Just stay in your seats and behave. That鈥檚 all it would have taken for politicians of all stripes to avoid the physical confrontation that disrupted Wednesday鈥檚 session of Parliament.
While sa国际传媒 is not likely to take away Taiwan鈥檚 title for parliamentary fisticuffs, the juvenile, churlish behaviour MPs displayed deepens the growing disgust many Canadians feel about how MPs deport themselves when they are supposed to conducting the nation鈥檚 business.
The finger-pointing will probably last for days as MPs try to milk this incident for political points, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should probably get the bulk of the blame. He violated parliamentary tradition by leaving his seat and wading into a cluster of MPs in an effort to pull Opposition whip Gordon Brown through the crowd. In the process, NDP MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau said she was elbowed in the chest by Trudeau and had to leave the chamber in distress.
What was Trudeau thinking? The likely answer to that question: He wasn鈥檛 thinking at all. So much for sunny days.
But it takes at least two to tango. The fracas would not have happened, or would have been minor, if other MPs had not resorted to shouting and shoving. Boorish behaviour by one person does not entitle another person to be equally boorish.
To say the actions of the MP were childish is an insult to children. Early in their kindergarten careers, kids are taught to stay in their seats, don鈥檛 shout, raise your hand if you want to speak, and be respectful.
Is that too much to expect of our MPs?
