MLA removed from Sask. legislature during heated session
Nadine Wilson, the Independent MLA of Saskatchewan Rivers, was removed from the Saskatchewan legislature after refusing to apologize for comments made towards the government, following Wednesday’s fierce Question Period session.
Wilson was heard shouting over Minister of Energy and Resources Bronwyn Eyre’s ministerial statement immediately following Question Period.
The Speaker of the House requested that Wilson withdraw her statements and apologize for her “un-parliamentary language” three separate times.
Wilson refused and was escorted out of the house by the sergeant-at-arms.
“I didn’t expect today would be so volatile or that I would feel so passionate about ‘non-governance,’” Wilson told reporters after the incident. “Because I would like to see good governance.”
The incident warranted comments from other members on how decorum and civility is an issue within the house.
Premier Scott Moe criticized Wilson for the incident as well as past behavior during the session.
“This is a member that has periodically shown up in the house, and we see when she does show up she gets kicked out,” he said. “I don’t think she’s been present for one vote in the house, the most fundamental job that you do on behalf of your constituents.”
The premier admitted there has been issues with heckling in the house, but labeled it as a general, nationwide problem.
“There is heckling that happens, not only in this house but in the houses across the nation, including the federal parliament,” he said. “That being said, we do need to work, all of us, all sides, to keep that to a minimum.”
“This is a place to debate policy, not personalities, and I think it would do everyone good to just pause for a moment and remember that.”
Saskatchewan NDP Leader Ryan Meili suggested there is a double standard in the legislature surrounding which parliamentary rules apply to the government and which ones apply to the opposition and independent members.
“It is 100 per cent the rules apply to everyone but this government,” Meili said.
“I have many disagreements with Ms. Wilson but she is an elected member of this house, she is an independent member. She has the right to be there and to be treated the same way that every other member is treated.”
Passions flared multiple times within the house before Wilson was removed, with the speaker of the house forced to introduce several points of order over members making personal statements against other members and for using un-parliamentary language.
Wilson's expulsion from the house is in effect for one day only. She will be present for the last day of the spring session on Thursday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit natural gas levies to the federal government, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
'We hoped for this day, but we were scared that it would not never ever come because it took so long.' That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.