Parliament In Review: September 28, 2011

Wednesday's Day in Review comes a day later than usual. But I'll plan to stick to the new schedule for future editions, as the anchors which nicely point to interventions from the current day seem to have a habit of disappearing later.

The Big Issue

Once again, most of the day's debate was spent on the Cons' omnibus crime bill - with a few more interesting developments.

Paul Dewar and Joe Comartin both tried again to pass non-contentious parts of the Cons' crime bill while allowing for the rest to be studied. Francois Lapointe noted that no community should see the economic activity that comes from prison expansions as a net plus. Andrew Cash pointed out that overcrowded prisons will lead to dangers for corrections workers - which led to Scott Armstrong proudly pointing to the prison construction the Cons normally try to downplay. And Brian Jean became perhaps the first Con to admit that the bill might not be perfect - though whether he or anybody else will follow up by allowing anybody else to meaningfully discuss improvements is another question entirely.

But the quote of the day goes to Dave MacKenzie in offering up what seems to be the Cons' governing philosophy - on plenty of other issues as well as crime:

Justice is not done through an open door.

Which might come as a surprise to those of us familiar with the importance of an open court system precisely because a locked door tends to serve as a breeding ground for abuse - but probably hints at what we can expect in the years to come.

Imprudent Statements

John Duncan's answer as to why the Cons have no interest in improving services on First Nations reserves speaks volumes:

Hon. Carolyn Bennett (St. Paul's, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, according to the Auditor General, the quality of life gap between our first nations and other Canadians continues to grow, and the government has not managed to work with the first nations to resolve the problem.

Will the government commit, through a new partnership among governments, to provide equal funding for services of equal quality, as called for by the National Chief, Mr. Atleo?

Hon. John Duncan (Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, the government has a responsibility to treat taxpayer money prudently.
...
Mr. Speaker, the government has a responsibility to deal with budgetary items in a prudent way. We are doing that. We are sensitive to the needs of our first nations and aboriginal people.

I have had meetings in this regard and will continue to behave in a responsible manner.

That's Why They Didn't Ask You

It's been absurd enough to see John Baird jumping up to take questions directed at Tony Clement. But Wednesday saw that farce go to another level: when Charlie Angus asked repeated questions about Clement's actions in picking and choosing which source of funding might have been available to fund an arena project, Baird managed to have the gall to complain that the questions have nothing to do with Baird or his department. (Of course, no explanation as to why he rose to answer them was forthcoming.)

In Brief

Nycole Turmel challenged the Cons to act on the National Council of Welfare's report showing that investing in ending poverty would more than pay for itself. Joe Comartin introduced a bill to allow for single-event sports betting, while John Rafferty proposed legislation to protect a worker's job in the case of injury or long-term illness of up to a year. Scott Andrews quoted Opposition Stephen Harper to the effect that any minister accepting benefits from a Crown corporation benefactor is either extraordinarily unethical or extraordinarily stupid. Just in time for the Cons to endorse their provincial cousins, Andrew Cash pointed out that the two are repeating conflicting lines of spin on the state of the economy. And Francoise Boivin questioned the Cons' willingness to facilitate online hate speech.