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MP Rachael Thomas was the first Conservative to be expelled during a raucous question period on Tuesday
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OTTAWA — Conservative MP Rachael Thomas challenged House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus on Wednesday for kicking her out of the chamber a day earlier, even after she withdrew her offending comments, as her party continued to call for the Speaker’s resignation.
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But Fergus affirms he did not hear the withdrawal amid all the heckling that was occurring Tuesday, nor does he have any intention to resign, his office told National Post.
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Thomas was the first Conservative to be expelled during a raucous question period on Tuesday after she called Fergus’s handling of the House “disgraceful.” Leader Pierre Poilievre was also booted from the chamber soon after Thomas for calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a “wacko.”
Thomas argued that her privileges as an MP and those of her constituents were violated because she was prevented from participating in debate in the House for the rest of the day when she had withdrawn her comments when asked by Fergus to do so.
“Mr. Speaker, I stated that the Chair is acting in a disgraceful manner. I withdraw,” said Thomas, according to an unofficial transcript of the proceedings sent on Tuesday.
But the official transcript of the day’s debates, also known as the Hansard, removes the part where Thomas says “I withdraw.” It however shows that an unidentified MP shouted that she withdrew her comments after Fergus said that she disregarded his authority.
Thomas pointed out the “significant discrepancy” between those two transcripts.
“These words, Mr. Speaker, are significant because they demonstrate that I complied with… your request to withdraw,” she said.
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“It demonstrates that my withdrawal was not conditional, but rather it was proper and textbook. Therefore, it ought to have been accepted. Yet, I was kicked out of this place for the remainder of the day as if I hadn’t withdrawn those words,” she said.
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Fergus encouraged Thomas to “please share all the information that she would like to have the speakership to evaluate” and said that they would be analyzed with an “extreme importance.”
The video of the exchange in question shows that Thomas clearly said the first part — where she reiterates in her opinion that the Speaker acted in a “disgraceful manner” — into the microphone.
The second part where she says “I withdraw” was barely audible because it was not picked up by the microphone as Fergus has already started speaking. MPs’ microphones are usually cut when the Speaker is talking to avoid any interference for interpreters.
“I’m going to ask you to…” said Fergus, before stopping for a few seconds while consulting the clerks. He then picked up a piece of paper that he read. “Ms. Harder (Thomas’s maiden’s name), I have to name you for disregarding the authority of the Chair,” he said.
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“Pursuant to authority granted to me by Standing Order 11, I order you to withdraw from the House and from any participation by video conference for the remainder of this day’s sitting,” he added while applause and heavy heckling ensued.
Fergus then corrected the record to refer to her as Mrs. Thomas, which is her legal name now that she is married.
“The blues are unofficial and it is not unusual for changes to be made during the editing and revision process. Sometimes comments are left out when there is a lot of noise, and it is not clear what was said,” said the Speaker’s office spokesperson Mathieu Gravel.
Speaking before their caucus meeting on Wednesday, several Conservative MPs called on Fergus to resign as Speaker, with some of them saying he should have left his position long ago.
Scott Aitchison said he “never” had confidence in the Speaker because he was too “partisan” whereas Rick Perkins said that Fergus should have resigned after he filmed a video for the Ontario Liberal Party convention dressed in his robe last year.
At the time, the move prompted calls for resignation from the Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois. Fergus has since apologized for his mistake.
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Government House leader Steven MacKinnon said Fergus is there to stay as Speaker.
“We have a parliamentary democracy,” MacKinnon told reporters on Wednesday. “All members elected the Speaker. Once the Speaker is elected, he becomes the institution. So, Mr. Fergus is the Speaker and we respect all of his rulings.”
Minister of Labour Seamus O’Regan said he has known Fergus for years and said he is a “gentleman” and a “fair man.”
Wednesday’s question period was much quieter than usual, with Poilievre sticking to questions on drug decriminalization policies and bail reform despite multiple attempts by the Liberals to question him about “extremist white nationalist organizations”.
National Post
calevesque@postmedia.com
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