Conservative, Bloc MPs call on Speaker to resign after ousting Poilievre over 'wacko' comment

John Paul Tasker · CBC News

· Posted: May 01, 2024 12:09 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

Conservative MPs lined up Wednesday to denounce Speaker Greg Fergus for ejecting their leader Pierre Poilievre from the House of Commons after he refused to walk back calling the prime minister a "wacko."

Those MPs said Fergus was a "disgrace" and a "partisan" who can't control the House of Commons any longer. They called on him to step aside.

Liberal MPs, meanwhile, said Poilievre is the one who behaved badly by thumbing his nose at the Speaker's authority and insulting the prime minister.

"The leader of the opposition needs to stop acting like a child," said Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly. "Canadians expect us to work and deliver for them."

"What Canadians saw was basically the true face of Pierre Poilievre," said Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne. "Canadians should be worried — he's willing to disregard this institution."

Housing Minister Sean Fraser said Poilievre lashed out at Trudeau because he didn't like the prime minister's questions to him about supposedly "cozying up with far-right groups."

Poilievre's "wacko" comment was a stunt "designed to raise money" and "demonstrate to certain elements of his electoral base that he's going to stand by them," Fraser said.

WATCH: Speaker tosses Poilievre from House of Commons 

Attitudes were notably different outside the Conservative caucus meeting room as the party's MPs and senators assembled on Parliament Hill to discuss Tuesday's events.

"The Speaker should resign — he's a disgrace," said Conservative MP Michael Cooper.

"I never had confidence in the Speaker. He's a Liberal partisan," added MP Scott Aitchison.

In a blog post, Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner said Trudeau was dodging legitimate questions about the controversial B.C. decriminalization policy — and the possibility of it being expanded to Toronto — and the Speaker overreacted to Poilievre's language.

"Trudeau's decision to deflect as opposed to explain his policy is brutal, but even worse still was Speaker Fergus's decision to expel Mr. Poilievre for using an apt and justified term to describe the situation," she wrote.

"Based on today's question period, it's probably fair to say that Mr. Trudeau's government is f—ed. Bring on the election."

Conservative MP Rick Perkins said Fergus lost the confidence of what he calls the "real" opposition parties — his party and the Bloc Quebecois — after he taped a partisan video in his office wearing the Speaker's robes.

The NDP, which is propping up the minority Liberal government, backed Fergus after that incident last year.

NDP MP Peter Julian, the party's House leader, defended the Speaker again Wednesday, saying Fergus "absolutely did the right thing" by removing Poilievre from question period.

Bloc Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet praised Fergus Tuesday and even congratulated him for "showing common sense" and giving Poilievre the boot. But his party's House leader offered a very different perspective Wednesday.

"Mr. Fergus has had difficulty maintaining peace in Parliament for a long time," said Bloc MP Alain Therrien.

"We think the Speaker should leave. The recent events confirm that position."

A spokesperson for Fergus did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

During Tuesday's question period, Trudeau called Poilievre "spineless" for refusing to clearly renounce endorsements from unsavoury far-right groups and an American conspiracy theorist.

Poilievre hit back, calling Trudeau a "wacko" for supporting B.C.'s former policy of decriminalizing some hard drugs in an attempt to reduce the number of overdose-related deaths.

Poilievre said it was a "wacko policy" backed by "this wacko prime minister." Fergus asked him to withdraw the "unparliamentary language."

Poilievre refused, saying only that he agreed to replace "wacko" with "extremist" or "radical." Poilievre's refusal prompted Fergus to remove him.

Later, on social media, Poilievre said Fergus was attempting to shield Trudeau from tough questions about the government's past decision to decriminalize some hard drugs in B.C. — a policy the province is now eager to dismantle as it grapples with public safety concerns.

Mental Health and Addictions Minister Ya'ara Saks told reporters that Ottawa hasn't decided what to do with B.C.'s request to make illicit drug use illegal in all public spaces after the province ended a federally sanctioned pilot project that decriminalized their possession.