Earlier today, there was a BRAWL in the House of Commons. Can you believe it? Our elected Members of Parliament came to fisticuffs! It was basically the opening scene of Gangs of New York.
Except… it was just a lame “exchange of words.” Here’s iPolitics reporter Colin Horgan’s brief explanation of what happened:
Fundamentally, the problem was one of attendance.
It was about much more than that, really, but basically, that was the issue New Democrat House leader took to the Speaker after question period Wednesday.
[Nathan] Cullen’s contention was that, prior to the final vote on C-45 that would send the government’s fall budget implementation bill to third reading, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty wasn’t in the House. Given that it was his bill, the NDP contested that he should have been there, and since he wasn’t, the vote technically didn’t count.
So the whole kerfuffle was a disagreement about parliamentary procedure? Wow.
There was some suggestion that Conservative House Leader Peter Van Loan gave Thomas Mulcair the finger, but that doesn’t seem too likely. In any case, Peter MacKay’s nose was there to break up the “fight” before it got started.
Here’s what some a real fight looks like, courtesy of Ukraine’s parliament:
UPDATE: For a full breakdown of “the showdown” you can read Aaron Wherry’s recap at Maclean’s. Basically, Peter Van Loan is simultaneously a bully and an insufferable coward.
image: thumbnail image via Kelly Bailey/Flickr
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