Oral Questions
Health
“The government spent $300 million on a program that didn't work. I'm going to blame the previous government for starting the program. Don't blame us; we shut it down. This is good for Canadians.”
MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT
Hon. Marjorie Michel
Michel often deflects tough questions by changing the subject to something that makes the Conservatives look bad, like blocking an AIDS study. She repeats talking points about reviewing problematic programs and working with provinces, but rarely gives satisfying details about where money went or why a program failed. When pressed, she'll blame the previous government or claim there was no wrong decision, just a program that didn't work out.
“I'm just padding. I have nothing to say about my job performance. I hope my committee appearances make me look good.”
“We spent money on a program. The program wasn't working. We stopped the program. We want you to think we are good with money.”
“I don't want to look bad. I will talk about how this program worked well in one place. I hope that will distract from the money wasted.”
Oral Questions
Pharmacare
“I'm just filling time with nice words about conversations. I didn't actually answer whether we abandoned Newfoundland.”
Oral Questions
Health
“I want you to support our health care bill. It isn't related to this question but I'm going to talk about it anyway.”
“We only ended the program because not enough people were using it. I want taxpayers to believe that we made the right choice and saved their money.”
“We already ended it. I don't want to dwell on a failure. I'm not giving you any more details about where the money went.”
Oral Questions
Pharmacare
“I want to look like I care about health care. I will keep saying we are still talking about it. I won't make any real promises.”
Oral Questions
Mental Health and Addictions
“There's no one answer. This is the provinces' job. I'm talking with Saskatchewan.”
Oral Questions
Health
“I want you to praise our spending. I want our government to take credit for creating private jobs. I want our government to choose which businesses get taxpayer money.”
“I want them to use the program. They didn’t use it enough. We stopped the program.”
“I'm saying the government stopped giving money because provinces didn't use the program. I'm not giving any new information.”
Oral Questions
The Economy
“I don't like your tone. I want Quebec voters to see me as their friend. I pad my answer with kind words about relationships and progress.”