue to do so and increase access to reproductive health care and services across the country.
  10. misdirected
    HousingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Sean Fraser (Liberal). substantive question.Answer attacks the asker personally instead of addressing the GST removal proposal.with all the time and energy he spends on me, I am going to have to send him a cheque for the time I have been living rent-free in his head.
  11. deflected
    HousingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Sean Fraser (Liberal). substantive question.Answer restates past positions and criticizes the asker without engaging the current housing data claim.there was a time not so long ago when the Conservative leader was actually advocating that the government do more to increase density near the services people need
  12. misdirected
    HousingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Sean Fraser (Liberal). substantive question.Answer insults the asker and shifts to unrelated topics like January 6 instead of responding to the housing fund critique.It is almost as though the Conservative Party, when looking for a new leader, hopped on Temu and typed in "far-right Conservative", so it spat this guy out.
  13. misdirected
    HousingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Sean Fraser (Liberal). loaded question.Both sides trade personal attacks on competence and record rather than discussing housing policy.the Conservative leader asked how arrogance and incompetence can live so comfortably in one man.
  14. misdirected
    HousingPierre Poilievre (Conservative) asked Marc Miller (Liberal). substantive question.Answer equates the question with historical policies like the head tax instead of addressing immigration and housing links.That means he is okay with the Chinese head tax.
  15. partly answered
    JusticeMr. Luc Thériault (Bloc) asked Mark Holland (Liberal). substantive question.Answer acknowledges the need for conversation but does not commit to amending the Criminal Code.I wonder if the member across the way can co-operate with me so we can take the time to have a national conversation
  16. partly answered
    JusticeMr. Luc Thériault (Bloc) asked Mark Holland (Liberal). substantive question.Answer explains the timeline for consultation but avoids guaranteeing future government action on advance requests.It will not last long, only until next March.
  17. deflected
    JusticeMr. Luc Thériault (Bloc) asked Mark Holland (Liberal). loaded question.The answer reframes the term irresponsible without addressing the claims about punting the decision or party control.what is irresponsible is to implement measures without first ensuring that the system is ready.
  18. misdirected
    HousingMichelle Rempel Garner (Conservative) asked Sean Fraser (Liberal). substantive question.The answer attacks the Conservative leader's actions instead of addressing the GST proposal or Scotiabank data.It is her leader who goes to encampments across the country, not to see what he can do to help people but to put them in the background of his social media videos for likes.
  19. misdirected
    HousingMichelle Rempel Garner (Conservative) asked Sean Fraser (Liberal). loaded question.The answer attacks the questioner's colleagues and leader rather than addressing the housing accelerator fund or visa policy claims.My question is whether they will have the courage to actually stand up and tell their leader that he is wrong to make billions of dollars of cuts to housing, like he was wrong when he did it when he was the minister.
  20. misdirected
    HousingMrs. Dominique Vien (Conservative) asked Soraya Martinez Ferrada (Liberal). substantive question.The answer shifts to criticizing Conservative cuts to social housing instead of addressing the GST proposal or home ownership statistics.Yesterday, the Conservative Party proposed cancelling the construction of 8,000 social and affordable housing units in Quebec.
  21. misdirected
    HousingMrs. Dominique Vien (Conservative) asked Soraya Martinez Ferrada (Liberal). loaded question.The answer attacks the Conservative record on social housing instead of addressing the call for an election or cost increases.the Conservative leader built six social and affordable housing units.
  22. partly answered
    HealthMs. Laurel Collins (NDP) asked Marci Ien (Liberal). substantive question.The answer addresses access to abortion care by introducing a motion on pregnancy centres but does not discuss enforcing the Canada Health Act.That is why today I introduced a motion to require more transparency from these centres providing pregnancy counselling.
  23. deflected
    Persons with DisabilitiesMr. Taylor Bachrach (NDP) asked Anita Anand (Liberal). substantive question.The answer emphasizes the importance of accessibility without addressing the US fine, specific incidents, or lack of action beyond a summit.I am standing up in the House today, after meeting with our government's chief accessibility officer, to definitively emphasize how important passenger safety and accessibility is for this government.
