The Canadian Press
OTTAWA—A contrite Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized yet again today for a physical encounter with two opposition MPs that touched off an unprecedented fracas on the floor of the House of Commons.
Trudeau rose in the House to apologize to all MPs, the Speaker, and also Quebec NDP MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau, with whom he collided yesterday while trying to hurry Conservative whip Gord Brown to his seat.
“I sincerely apologize to my colleagues, to the House as a whole, and to you, Mr. Speaker, for failing to live up to a higher standard of behaviour,” Trudeau told a rapt Commons as the shockwaves from the scene continued to reverberate.
“Members, rightfully, expect better behaviour from anyone in this House,” he noted. “I expect better behaviour of myself.
“I apologize for crossing the floor,” Trudeau added.
“That intervention was not appropriate, it was not my role, and it should not have happened.”
Trudeau also directly addressed Brosseau, saying he failed to live up to the standard of behaviour to which all MPs should adhere, and that there was no excuse for what he did.
“The way that members behave in this House is important,” he noted.
“It is important because we are here to serve Canadians, and Canadians deserve to have their concerns expressed fully and fairly in a direct and dignified manner.
“I know, and I regret that my behaviour yesterday failed to meet this standard.”
Trudeau said repeatedly that he made a mistake—“poor choices,” he called it—and that he wants to make amends.
The unprecedented scene erupted yesterday in the House when Trudeau pulled Brown through a clutch of New Democrat MPs to hurry up a vote related to doctor-assisted dying.
In doing so, he appeared to collide with Brosseau, who reacted with visible discomfort as Trudeau pushed past her—forcing her against an adjacent desk.
“It is troubling we are having this debate; what happened last night was very unsettling for everyone in this chamber,” said interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose.
“It is troubling, but it is our duty to have this debate if we take seriously our obligations to uphold the respect for one another required in this House to our jobs,” she stressed.
“The prime minister’s behaviour in the House last night was a violation of that respect.”
Conservative MP Peter Kent went so far as to suggest Trudeau’s actions were in contempt of Parliament.
