Government Orders
Business of Supply
“I'm going to ignore your question and just say something nice about working with Quebec.”
MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT
Hon. Lena Metlege Diab
Diab rarely gives a clear yes or no answer and frequently dodges around questions in the House, filling time with slogans about 'protecting Canadians' and the government's plans. She openly says she won't answer specific questions if they're 'traps' or demands she doesn't like, and often pretends not to understand the real point. When she does give concrete numbers, they're usually self-flattering stats or promises of deportations she claims will happen eventually.
“I'm filling time with kind words and saying nothing anyone could pin down later.”
“I'm dodging the actual question about criminality checks. But I want you to know claiming citizenship through ancestry is hard. You have to prove every link in your ancestry chain.”
“I'm dodging the question of security screening. Instead I'll just repeat buzzwords about the bill.”
“You're imagining problems with my bill because you don't like immigrants. I'm going to ignore your concern and just praise the bill some more.”
“We are doing something about it. The previous speaker is wrong. My government is very effective.”
“We banned those people. Trust us. Nothing to see here.”
“We've canceled some visas. We're investigating some people. It's under control.”
“You're worried about regime ties? I already said there's a ban. A total ban! Nothing to look at here.”
“I don't want to answer the question about terrorists. Let me change the subject and defend my rules. I want you to think I'm tough on immigration consultants.”
“I'm going to ignore your question about fraud. Instead I'll just say the Auditor General agreed with my party's decision.”
“I want to talk about the positive things my department did instead of the fraud you asked about.”
“I don't want to give a real answer. I will just say it was some.”
“I want to reassure Canadians that we take misconduct seriously. The department published the report on its own. We're being open about the problem.”
“I'm going to talk about percentages and years instead of answering the question.”
“I want to insist everything is fine and hope the question goes away.”
“I'm filling time with kind words and saying nothing anyone could pin down later.”
“I want to sound like I'm on your side and doing something useful. We have meetings!”
“The rules are already tight. We made them tighter. That's my whole answer.”
“I'm filling time saying things everyone already knows.”