It's not as though the behaviour of our members of parliament when they're "at the office" had always been what you would call exemplary. But in this, as in so many other ways, the Conservative Party of Canada has managed to show contempt for our democracy and for our democratic traditions. Perhaps they're finally going to be shown that there's a limit, of sorts.
Commons Speaker Peter Milliken has threatened to suspend a Conservative MP if he continues making personal attacks against Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff.
The Conservatives have been using the period alloted for members' statements that precedes question period to launch personal attacks against the opposition and usually against the Liberal leader. When Speaker Milliken recently began cutting them off, they decided that rather than actually grow up and act like adults it would be more fun to see if they could once again game the system.
To avoid being silenced, Kramp and other Tory MPs have taken to issuing scathing assessments of an unidentified politician, whom they identify as Ignatieff only at the very end of their statements -- when it's too late for Milliken to cut them off.
Milliken's warning suggests he's willing to take more drastic measures to put a stop to the personal attacks.
Here's hoping Milliken follows through. The only thing wrong with this story is that CTV tucked it down in the politics section instead of leading with it.
H/t to life in moderation. And my apologies to children everywhere. Most of them behave better in public than Conservative MPs do.
You can be sure that if he does follow through, the same Tories who banned George Galloway, will be whining about "freedom of speech". Count on it.
Jeebus.
Where do the Cons find these guys?
Perhaps you should 'name them and shame them' by starting a Child of the Week On Parliament Hill - add name of the worst behaved MP plus brief summary of misdeeds and of course his or her photo?
Perhaps after seeing their name in print on your blog as the Child of the Week they might become just a little bit better behaved?
At one time I thought about doing some similar -- creating a wall of shame for those politicians/pundits/whatever who behaved in the worst possible way, told the worst lies, etc. I decided that before long I'd have to start a whole separate website just to hold it all.