All Parliament wants to talk about is each other

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The Conservatives gave every sign they would return to Parliament pressing the government on affordability. But when they got to Question Period, what they really wanted to do was accuse Justin Trudeau of being a spoiled fat cat.

The Liberals even held a press conference on Monday about affordability issues. But before the end of the first Question Period of 2024, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was accusing the Conservatives of supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin.

It might seem at first glance like both parties were having trouble staying on topic, but upon closer inspection, it was clear they weren’t really trying.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s first question in French started with welcoming Mr. Trudeau back from his luxurious Christmas vacation at a resort villa, worth $80,000, provided gratis by a friend.

A few minutes later, Mr. Poilievre’s first question in English began with him welcoming Mr. Trudeau back from his $80,000 vacation.

This was a welcome he obviously really wanted Mr. Trudeau to feel. And while the remainder of the question asked about inflationary policies, followed by a query remarking on the number of people who rely on food banks, the point was to juxtapose an image of Mr. Trudeau swimming in a private pool overlooking the lagoon while ordinary citizens line up for baskets of non-perishables.

They weren’t queries posed in order to elicit answers, which worked out, because Mr. Trudeau certainly wasn’t going to touch them.

In response, the Prime Minister told the Commons that the Conservative leader engages in personal insults because he has no plan for housing.

This was a trend in the making. Mr. Trudeau later said Mr. Poilievre has no plan to address climate change. Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay also said the Conservatives have no plan to address the issue, while Housing Minister Sean Fraser said they have no plan for housing and Treasury Board President Anita Anand said they have no plan to reduce red tape.

Admittedly, Mr. Poilievre’s Conservatives certainly are not overburdened by detailed policy plans. But when a government in power is pressed about issues that affect Canadians, listeners might expect the ministers of the crown, and the prime minister, to talk about their plans, and the things they have done.

To be fair, a few ministers did a little bit of that, and Ms. Freeland spoke extensively about things the government has done – just not necessarily the things she was asked about.

When Conservative MP Andrew Scheer asked about giving farmers bigger breaks on carbon levies, Ms. Freeland touted the government’s Housing Accelerator Fund to provide money to municipalities that ease regulations on home-building. When another Conservative MP, John Barlow, asked about the same thing, she responded that the national child-care system has reduced fees by 50 per cent.

Yes, that all has to do with affordability, in one sense or another, but it couldn’t very well be called a debate. The first Question Period of 2024 was pure politics.

The Bloc Québécois and NDP were side players; the Conservatives, pleased with themselves for leading the polls, were heckling and one notch below giddy; and the Liberals seemed semi-dejected and of out of ideas for fighting their slide.

Perhaps the two biggest parties had both come back to Ottawa planning to talk about real, serious policies that affect Canadians’ day-to-day lives and struggles with affordability, and found that that was just, well, hard.

The Liberal held a press conference before Question Period with five cabinet ministers to talk about affordability where, among other things, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, who promised he’d press grocery chains to stabilize prices, expressed disappointment at their lack of co-operation.

Mr. Poilievre’s Conservatives know that for now, at least, the details about what the government should do aren’t half as much fun as roasting Mr. Trudeau over his gold-plated Christmas vacation and Liberals as fancy, out-of-touch elitists.

Mr. Scheer’s question about carbon taxes started with a remark that the PM must have sand in his ears from his Jamaican vacation. Conservative MP Rachael Thomas’s query about carbon levies lambasted Ms. Freeland that “not everyone lives in downtown Toronto and has access to the luxuries she does.”

Affordability was ostensibly the issue when Parliament returned Monday, but what the politicians really wanted to talk about was each other.