This is the warmest, nicest day of the year in Ottawa, and the mood during Question Period was relatively non-partisan given the potential health crisis facing the country.
Putting the economy on the back seat for a few days, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff focused his questions on the swine virus, without politicizing the matter.
“India and Malaysia are warning their citizens not to travel to Canada,” Mr. Ignatieff said. “I want to know what steps the government is taking to ensure not only that Canadians are protected at home, but also that foreign governments are fully aware of the measures our government is taking to protect Canadians.”
The soft Liberal approach allowed Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq – a rookie MP – to gracefully survive her first day in the eye of the storm. One of Ms. Aglukkaq's answers went well beyond the allotted 35-second maximum, and she was abruptly cut off. But overall, she addressed questions head on and effectively.
“In Canada we have issued a notice to all travellers and that notice is for individuals travelling to Mexico and from Mexico to Canada to be aware of the situation, to be aware of the symptoms, to wash their hands continuously and to cover their mouth when they cough. That is what is in place at the moment. We are working together to address the situation and monitoring the situation very closely with our international partners,” Ms. Aglukkaq said.
The Bloc Québécois took a different tack in its first round of questioning, once again calling on the government to pay $2.6-billion to the Quebec government for its past harmonization of the provincial sales tax with the federal goods-and-services tax.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said that Quebec will have to follow the lead of other provinces and allow Ottawa to collect the cash if it wants to be compensated.
“We cannot have different harmonization schemes. By definition harmonization means harmonized, and we are prepared to harmonize,” Mr. Flaherty said.
NDP Leader Jack Layton came back to the virus, asking the government to repatriate a Toronto woman who is stuck in a Mexican hospital, where she could be exposed to the swine virus. Ms. Aglukkaq said that officials are working on the case.
In later rounds, Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh called on the RCMP to harmonize the computer system in British Columbia with the one in the rest of the country. Mr. Dosanjh said that the RCMP official who complained about the computer problem was “shunted aside” and “made persona non grata.”
John Baird, the Transport Minister and renowned heckler, did not let it pass that Mr. Dosanjh is the former leader of the NDP in British Columbia.
“You are the one who was made persona non grata by [B.C. Liberal Leader and Premier] Gordon Campbell,” Mr. Baird shouted toward Mr. Dosanjh.
