Our MPs need to clean up their act
“My challenge to members is to find their better angels and put away the anger and false indignation. Criticize by all means, but do it with respect and maybe even wit. Make Canadians proud of this House and the people in it.” — Marc Garneau, naval officer, astronaut and Liberal cabinet minister, on resigning his Montreal seat on March 8, after nearly 15 years in Parliament.
The first Canadian in space (in October 1984), Garneau was elected in 2008 in the riding now known as Notre-Damede-Grace—Westmount, and served as minister of transport and (briefly) foreign affairs in Justin Trudeau’s first two cabinets.
Now 74, he was admired and genuinely liked by members on both sides of the House. He could be tough and political without being obsessively partisan.
As he put it in his farewell speech, “I have always viewed those (opposition) members not as enemies but as adversaries, and there is a difference. I know that every single one of them comes here wanting to make Canada a better place.”
The grace with which Garneau took his leave was a striking contrast to the ugly question period that preceded it. It was a disgrace. Both Trudeau and his nemesis, Pierre Poilievre, can be their own worst enemies, as they were Wednesday when the Opposition leader resumed his attack on the prime minister over reports of Chinese interference in the 2019 and 2021 election campaigns.
Trudeau cannot bring himself to give opponents the satisfaction of straight answers. He comes out of exchanges looking thoroughly disingenuous — as he has when grilled about intelligence reports of Chinese activity.
Poilievre makes no pretense of civility. His questions are worded like criminal indictments, each loaded with an assumption of guilt. He’s not interested in the state of national security — that’s the government’s problem. He’s after ammunition to bring down the prime minister. And he never knows when to stop.
On Wednesday, he came to the brink of accusing Trudeau of disloyalty to Canada:
Poilievre: “The prime minister is not interested in protecting the safety of the people serving this country. He is interested in protecting the Liberal party of Canada … It would harm his political career, once he tells how much the Liberal party or its various arms received in money from Beijing. How much?”
Trudeau: “It is unfortunate and despicable that any member in the House would question the loyalty to Canada of any other member in the House.”
Poilievre: “He is trying to engage in a dramatic distraction. Therefore, I will give him one more chance to answer the question: How much money did his party get from the dictatorship in Beijing?”
Trudeau: “I see the leader of the Opposition is trying to backtrack from his heinous and disgusting accusations of disloyalty to Canada.”
Poilievre: “The prime minister is blocking a public inquiry that would compel him to give answers. His members are blocking an investigation here at Parliament. He will not answer questions on the floor of the House of Commons. He even has a bill that would allow him to censor the internet … Will he tell us whether he still admires the basic Chinese communist dictatorship, as he so profusely said he did several years ago, yes or no?”
The last word goes to Garneau: “Before I finish, let me issue a challenge to everyone in this chamber. Arrive each day in this House with the firm intention of showing respect for colleagues and for this extraordinary place.”
Amen.