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Thursday, November 21, 2024 · sitting No. 373

Commons debates privilege motion on green slush fund and guns report

The house spent much of the day on a privilege motion concerning the government's refusal to produce documents related to the sustainable development technology Canada program. Conservative MP Don Stewart said the program showed mismanagement and waste of tax dollars. The motion remained before the house after hours of debate.

Question period featured clashes over public safety and taxation. Conservative MP Frank Caputo said the government preferred criminals over victims because of Bill C-83. Public safety minister Dominic LeBlanc said all members should be concerned about victims and avoid repeating names of heinous criminals.

Further exchanges centred on the carbon tax and a temporary GST break. Conservative MP Jasraj Singh Hallan called for a carbon tax election. Liberal MP Rachel Bendayan said the government was providing a tax break on essential goods for the holidays.

Decided that day

  • Third report of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security adopted

From the Hansard record of the sitting. Full Hansard

Question Period – November 21, 2024. Video from CPAC. Watch on YouTube

Who held the floor · 2024-11-21

Government (Liberal)OppositionOver the day: government 31%, opposition 69% of the words spokenRoutine proceedingsQuestion PeriodOrders of the Day▲ Government side held the floor▼ Opposition held the floorOpened 10:0511:0012:0013:0014:0015:0016:0017:00Last speech 18:35Time of day, Ottawa · the House sat 8 h 30 min · each dot is a stretch of debate, placed at the minute it began
44House Buries Itself in Privilege PointsThe sitting was dominated by procedural matters, with 113 points of order or privilege consuming the bulk of time and only 20 percent of words on substantive business. No bills advanced and Question Period yielded almost no direct answers.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 Raquel Dancho moved concurrence in the third report of the public safety committee and said gun violence had worsened over nine years. Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux said the Conservative party had voted for the bail bill it now criticized.

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Points of Order

NDP MP Charlie Angus rose on a point of order and asked Conservative MP Raquel Dancho to withdraw and apologize for accusing a member of responsibility for murders of women. Dancho said it was difficult to apologize for something true.

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Border Safety

Bloc Québécois MP Kristina Michaud said reducing hours at border crossings sent the wrong message about security. Public safety minister Dominic LeBlanc said the changes would allow reassigning officers and better coordination with U.S. authorities.

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Official Languages

Bloc Québécois MP Alain Therrien said Ottawa was contributing to the decline of French in Quebec by giving bilingual jobs to unilingual anglophones. Official languages minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor said the government had made historic investments and would work with Quebec.

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Emergency Preparedness

Conservative MP Dane Lloyd asked who would oversee rebuilding in Jasper after the minister resigned. Environment minister Steven Guilbeault said the previous government invested nothing in fire protection there while the current government had invested more than $60 million.

