Speaker bans five unparliamentary words, strikes blow for decorum in Manitoba house

Manitoba legislature Speaker Tom Lindsey on Monday banned MLAs from calling one another a “bigot,” “homophobe,” “racist,” “misogynist” or “transphobe” in the Manitoba Legislative Assembly chamber.

The ruling came on the same day he evicted an MLA for refusing to apologize after saying last month that the premier was drinking.

“Setting this new standard for our legislature is necessary to ensure that the people’s business is conducted in a civil, orderly manner consistent with the practices of the federal parliament and every other jurisdiction in Canada,” Lindsey told MLAs returning after a weeklong break.

Speaker Tom Lindsey said Monday that MLAs on both sides of the chamber are a problem, with excessive heckling and unparliamentary language and behaviour. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press files)
Nahanni Fontaine questioned the speaker’s ban, saying her role as government house leader is to ensure NDP colleagues — in the only caucus with a trans man, Indigenous woman, black man, Sikh, Asian Canadian members, a black queer and gender non-conforming member of legislature — are protected.

“If you are racist, if you’re a misogynist, if you are transphobic, if you are anti-Black, if you are anti-Indigenous — if you are all of these things and you do that in the chamber, you can just do it now. There’s no consequences,” she told reporters after question period.

“Now I and my colleagues are meant to just accept that.”

Lindsey told the house that the banned words don’t mean the behaviour they describe is acceptable.

“The fact that these words are now unparliamentary does not allow members to use language that could be interpreted as bigoted, homophobic, misogynist, racist, transphobic or offensive in nature,” he said before the start of question period.

“I will be listening very closely to language used on the record to ensure that all members are being respectful and not being offensive or disorderly in their comments. I will also be listening for members using creative variations of the words I’ve listed and those comments may also warrant a caution or be ruled out of order,” he said.

“These changes do not infringe on the privilege freedom of speech enjoyed by all members.”

He said Manitoba’s assembly isn’t alone in banning the five words.

“These words would be ruled unparliamentary in other legislatures because, like the word “liar,” they constitute reflection on a member’s character or integrity rather than debating policy,” said Lindsey, the MLA for Flin Flon, who was elected under the NDP banner but serves in the non-partisan Speaker’s role.

MLAs on both sides of the chamber are a problem, with excessive heckling and unparliamentary language and behaviour, he said Monday.

Lindsey said he’s been approached by people on the street expressing concern about the lack of decorum in the chamber. He said he has heard from teachers who don’t want to take students to observe question period because of MLAs’ behaviour.

Visitors’ services at the legislature passed along concerns raised by the students: “They found question period to be loud and overwhelming. Students were shocked and confused after hearing disrespectful language between members,” he said.

“Students asked what everyone was so angry about. Why are they all mad? Why are they shouting at each other? Students asked why members are allowed to call each other names,” he said.

“Students said that it’s very disrespectful for members to yell at each other and not to listen to who’s talking.”

They see a roomful of adults yelling at each other and calling each other names — the opposite of how teachers and parents are teaching them to act, the speaker said.

After previously issuing several warnings to MLAs, Lindsey said the bad behaviour has to stop and that members will be warned three times before being called out by name rather than their title, and ejected from that day’s sitting.

After question period, the speaker directed Progressive Conservative MLA Wayne Ewasko (Lac du Bonnet) to apologize for heckling last month: “Hey — quit drinking” at Premier Wab Kinew.

Lindsey said he listened to audio after government house leader Nahanni Fontaine complained April 15 that Ewasko’s comments directed at Manitoba’s first First Nations premier were disparaging and amounted to anti-Indigenous racism.

Lindsey, who said he listened to audio and heard Ewasko say, “Hey — quit drinking” to the premier, asked Ewasko to unequivocally apologize for the remark.

Ewasko said he accepted the Speakers’ ruling, and hoped that members on the government bench would do better in the future.

Lindsey asked again if Ewasko would apologize and his response was if the premier was offended by what he said, he apologized for the remark, “but in no way, shape or form… was this meant as a racist comment, whatsoever — it was talking about his behaviour in the house.”

When Ewasko didn’t unequivocally apologize after being asked a third time, the Speaker called him out by name and ejected him from the chamber for disregarding the authority of the chair.

“I would like to congratulate us on meeting a new low,” Lindsey said after Ewasko departed.

Outside the chamber, PC Leader Obby Khan commended the Speaker for his decision to ban the words

“This language is always hurled from the government to our side,” Khan said. “We’re not the ones using these five words against them.”

Outside the chamber, the premier, flanked by most of his caucus, said Ewasko’s comment was discriminatory and played on an ugly racist stereotype. Kinew said he accepted Ewasko’s apology. He urged young people experiencing discrimination to rise above the “cheap shots” and hateful remarks and move on.

– With files from Gabrielle Piche

» carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca