Speaker kicks Poilievre out of the Commons after he calls PM a 'wacko' in tense question period exchange
Trudeau accuses Poilievre of associating with white nationalists, Tory leader hits back
Speaker Greg Fergus kicked Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre out of question period Tuesday after a particularly nasty exchange with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Poilievre's day-long removal from the House of Commons came after he called Trudeau a "wacko" for supporting B.C.'s past policy ofdecriminalizing 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'srefusal prompted Fergus to remove him.
"There are a couple of things that are going on here today that are not acceptable," Fergus said.
He later called it a "remarkable question period" after MPs from all sides yelled at one another and called each other names.
Following Poilievre's removal, the Conservative caucus left the Commons chamber en masse,followingtheir leader.
Trudeau fielded a fewmore questions Tuesday from Blocand NDP MPs and then left the chamber after the fracas.
Poilievre turned to social media after getting the boot. "The Liberal speaker censored me for describing Trudeau's hard drug policy as wacko," he posted.
"Sixpeople dying from overdoses every day in B.C. is wacko. Nurses worried about breastfeeding after breathing in toxic drug fumes is wacko. This is a wacko policy from a wacko PM that's destroying lives."
Trudeau calls Poilievre 'spineless'
Trudeau also engaged in name-calling, saying at one point that Poilievre was a "spineless" leader.
He said Poilievre is trying to "earn votes through personal attacks" after the Conservative leader raised Trudeau's past episodes of wearing blackface.
Trudeau accusedPoilievreofcourting "white nationalist groups" with his visit to an anti-carbon tax protest camp in the Maritimes earlier this month.
While at the camp, Poilievre stepped into a trailer that had a symbol associated with Diagolondrawn on the door.
That'sa group the RCMP has said supportsan "accelerationist" ideology the idea thatcivil war or the collapse of western governments is inevitable and ought to be sped up.
"He will not denounce them and everything they stand for," Trudeau said of Poilievre, while also citing American conspiracy theorist Alex Jones'endorsement of Poilievre.
"This is a 19-year career politician who knows exactly what he's doing and thinks he can get away with it," Trudeau said.
"It is a choice to pander to white nationalists. It's a choice to not condemn them and everything they stand for in his quest for votes."
Poilievreat one point said he wouldn't take lessons on racism from a prime minister whose government gave anti-racism training money to Laith Marouf, a Montreal man who had a history of making antisemitic remarks in social media posts.
The government cut off funding to Marouf'scompany in 2022 after public scrutiny ofhis hatefultweets.
Before Poilievre's removal, Fergus had Conservative MP Rachael Thomas removed from thechamber after sheshoutedat him and calledhim "a disgrace" for not immediately demanding that Trudeau withdraw his commentaboutPoilievre being"spineless."
Trudeau's"spineless" remarkdidresult in arebuke from Fergus. The Speaker told Trudeau not to make comments that "call into question the character of an individual member of Parliament."
It's highly unusual for a Speaker to remove the Official Opposition leader from the Commons during question period.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was forced out of the chamberin2020 after he called a Bloc Qubcois MP racist.
A spokesperson for Poilievre framed his leader's removal as an attempt by Fergus to "protect the prime minister" from tough questions and silence the Conservative leader.
"By any reasonable measure, these policies are wacko. The prime minister knows that and that's why he refuses to answer why he is keeping dangerous drugs legal in British Columbia," the spokesperson said.
Mental Health and Addictions Minister Ya'ara Saks told reportersearlier that Ottawa hasn't made a decision on what to do with B.C.'srequesttomake illicit drug use illegal in all public spacesafter ending a federally sanctionedpilot project that decriminalized theirpossession.
"It's under review by Health Canada," Saks said.
As for Conservative claims that Poilievre is somehow being silenced,Immigration Minister Marc Miller said it's nonsense.
"That guy has never shut his mouth in his life. Who silences him? He keeps saying dumb things," Millersaid.
"It would be good if he shut his yaponce in a while. The stuff that he does in the House of Commons is disgraceful."
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