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BTC: PVL After Dark

Peter Van Loan took another 22 questions in Question Period today. And not just on matters of Maxime Bernier and unrelated scandal—he also took queries on economic development in northern Ontario and mining.

This after taking fully 20 questions during the previous evening’s committee of the whole on Foreign Affairs (dutifully live-blogged by our Kady). Indeed, this week the government House leader has obfuscated morning, afternoon and night.

Herein, some of the highlights of his prime time performance last night. The last one is damn near profound.Mr. Chair, in terms of whatever they may have done as companions, we will not get into people’s private lives. Mr. Chair, the hon. member says that the individual was designated as an official spouse. I am unfamiliar with that term. In order to answer the question, I would appreciate it if he could explain to me how one gets designated as an official spouse or what exactly that means.

Mr. Chair, the question has been anything but clear and direct. First, there was some strange status called the designated official spouse that I had never heard of, and then it became designated traveller under the Board of Internal Economy, which has nothing to do with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

The member continues to ask me very bizarre questions about things that have very little to do with the Department of Foreign Affairs

On the issue of invitations, I am married but I do not know what invitations she gets from the government. Any invitations with which I am familiar have been for me and a guest if I wish to bring a guest. That is my experience on how these things tend to occur.

I have indicated that there are standards that must be upheld. The standards are quite clear and in this case the standards were not upheld. It was the failure to uphold those standards that resulted in the resignation of the minister. That is a very serious price to pay and it is a consequence of the standards not being followed. It is not a failure of the standards. It is a consequence of the standards not being followed that led to the resignation.

It is not the fault of the rules that they were broken.

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