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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
    Public SafetyMr. Frank Caputo (Conservative) asked Dominic LeBlanc (Liberal). loaded question.Answer criticizes repeating names and restates general support for victims without addressing Bill C-83 or the security claim.I think all members of the House should also be judicious with respect to continually repeating in the House the names of Canada's most heinous criminals.
  2. misdirected
    TaxationMr. Frank Caputo (Conservative) asked Arif Virani (Liberal). loaded question.Answer pivots to praising the tax break and questions the Conservative leader's vote instead of addressing the carbon tax or election call.The best question that the Conservative member can ask his leader is whether this time he will be unmuzzled and unleashed to actually vote for an affordability measure in the chamber.
  3. misdirected
    TaxationMr. Frank Caputo (Conservative) asked Arif Virani (Liberal). loaded question.Answer mocks the questioner about Halloween and pivots to listing GST-free items without addressing the carbon tax permanence or election.I thought he was still stuck in Halloween mode.
  4. deflected
    TaxationMr. Luc Berthold (Conservative) asked François-Philippe Champagne (Liberal). loaded question.Answer highlights the GST holiday and questions Conservative support rather than addressing the affordability crisis or calling an election.Will the Conservative leader allow his MPs to help Canadians, yes or no?
  5. deflected
    TaxationMr. Luc Berthold (Conservative) asked François-Philippe Champagne (Liberal). loaded question.Answer claims the measure is already done and accuses Conservatives of filibustering without addressing inflation or election call.Canadians will see whether the Conservatives have the gumption to stand up for them.
  6. partly answered
    Official LanguagesMr. Alain Therrien (Bloc) asked Ginette Petitpas Taylor (Liberal). substantive question.Answer addresses French language protection via Bill C-13 and investments but does not directly respond to the decline or federal workplace issues raised.Protecting and promoting our two official languages, including French, is a top priority for our government.
  7. misdirected
    Official LanguagesMr. Alain Therrien (Bloc) asked Ginette Petitpas Taylor (Liberal). loaded question.Answer expresses personal offense and pivots to investments instead of addressing the commissioner's recommendations or Gatineau concerns.I am a bit offended to hear my hon. colleague say that a woman from New Brunswick, from an official language minority community, is harming the advancement of French in this country.
  8. partly answered
    TaxationMr. Alexandre Boulerice (NDP) asked François-Philippe Champagne (Liberal). substantive question.Answer acknowledges the GST holiday for families but does not address making it permanent or expanding beyond two months.We are doing this because, at Christmas time, people need a helping hand.
  9. deflected
    TaxationMr. Don Davies (NDP) asked Anita Anand (Liberal). loaded question.The answer promotes the temporary GST holiday and pivots to attacking the opposition instead of addressing permanence.On the other side of the House, what do we have? We have partisan games.
  10. deflected
    Carbon PricingMr. Jasraj Singh Hallan (Conservative) asked Ms. Rachel Bendayan (Liberal). loaded question.The answer highlights the temporary tax break and questions the Conservative member's independence rather than addressing the carbon tax election call.The question on everybody's mind is whether the Conservative member has checked with his leader to see whether the member will be able to vote for a tax break
  11. deflected
    Carbon PricingMr. Jasraj Singh Hallan (Conservative) asked Ms. Rachel Bendayan (Liberal). loaded question.The answer shifts to criticizing the Conservative leader's control over MPs and promotes the temporary tax holiday instead of addressing the election demand.The question on everybody's mind is whether Conservative members are going to be allowed to represent their communities
  12. deflected
    The EconomyMr. Philip Lawrence (Conservative) asked Karina Gould (Liberal). loaded question.The answer attacks Conservative hypocrisy on tax cuts and questions their leader's control rather than addressing the election call.The real question is this: Will he allow them to vote freely for Canadians and this tax cut?
  13. deflected
    The EconomyMr. Philip Lawrence (Conservative) asked Karina Gould (Liberal). loaded question.The answer promotes the temporary GST removal and accuses Conservatives of hypocrisy instead of addressing the election demand.When I look in the dictionary, that starts with an "H" and ends with "ypocrisy".
  14. deflected
    TaxationMr. Jacques Gourde (Conservative) asked Ms. Rachel Bendayan (Liberal). loaded question.The answer describes the tax holiday and questions whether the Conservative member can vote for it rather than addressing permanent cuts.Did the Conservative member who rose today check with the Conservative leader to see if he is allowed to vote in favour of this measure?
  15. deflected
    TaxationMr. Jacques Gourde (Conservative) asked Jenna Sudds (Liberal). loaded question.The answer promotes the temporary tax break with an anecdote and questions Conservative leader control instead of addressing the election or carbon tax.I think the question members should be asking is this: Will the Conservative leader allow them to support this for Canadians?
  16. answered
    Border SafetyMs. Kristina Michaud (Bloc) asked Dominic LeBlanc (Liberal). substantive question.The answer directly explains the rationale for harmonizing border hours with U.S. authorities to address the staffing and security concerns raised.This will do two things. In the event that someone shows up on the Canadian side of the border and is not admissible to Canada, it will allow us to send them back to a U.S. customs office that will actually be open.
  17. partly answered
    Border SafetyMs. Kristina Michaud (Bloc) asked Dominic LeBlanc (Liberal). substantive question.Addresses support for agencies but pivots to past reversals instead of directly tackling the impact of reduced hours.We reversed the Conservatives' cuts to the RCMP and border services, and we will continue to invest more to ensure that they have the resources they need to do their important work.
  18. partly answered
    Border SafetyMrs. Claude DeBellefeuille (Bloc) asked Dominic LeBlanc (Liberal). substantive question.Explains collaboration with US partners but does not address the perceived contradiction of service reductions.reducing the hours of service at certain border crossings is obviously being done in collaboration with the U.S.
  19. misdirected
    Carbon PricingMr. John Barlow (Conservative) asked Karina Gould (Liberal). loaded question.Ignores the carbon tax question and instead attacks Conservative handling of protesters.The guy who cares about freedom of speech certainly does not like it when people oppose his views.
