Eventually, the Speaker called on Bonnie Crombie, the rookie Liberal from Mississauga.

“Mr. Speaker, the numbers are staggering,” she observed. “Foreclosures. Bankruptcies. Job losses. Severances. Every day, we are seeing the painful human face of this recession. In my riding, Ted, a father of four with a wife on disability, is worried he is going to lose his home because he cannot get EI. He is 11 hours short of what the government demands. Eleven hours. Why are these Conservatives abandoning thousands of Ontarians like Ted, who worked hard, paid EI premiums, played by the rules and are now left to fend for themselves?”

It is tempting to dismiss such tales, at least when told by politicians, as cheap, patronizing populism—shameless manipulation of another’s problems to glorify your own engagement. But, whatever the motive, Ted’s tale is probably no less relevant. No less, as Jack Layton might say, real.

“Mr. Speaker, our heart goes out to the Teds of the world right across this country,” Finley responded. “There is no question about that. That is why we took the actions we did in our economic action plan: to help people like that. Even when they are not eligible for EI, there are programs there to help them get the skills they will need for the jobs of the future. There are other programs there to preserve jobs so that people do not get into that position.”

Crombie was not impressed. “Mr. Speaker, this is no time for empty, cold-hearted Conservative rhetoric,” she ventured. “EI claims are skyrocketing in Ontario. Bankruptcies are up 21 per cent with Ontario facing the biggest impact. In Mississauga, auto workers with 20 to 30 years seniority have simply been dropped by their companies. The Conservatives told investors not to invest in Ontario and now they have abandoned Ontario themselves.”

From a couple seats over, Jason Kenney leaned towards Finley and offered a few words of advice.

“Mr. Speaker, let us be honest here,” Finley said when Crombie was finished. “The Liberals brought in the new system for EI. It was a Liberal program that set up the criteria for eligibility. We are continuing with that program, but we are adding to it. We are adding to it so that we can help workers, especially long-tenured workers, those who have been in a job in the auto sector for many years and have lost their job. They are too young to retire. We are providing them with up to two years of EI support while they invest in new training to keep the jobs of the future so they can transition and look after their families in the long term, even under the rules the Liberals created.”

No doubt Finley and Kenney thought this a fine answer.

The Stats. Employment, 10 questions. CBC and crime, six questions each. Forestry, Afghanistan, trade, bilingualism, agriculture, taxes and election financing, two questions each. Flooding in Manitoba and medical marijuana, one question each.

Diane Finley, nine answers. Stephen Harper and James Moore, four answers each. Rob Nicholson, three answers. Stockwell Day, three answers. Lawrence Cannon, Jason Kenney, Gerry Ritz, Jim Flaherty and Peter Van Loan, two answers each. Christian Paradis, Lisa Raitt, Pierre Poilievre, Jay Hill and Leona Aglukkaq, one answer each.