Poilievre subdued in question period the day after getting kicked out for 'wacko' comment
John Paul Tasker | CBC News | Posted: May 1, 2024 4:09 PM | Last Updated: May 1
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly calls Poilievre 'a child' after he called PM names the day before
Wednesday's question period was notably more subdued a day after the House of Commons erupted in a nasty war of words between Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and the prime minister that ultimately resulted in Poilievre's removal.
Poilievre spoke in a softer tone throughout the 50-minute session and largely ignored Justin Trudeau's claims that the Conservative leader was fraternizing with far-right elements and white nationalists when he visited an anti-carbon tax convoy in the Maritimes last week.
"The leader of the opposition refuses to say a simple thing — he condemns Diagolon, white nationalists and violent organizations. These are things that are concerning Canadians that he should answer for," Trudeau said.
It's that line of questioning that prompted Poilievre to call Trudeau a "wacko" yesterday.
Poilievre calmly said what Trudeau was saying Wednesday is "false" and instead used his time to press Trudeau to back B.C.'s request to dismantle a pilot project that legalized hard drugs in the province — and refuse a similar request that has been floated by some in Toronto.
WATCH | Poilievre removed from Commons for defying Speaker's orders:
Trudeau said his government is still reviewing B.C.'s call to do away with the federally sanctioned program that was designed to reduce overdose-related deaths.
B.C. has decided to go in a different direction because of ongoing public safety concerns stemming from rampant drug use in public spaces.
Trudeau needled Poilievre, reminding him at one point that the Speaker had to censure him for his "unparliamentary language" on Tuesday.
He said Poilievre was unfairly using a "huge human tragedy" in B.C. to score political points.
"We take this tragedy seriously. We act with compassion," Trudeau said.
Poilievre said it's not compassionate to allow people to smoke meth in hospital rooms or subject public transit passengers to hard drug use on the bus.
"This has caused chaos and six British Columbians are dying every day," Poilievre said. "There is no time to waste."
Liberal, Conservative caucuses keep their cool
MPs on both the Liberal and Conservative sides were also quiet.
At one point, when Trudeau attacked Poilievre for not supporting the Liberal government's ban on assault-style firearms, Alberta Conservative MP Stephanie Kusie started to heckle him. The party's whip, MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay, was seen shushing her to keep the peace.
Speaker Greg Fergus told MPs he hoped to see them "continue in the positive vein," without some of the inflammatory rhetoric that was on display the day before.
Conservative MPs lined up earlier Wednesday to denounce Fergus for ejecting their leader after he refused to walk back calling the prime minister a "wacko."
Those MPs said Fergus was a "disgrace" and a "partisan" who can't control the Commons any longer. They called on him to step aside.
The Speaker's office said he'll do no such thing. "Speaker Fergus has no intention of resigning," a spokesperson told CBC News.
Liberal MPs, meanwhile, said Poilievre is the one who behaved badly by thumbing his nose at the Speaker's authority and insulting the prime minister.
"The leader of the opposition needs to stop acting like a child," said Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly. "Canadians expect us to work and deliver for them."
"What Canadians saw was basically the true face of Pierre Poilievre," said Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne. "Canadians should be worried — he's willing to disregard this institution."
Housing Minister Sean Fraser said Poilievre lashed out at Trudeau because he didn't like the prime minister's questions to him about supposedly "cozying up with far-right groups."
Poilievre's "wacko" comment was a stunt "designed to raise money" and "demonstrate to certain elements of his electoral base that he's going to stand by them," Fraser said.
WATCH | Speaker tosses Poilievre from House of Commons:
Attitudes were notably different outside the Conservative caucus meeting room as the party's MPs and senators assembled on Parliament Hill to discuss Tuesday's events.
"The Speaker should resign — he's a disgrace," said Conservative MP Michael Cooper.
"I never had confidence in the Speaker. He's a Liberal partisan," added MP Scott Aitchison.
In a blog post, MP Michelle Rempel Garner said Trudeau was dodging legitimate questions about the controversial B.C. decriminalization policy and the Speaker overreacted to Poilievre's language.
"Trudeau's decision to deflect as opposed to explain his policy is brutal, but even worse still was Speaker Fergus's decision to expel Mr. Poilievre for using an apt and justified term to describe the situation," she wrote.
"Based on today's question period, it's probably fair to say that Mr. Trudeau's government is f—ed. Bring on the election."
Conservative MP Rick Perkins said Fergus already lost the confidence of what he calls the "real" opposition parties — his party and the Bloc Québécois — when he taped a partisan video in his office wearing his Speaker's robes.
The NDP, which is propping up the minority Liberal government, backed Fergus after that incident last year.
NDP MP Peter Julian, the party's House leader, defended the Speaker again Wednesday, saying Fergus "absolutely did the right thing" by removing Poilievre from question period.
Bloc Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet praised Fergus Tuesday and even congratulated him for "showing common sense" and giving Poilievre the boot.
But his party's House leader offered a very different perspective Wednesday.
"Mr. Fergus has had difficulty maintaining peace in Parliament for a long time," said Bloc MP Alain Therrien.
"We think the Speaker should leave. The recent events confirm that position."
Therrien later said the party wants Fergus gone not because of his handling of Poilievre but because of the partisan video debacle.
During Tuesday's question period, Trudeau called Poilievre "spineless" for refusing to clearly renounce endorsements from unsavoury far-right groups and an American conspiracy theorist.
Poilievre hit back, calling Trudeau a "wacko" for supporting B.C.'s former policy of decriminalizing some hard drugs.
Poilievre said it was a "wacko policy" backed by "this wacko prime minister." Fergus asked him to withdraw the "unparliamentary language."
Poilievre refused, saying only that he agreed to replace "wacko" with "extremist" or "radical." Poilievre's refusal prompted Fergus to remove him.
Later, on social media, Poilievre said Fergus was attempting to shield Trudeau from tough questions about the government's policies on hard drugs.
Mental Health and Addictions Minister Ya'ara Saks told reporters that Ottawa hasn't decided what to do with B.C.'s request to make illicit drug use illegal in all public spaces.
Saks said the decision about whether to recriminalize drug use needs to be made swiftly but she's still waiting for more information from the province.
Conservative MP Rachael Thomas rose in the Commons after question period claiming that the Speaker's decision to also remove her from the chamber Tuesday was a breach of her parliamentary privilege.
Thomas had called Fergus a "disgrace" for not immediately demanding that Trudeau take back his comment about Poilievre being "spineless."
WATCH | Alberta Conservative MP kicked out of Commons:
Thomas said she withdrew the comment when asked and was still kicked out by Fergus. She said her ejection unfairly denied her Alberta constituency its voice in Parliament.
Thomas said she spoke the words "I withdraw," a comment that was not recorded in Hansard, the official record of the Commons proceedings.
She suggested the record may have been altered to justify her removal. Fergus vowed to review the matter.