  20. misdirected
    The EconomyMr. John Barlow (Conservative) asked Karina Gould (Liberal). substantive question.Shifts to criticizing Conservatives over the convoy rather than addressing the call for an apology.There is a double standard on that side of the House and we cannot stand for that.
  21. misdirected
    Carbon PricingMr. Stephen Ellis (Conservative) asked Karina Gould (Liberal). loaded question.Avoids the carbon tax election question by attacking Conservative positions on GST and protesters.They say one thing; they do another, whether that is with regard to supporting Canadians through affordability challenges, muzzling their members of Parliament who try to speak up on behalf of their constituents or removing protesters who do not agree with them by using the police.
  22. answered
    Foreign AffairsMs. Heather McPherson (NDP) asked Ms. Pam Damoff (Liberal). substantive question.Directly states respect for ICC independence and commitment to abide by rulings.we respect the independence of the International Criminal Court. We will abide by all the regulations and rulings of the International Criminal Court.
  23. partly answered
    Grocery IndustryMr. Brian Masse (NDP) asked François-Philippe Champagne (Liberal). substantive question.Notes Competition Act reforms and new powers but does not confirm an investigation into the specific allegation.We have given new powers to the competition commissioner to investigate.
  24. deflected
    Public Services and ProcurementMr. Michael Barrett (Conservative) asked Karina Gould (Liberal). substantive question.Restates that the company is not on the list and pivots to unrelated GST and benefit measures.This is an attempt by the Conservative members of Parliament to distract from what is really good news for Canadians today, the fact that we are going to give a break on the GST for essential goods over the coming months and we are going to support 18.6 million Canadians with a Canada working benefit.
  25. deflected
    Public Services and ProcurementMr. Michael Barrett (Conservative) asked Karina Gould (Liberal). loaded question.The answer evades the contract ban question by pivoting to unrelated affordability talking points.yet again, what we see from the Conservatives opposite is that they do not want to talk about the important affordability measures that we have presented today.
  26. misdirected
    EthicsMrs. Stephanie Kusie (Conservative) asked Patty Hajdu (Liberal). loaded question.The answer ignores the firing timeline question and instead attacks by sarcastically praising Conservative support for indigenous procurement.what is so encouraging, and I would say that it is not often that I find something encouraging from the Conservative Party, but what is encouraging to hear is their staunch support for indigenous procurement.
  27. deflected
    EthicsMrs. Stephanie Kusie (Conservative) asked Patty Hajdu (Liberal). loaded question.The answer sidesteps the reconciliation and firing delay question by promoting an unrelated bill on clean drinking water.
  28. partly answered
    Canada Revenue AgencyMr. René Villemure (Bloc) asked Ms. Iqra Khalid (Liberal). substantive question.The answer addresses whistle-blower protections and references Bill C-290 but notes limits due to section 241 of the Income Tax Act.there are ways in which we are able to have whistle-blowers report what they need to within the CRA, and we are constantly working on these issues.
  29. misdirected
    Canada Revenue AgencyMr. René Villemure (Bloc) asked Ms. Iqra Khalid (Liberal). loaded question.The answer turns the question into an attack on Conservative whistle-blower issues instead of addressing CRA fraud handling.I wonder if we can support the Conservative Party and its whistle-blower situation going on right now.
  30. partly answered
    EthicsMr. Damien Kurek (Conservative) asked Mr. Charles Sousa (Liberal). substantive question.The answer confirms the company was not listed as indigenous and never received such contracts but does not address future bidding eligibility.what is clear is the company in question was not listed as an indigenous company.
  31. misdirected
    EthicsMr. Dane Lloyd (Conservative) asked Ms. Rachel Bendayan (Liberal). loaded question.The answer ignores the corruption threshold question and launches an attack on Conservative policies like child care and dental care.The Conservative leader wants to take away $10 a day child care from Canadian mothers.
  32. misdirected
    Emergency PreparednessMr. Dane Lloyd (Conservative) asked Steven Guilbeault (Liberal). loaded question.The answer avoids the minister oversight question and instead attacks the previous government's Jasper fire prevention record.How much did it invest in 2011 for fire protection in Jasper? Zero.
  33. partly answered
    Public SafetyMr. Pierre Paul-Hus (Conservative) asked Dominic LeBlanc (Liberal). rhetorical question.The answer acknowledges the concern and outlines ongoing actions but does not address the specific question about the Prime Minister waking up.That is precisely why we are working with law enforcement, for example Montreal's SPVM, the Sûreté du Québec and other police forces in Quebec and the other provinces.
  34. misdirected
    Public SafetyMr. Pierre Paul-Hus (Conservative) asked Arif Virani (Liberal). loaded question.The answer shifts focus to provincial responsibilities in Quebec instead of addressing federal criminal justice policy raised in the question.What the member opposite said is important because it touches on the administration of justice at the provincial level by the Government of Quebec.
  35. deflected
    Public SafetyMr. Clifford Small (Conservative) asked Arif Virani (Liberal). rhetorical question.The answer avoids the call for an election and instead promotes the Liberal record on gun control without engaging the local RCMP concerns.What we have done is that we have put a ban on assault rifles.
  36. partly answered
    HousingMr. Blake Desjarlais (NDP) asked Mr. Peter Fragiskatos (Liberal). substantive question.The answer addresses federal measures on rentals and supply but does not directly confront the role of corporate landlords.We have lifted the GST costs on the construction of purpose-built rentals and put forward, for the first time in Canadian history, a renter's bill of rights to support renters.
  37. answered
    National DefenceMs. Elizabeth May (Green) asked Bill Blair (Liberal). substantive question.The answer directly responds to the requests on peacekeeping, funding, and disarmament with specific government actions.Canada has long been a proud and significant contributor to United Nations peace operations.
  38. partly answered
    Points of OrderMr. Michael Barrett (Conservative) asked Karina Gould (Liberal). substantive question.The answer agrees on the principle about protesting homes but does not address the specific allegation of incitement by the government House leader.I agree with the Conservatives that members of Parliament's homes should not be protested.