Conservative attacks on Speakers in Ottawa, Regina a pattern, say Liberals and NDP
CTV
The federal Liberals and NDP say conservative politicians are displaying a pattern of attacks against Speakers' independence, an allegation the Conservatives in Ottawa strongly deny.
The federal Liberals and NDP say conservative politicians are displaying a pattern of attacks against Speakers' independence, an allegation the Conservatives in Ottawa strongly deny.
The accusation comes a day after the federal Conservatives tried, and failed, for the third time to get House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus to resign over allegations he is too partisan for the role.
Their attempts are designed to intimidate and delay House work, government House leader Steven MacKinnon said.
"The fact is that this culture of intimidating the chair is something we have seen in other legislatures and I think Canadians are rightly horrified by it," he said.
His NDP counterpart Peter Julian said there's a "disturbing undercurrent" in Ottawa and in Saskatchewan by conservatives who are attacking independent institutions, with their latest target being Speakers.
Julian drew a connection to Saskatchewan by linking Jeremy Harrison, former Saskatchewan Party House leader to federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. Both were elected to Parliament in 2004 as Conservatives. Harrison served one term in Ottawa before being defeated in 2006. He was elected provincially in 2007.
While Poilievre is undermining the Speaker in Ottawa, Harrison is doing the same in Regina, Julian charged.
