Rules of Debate / Order and Decorum
Unparliamentary language
Debates, pp. 1042-3
Context
On November 1, 2007, during Oral Questions, John Cannis (Scarborough Centre) referred to Greg Thompson (Minister of Veterans Affairs) as “intellectually dishonest” while the Minister, in response, referred to Mr. Cannis as a “hypocrite”.[1] At the end of Oral Questions, the Speaker stated that he had not heard the entire exchange between Mr. Cannis and the Minister, and would review the transcript and return to the House in due course if unparliamentary language had been used.[2]
Resolution
On November 19, 2007, the Speaker delivered his ruling. He stated that the remarks made had clearly created disorder and declared that, upon reviewing the Debates from November 1, 2007, he had found that both Mr. Cannis and the Minister had used unparliamentary language. He requested that both of them withdraw their remarks, which they did immediately. He concluded by encouraging Members to refrain from making offensive or disrespectful remarks.
Decision of the Chair
The Speaker: I would like to return to the exchange between the hon. Member for Scarborough Centre and the hon. Minister of Veterans Affairs during Question Period on November 1, 2007. I have had an opportunity to review the Debates of that day.
The hon. Member for Scarborough Centre used the words “intellectually dishonest” in reference to the Minister, who in response used the word “hypocrite” in reference to the Member for Scarborough Centre.
It is the duty of the Speaker to ensure that all debates in the House are conducted with a certain degree of civility and mutual respect in keeping with established practice of the House.
Standing Order 18 specifies:
No Member shall speak disrespectfully of the Sovereign, nor of any of the Royal Family, nor of the Governor General or the person administering the Government of Canada; nor use offensive words against either House, or against any Member thereof.
In addition, House of Commons Procedure and Practice states at page 526:
In dealing with unparliamentary language, the Speaker takes into account the tone, manner and intention of the Member speaking; the person to whom the words were directed; the degree of provocation; and, most importantly,—
I stress “most importantly”,
—whether or not the remarks caused disorder in the Chamber.
In my opinion, the remarks made by the hon. Members quite clearly created disorder in the Chamber.
Therefore, I would ask that the hon. Member for Scarborough Centre and the Minister of Veterans Affairs withdraw their remarks.
Editor’s Note
At this point, both the Minister and Mr. Cannis rose to withdraw their remarks.
The Speaker: I would like to take this opportunity to remind all hon. Members that the Canadian public watches the proceedings closely and that I regularly receive communications from members of the public concerned about decorum in the Chamber.
I therefore encourage Members to refrain from making offensive or disrespectful remarks directed at one another. All Members may disagree with one another from time to time, but such disagreement need not be manifested by the use of offensive names or personal insults that can only create disorder and lessen the respect that is due to all hon. Members.
I want to thank the Minister of Veterans Affairs and the hon. Member for Scarborough Centre for withdrawing their remarks today.
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