House Speaker Punishes Poilievre for Refusing to Withdraw Comments About Singh

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre received a slap on the wrist during question period Sept. 26 for his refusal to retract comments he made about NDP Leader Jameet Singh in the House of Commons last week.

House Speaker Greg Fergus said he chose to dock questions from Poilievre after the Tory leader failed to apologize.

“The chair has offered the Leader of the Official Opposition the opportunity to make amends regarding the words he used last week, or else I would remove questions from him during question period today,” Fergus said just before the beginning of question period.

“Having not received such a commitment on his part, and the member having not withdrawn his comment, I will therefore remove three questions from the leader of the Official Opposition in the opening round today.”

The reprimand is linked to Poilievre using his opening round of questions Sept. 19 to criticize both the Bloc Québécois and NDP for failing to support his motion to topple the minority Liberal government.

The move was unusual because question period is reserved for members of Parliament to hold the government to account, not opposition parties.

Poilievre in other rounds of questions focused his criticism on Singh, calling the NDP leader a “sellout” as well as a “fake, a phony, and a fraud.”

Singh responded by walking into the aisle to shout at Poilievre.

None of the NDP leader’s actions were caught on camera, and Fergus muted the audio so his words were not recorded, but witnesses in the press gallery said he shouted “I’m right here, bro.”

During the muted part of the feed, Poilievre could be seen pointing in Singh’s direction briefly before nodding and speaking with a slight smile. He appeared to be saying “do it.”

The Conservatives later said in a statement that Singh “simply couldn’t control his emotions … became erratic,” and challenged Poilievre to a fight during the exchange.

NDP House leader Peter Julian described Singh’s actions as standing up to bullying from the Tory leader.

Fergus said he contacted both Poilievre and Singh and asked them to “make amends” after last week’s uproar. He said Singh agreed to “act differently in the future” but Poilievre didn’t respond.

The Speaker issued a stern warning about proper conduct in the House at the beginning of the week and did so again prior to the start of the Sept. 26 session.

“Today, party leaders have a heightened responsibility to be role models. Rigorous debate and even profound disagreement are possible without resorting to such comments or actions,” he said. “The chair, therefore, invites members to be more judicious in their choice of words and behaviour.”

Fergus said parliamentarians who do not follow the rules by engaging in “unparliamentary behaviour” will be disciplined.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.