The prime minister’s decision to manhandle a Conservative whip to his seat so that a vote in the House of Commons could proceed was clearly improper decorum, and the accidental elbowing of a female member adds to the bad judgment of the prime minister in leaving his seat in the first place.
But completely missing from the overall critique I have heard or seen so far is to ask if you have seen the complete video of the incident, why were a group of NDP MPs, including leader Tom Mulcair, out of their seats anyway, and why were they blocking a Conservative whip from returning to his seat?
Once again MPs on both sides of the House of Commons are showing bad judgment, in that if the NDP had not blocked a Conservative whip from returning to his seat so a vote could begin, maybe the prime minister might not have left his seat in the first place. Bad judgment all round, and time for all MPs to reflect on why they so often look like overgrown children rather than adults discussing the issues facing Canada and Canadians.
Andy Shadrack, Kaslo
Shame on the NDP! You can clearly see that the woman “assaulted” by the prime minister is in collusion with her party leader and another NDP MP in physically blocking opposition whip Gord Brown from taking his seat and voting on the Liberals’ assisted dying bill. You can also clearly see (when the Commons feed is slowed down) that this NDP MP, Ruth Ellen Brosseau, pushes up against the PM as he attempts to assist Brown through these idiots. Look closely and you’ll see that she is smiling and laughing too. Is it funny to prevent a vote in the House of Commons? And I voted NDP. Shame.
Kevin Millership, Slocan