Mulcair Calls for Speaker Fergus’ Resignation Following Removal of Poilievre from House

According to former NDP leader Tom Mulcair, Speaker Greg Fergus should resign from his position as House Speaker after ejecting Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre from question period on April 30, a move Mulcair criticized as “blatant partisanship.”

During CTV’s Power Play, Mulcair, now a political analyst, expressed his disapproval, stating, “This was not only hasty, but blatantly partisan, and I don’t say that lightly. It was a terrible performance by Speaker Greg Fergus. He lost control… Fergus should do the right thing and step down.”

Mr. Poilievre was removed from the House of Commons after referring to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a “wacko prime minister” for supporting British Columbia’s previous drug decriminalization policy. When asked to withdraw his “unparliamentary language,” Poilievre offered to replace “wacko” with “extremist” or “radical,” but was ordered to leave by Speaker Fergus, prompting the entire Tory caucus to follow their leader out.

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Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-François Blanchet and NDP House Leader Peter Julian supported the Speaker’s decision, while Mulcair questioned Fergus’ credibility for ejecting the conservative leader despite receiving support from his own Liberal party, the NDP, and the Bloc Quebecois.

Regarding the incident, Mulcair criticized Fergus’s actions and stated that the Speaker’s impartiality was called into question, noting a previous incident where opposition MPs raised concerns about his neutrality during a party event.

“I defended Fergus last year when his impartiality was questioned, but today he failed utterly,” Mulcair emphasized, adding that Fergus cannot continue in his role credibly.

Debate Avoidance

Lisa Raitt, a former minister of transport, suggested that the chaos in the House of Commons could have been avoided if Prime Minister Trudeau had addressed the drug decriminalization debate instead of attacking the Opposition leader.

She criticized Trudeau for evading questions on drug decriminalization and accused the Liberals of trying to avoid the debate with the Speaker’s assistance.

Poilievre had repeatedly questioned Trudeau on drug decriminalization during the session, highlighting the issue in British Columbia and the increasing drug overdose deaths. Trudeau responded briefly, labeling it a health-care matter.

Despite the heated exchange, Mulcair pointed out the double standard in language use between Poilievre and Trudeau, stating that the punishment did not fit the alleged offense in this case.