Like someone asserting that the NDP planned this? If, for the sake of argument that someone was going to attempt to prosecute the PM, you think that there would not be back channel attempts to thwart, hinder, or at the least question it?:dubious:
My perspective is this. The PM should be held to a higher standard than you or I. They should set the example. Because if not them, then who? That doesn’t mean they need to be angels, btw.
Still doesn’t mean he didn’t commit an assault. That is the defence after the fact.
The NDP did not plan to have Trudeau assault the Conservative and elbow the NDP. Such an assertion lacks perspective.
It appears to me that:
The NDP was deliberately frustrating the House from taking a vote by blocking the Conservative Whip from walking on his side of the isle to his seat.
Trudeau inappropriately usurped the Speaker’s role by crossing the floor and physically moving the Conservative Whip through the NDP blockade.
This constituted assault, but de minimus applies, so crying assault lacks perspective.
There was no intent to elbow the NDP MP soccer player, so crying assault not only lacks perspective but also is incorrect in law.
All in all, the Speaker needs to keep a closer eye on shenanigans. Both Trudeau and the NDP should remember their place and the importance of decorum in the House. Shame on them.
It might be worthwhile considering why they were delaying the vote and for how long. Delaying a vote that would limit debate, something that the Liberals derided the Conservatives over when they were in power.
Agreed
de minimus does negate the assault it is a defence for it and that the court won’t consider charges. Saying it was an assault isn’t lacking perspective, it is stating the facts.
If during the commission of an assault someone else gets hurt, then does that add to the charges or severity? And who are you to say that she wasn’t actually hurt. Getting hit in the sternum can hurt.
But it occurs to me to ask, does criminal law apply in the HOC?
I’m a citizen with a right to responsible government, not buffoons playing don’t-touch-me/don’t-block-me. She chose to get physical by participating in the blockade, so she did not have clean hands. No sympathy from me for her getting accidentally bumped, whether it hurt her or not, just as there is no toleration by me for Trudeau also getting physical.
As far my guessing that she was not hurt? Seventeen years of playing rugby, fourteen years coaching a twenty person breast cancer survivor canoe team, and having cracked a rib last week. She looks like a soccer player to me – all crocodile tears, playing to the audience for effect, rather than getting the job done as a Parliamentarian. Pathetic.
You do see the difference between the two actions, don’t you?
Rugby players expect to get hit at work. Cancer patients, though it sucks, expect pain. Standing against a railing and getting elbowed in the ribs at your office job is something you don’t prepare for. And while I don’t disagree that she is playing for the cameras, her reaction could be as much the shock of it happening as well.
And frankly, if I was either Brown or Brossou, and been thinking quickly, I’d have gone to some back room and had someone grab me as hard as they could on the arm to cause a bruise and thrown myself on a chair to bruise a rib. But that is just me:)
Are you serious?
When someone opens the door a crack, you kick it the f*** down. (I think I’ve been watching too much House of Cards, frankly!)
A month ago you opposed the building of a youth centre in Attawapiskwat, despite the youth suicide crisis there and the youth themselves requesting it. This month you are advocating deceit and falsehood by parliamentarians.
I’m curious as to what next month will bring.
No. That goes contrary to the rule of law: the law is the same for all. The definition of assault does not change depending on the political status of the person alleged to have committed the assault.
I don’t think you appreciate just how decentralised the administration of justice is in Canada, the separation between the provinces and the federal government, and the extremely strong institutional protections against political interference in criminal investigations and prosecutions.
Yes, back-channel methods worked so well for the career of the PM’s Chief of Staff, Nigel Wright:
‘Mind-boggling and shocking’: Judge slams Harper PMO in Mike Duffy verdict
Just out of curiosity, in the middle of that scrum had someone just reacted like they would on the street, and take hairboy down, what would have happened.
Declan
Uzi, this gets back to your question about whether or not criminal law applies in the House of Commons. Although there is parliamentary privilege for some civil matters, there is no parliamentary privilege for criminal matters due to the overarching importance that all of us, from plebeians to parliamentarians, be equal before the criminal law.
More seriously, if someone took down a member of the House within the House, I expect that security would step in and the person would be charged with assault.
Sounds like an Australian parliamentry session.
Declan
Great Daily Show interview of Justin Trudeau here where he defends Canada’s influx of refugees and shows the correspondent that he knows what an Upper Deck is.
For which I said the money would be better spent getting the people out of that no future reserve. What a community center is going to do with no prospects of jobs I have no idea.
Deceitful is complaining that the last government was shutting down debate, campaigning on how they would be a better government, and then immediately doing what they were previously complaining about. The falsehood was saying they were going to act differently.
You’ve already said that Brosseau wasn’t really hurt. So, what was she doing by saying she was? Was that being deceitful?
The whole thing is a game that relies on deception, deceit, misdirection, and outright lies. Losing is getting caught. Winning is being better at it than the opposition.
So how is everybody’s Victoria Day weekend going?
We’ve had a Saturday and Sunday of rain, and I have a golf game scheduled for tomorrow (Monday). I hope it clears up in time for our game, but I’m doubtful.
Well, even if our game is cancelled, the Monday off work is nice, at any rate!