WATCH: QP Drama: Mulcair/Scheer/Calandra

[Oscar]

Tom Mulcair challenges Speaker's neutrality in question period

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Published on: September 23, 2014 | Last Updated: September 23, 2014 9:11 PM EDT

NDP leader Tom Mulcair, who has been in hot water with House of Commons Speaker Andrew Scheer in the past, directly challenged Scheer’s neutrality Tuesday, following a bizarre back-and-forth with Conservative MPs over Canada’s mission in Iraq and a Facebook comment on Israel.

The dust-up, which resulted in the Speaker curtailing Mulcair’s ability to be heard in Question Period Tuesday, is the latest example of escalating tension between the two men.

It began when Mulcair rose at the start of question period to ask about Canada’s military mission in Iraq. In particular, he wanted to know whether Canada’s 30-day commitment would end on Oct. 4.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s parliamentary secretary, Paul Calandra, delivered the government’s response. But instead of talking about Iraq, he referenced a Facebook comment from a former NDP fundraiser called Alex Anderson that attacked the Israeli Defence Force over the war in Gaza.

“He says ‘eff the IDF and all who support them, and that he is sick and tired of the media BS trying to sell lies and hide an ‘effing genocide,’” Calandra said. “Does Alex Anderson speak for the NDP when he says these shameful things?”

The same thing happened when Mulcair asked how many Canadian troops were actually in Iraq, at which point he appealed to Scheer to ensure the government’s responses actually dealt with the question being asked.

“Mr. Speaker, there are rules in the book about question period,” Mulcair told Scheer. “You are our arbiter. We ask you to enforce the rules on relevance.” The NDP leader then asked whether an agreement outlining the operating rules for Canadian Forces had been signed with Iraq. Again, Calandra dodged the question and focused instead on Israel.

At that point, Mulcair told Scheer, who is a Conservative MP: “Mr. Speaker, well, that does not speak very favourably about your neutrality in this House.”

Scheer, who said in January that he is not responsible for the quality or content of government answers to questions, did not directly respond to Mulcair’s challenge. Instead, he simply called on Liberal leader Justin Trudeau to ask a question – even though Mulcair was scheduled to ask several more of his own.

Speaking to reporters after, Mulcair refused to say whether he had a problem with Scheer as Speaker of the House of Commons. Instead, he criticized the government for refusing to provide answers to important questions.

“Canadians deserve better and they deserve more respect for our institutions than we got today,” he said. “We got from a backbencher a series of answers that included swear words and had nothing whatsoever to do with the topic. So we’re going to continue to defend our parliamentary institutions.”

Trudeau indicated his support for Scheer “continuing to behave in a responsible and impartial manner,” but also lamented what he saw as “a real degradation of the quality of parliamentary discourse.”

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Paul Calandra, parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, delivers an apology in the House of Commons Friday.

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The prime minister's parliamentary secretary has apologized for responding to NDP Leader Tom Mulcair's questions on Canada's mission in Iraq with an attack on the NDP position on Israel in question period this week

[Oscar]

Paul Calandra's non-answer period week in videos

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By Kady O'Malley, CBC News Posted: Sep 26, 2014 3:38 PM ET| Last Updated: Sep 26, 2014 5:10 PM ET

It started with a question on Canada's military mission in Iraq. It ended in tears.

The question came Tuesday from NDP Leader Tom Mulcair in the House of Commons question period. In response, Conservative MP Paul Calandra, filling in for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, launched an attack on the NDP's position on Israel, based on a Facebook post purportedly written by a party worker.

Faced with a repeat of the question, Calandra launched the attack again — and provided fresh fodder for the seemingly perpetual debate over the state of Canadian parliamentary democracy.

So off-topic and ad hominem was the response that Mulcair called on Commons Speaker Andrew Scheer to intervene. When that didn't work, Mulcair openly questioned the Speaker's "neutrality."

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Related Stories

■Paul Calandra apologizes for non-answers as sources pin blame on PMO
■NDP make bid to boost Speaker's power to intervene during QP
■Tempers flare in the House over Iraq mission non-answers
■At Issue: Democracy in action, or abuse of Parliament?

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