  24. misdirected
    The EconomyMrs. Stephanie Kusie (Conservative) asked Jenna Sudds (Liberal). loaded question.The answer attacks the Conservatives for lacking solutions instead of addressing food bank use or the carbon tax.I challenge the member to point to a single thing the Conservatives have done to help Canadians who are struggling.
  25. misdirected
    The EconomyMrs. Stephanie Kusie (Conservative) asked Randy Boissonnault (Liberal). loaded question.Answer pivots from carbon tax and food banks to attacking Conservative costs instead of addressing the query.Do members know what the price for a Conservative government would be? It would be $20,000 per Alberta family with one kid.
  26. deflected
    The EconomyMr. Branden Leslie (Conservative) asked Jenna Sudds (Liberal). loaded question.Answer ignores carbon tax and food banks entirely to discuss school food program announcement.This year alone, 19,000 additional kids in that province will receive food at school through this program.
  27. misdirected
    The EconomyMr. Branden Leslie (Conservative) asked Chrystia Freeland (Liberal). loaded question.Answer shifts to criticizing Conservative cuts rather than responding on poverty or carbon tax.They are going to cut that school food program that is going to feed 400,000 kids.
  28. partly answered
    Public SafetyMs. Kristina Michaud (Bloc) asked Dominic LeBlanc (Liberal). substantive question.Answer acknowledges action on technologies to block contraband but avoids specifics on jamming or timelines.We are already deploying several technologies to federal prisons.
  29. partly answered
    Public SafetyMr. Rhéal Éloi Fortin (Bloc) asked Dominic LeBlanc (Liberal). substantive question.Answer claims action is underway and offers briefing but deflects on why jamming is not used.I would be happy to organize a briefing for our Bloc Québécois colleagues to discuss the technologies that are in place and why it is not as simple as they claim.
  30. deflected
    The EconomyMr. Jamie Schmale (Conservative) asked Jenna Sudds (Liberal). loaded question.Answer changes subject from carbon tax and food banks to defending child care and school food programs.Our $10-a-day child care program is saving families thousands of dollars each and every year.
  31. misdirected
    The EconomyMr. Jamie Schmale (Conservative) asked Patty Hajdu (Liberal). loaded question.Answer attacks the member's voting record on indigenous issues instead of addressing carbon tax or food banks.In fact, that member voted against indigenous health care, the Grassy Narrows care home, emergency management support, schools, roads, housing and water.
  32. misdirected
    The EconomyMr. Clifford Small (Conservative) asked Mark Holland (Liberal). loaded question.Answer pivots to defending dental care and attacking Conservative cuts rather than discussing carbon tax or food banks.Newfoundland now happens to be one of the leading places in the country for people getting care, and on average, the program is saving them $730.
  33. misdirected
    Public SafetyMs. Raquel Dancho (Conservative) asked Bill Blair (Liberal). loaded question.The answer attacks Conservative cuts instead of addressing reversal of bail policies.If the Conservatives are looking for causation of the rising crime, they should look in the mirror.
  34. deflected
    Public SafetyMr. Pierre Paul-Hus (Conservative) asked Dominic LeBlanc (Liberal). substantive question.The answer cites arm's length status and pivots to criticizing Conservative cuts rather than addressing the specific case.We will not comment on cases before the Parole Board.
  35. deflected
    Public Services and ProcurementMr. Garnett Genuis (Conservative) asked Jean-Yves Duclos (Liberal). substantive question.The answer questions the asker's support for targets instead of addressing recovery of funds from fraudulent contractors.However, something that my colleague has never said is whether he is in favour of the minimum target of 5% of all procurement contracts being awarded to first nations companies and business owners across the country.
  36. partly answered
    Foreign AffairsMs. Heather McPherson (NDP) asked Ahmed Hussen (Liberal). substantive question.The answer expresses concern about UNRWA but does not address the request to sanction Netanyahu.we expressed serious concern about the passage of legislation by the Israeli Parliament that undermines the operations of UNRWA.
  37. partly answered
    Diversity and InclusionMr. Jagmeet Singh (NDP) asked Kamal Khera (Liberal). substantive question.The answer notes ongoing support but offers no commitment to additional funding for the festival.We are going to continue to work with the organization to support the work it does in celebrating the Caribbean festival in this country.