After Nathalie Normandeau arrest, decorum meltdown at National Assembly

Sinceapplause was banned last year, Quebec's National Assembly oftensounds more like a university debating society than a tavern full of drunken sailors, towhich some other legislatures have been compared.

But decorum amongMNAshas been strained of late. Earlier thismonth,Premier PhilippeCouillard comparedCoalition Avenir Qubec LeaderFranois Legault to Donald Trumpand the Front National,France's far-right political party.

Legaultdidn't take the comparisons as a compliment.

• ANALYSIS |To reform Parliament, MPs might start by holding their applause

Decorum meltdown

The recent arrest of former Liberal deputy premier Nathalie Normandeauon fraud and corruptioncharges, however, has torn asunderwhateverties remained to civil discourse.

Attempts last week bySpeaker JacquesChagnon to rein in debate on the Normandeauaffairwere met by howls of protest,accusations he was a government stooge and suggestions he seek legal advice.

• NathalieNormandeau: Rise and fall of a political star

Chagnon, a Liberal,repeatedlyblockedthe opposition from asking questions aboutNormandeau,citing rules that prevent members from discussing matters that are before the courts.

That didn't go over well with the three parties that sit across from the Liberals, who feltChagnon was being overly partisan in his interpretation of the rules.

"Mr. Speaker, we're witnessing several interventions on your part that are putting us in a situation where what corresponds to facts and truth becomes lies and unacceptable," Qubec Solidaire'sAmir Khadirsaid.

After question period, Khadirwondered ifChagnon was "under pressure from the party in power" and called on him to seek an independent legal opinion about the rules he was citing to prevent questions about Normandeau.

Legaultalso hinted Chagnon was doing the Liberals'bidding.

"I don't know what kind of discussions Mr. Chagnon and the Liberals are having," Legault told reporters."You'll have to ask them."

A seething Legaultwent on to add:"There is dirty money in the Liberal party. We can say that the party is rotten."

When the Liberals objected to Legault's comment, he defended himself by saying he was simply quoting Shakespeare's line about the stateof Denmark.

Not to be outdone,Health Minister Gatan Barrette accused of Legaultof "petty partisan politics that I'd call pathetic."

Couillardappealed for calm. Hestoodthe next day in the National Assembly and delivered an impassioned plea for principled debate.

He thensaid he would let Legault "batheby himself in the gutter."

A round of insults

The National Assembly'sspeakerhas struggled in recent weeks to maintain decorum in the blue room.

Last month, Chagnon suspended proceedings for a half-hour after LiberalMNAs erupted in applause. That's been a no-no since lastfall, when the legislature unanimously agreed to ban clapping during question period in order to improve the quality of debate.

Government House Leader Jean-Marc Fournier emerged chastened after the time-outand apologized.

And Barrette himself was forced to apologize earlier this month.

He had accused thePartiQubcois's health critic, Diane Lamarre,of backing a plan by pharmacists to overcharge private insurers in 2010 when she was president of the Quebec Order of Pharmacists. He told reporters that Lamarrewas in "a permanent conflict of interests" when it came to prescription drug issues.

"Virulence is the trademark of parliamentary life," Baretteinitially replied when asked if he would retract his comments.

He eventually apologized, but not before the situation escalated in the National Assembly.

Parti QubcoisLeader Pierre Karl Pladeauwent so far as to pen a letter addressed to Couillard, asking himto rein in Barrette's behaviour.

In a bout of anger,Pladeau also called Barrette a "Tartuffe" a wink to aMolirecharacter known asa hypocrite.