Point of Order
October 1, 2024
Point of order concerning an alleged personal insult made by the member for Calgary Heritage during a statement delivered pursuant to Standing Order 31
Hon. Greg Fergus
Speaker of the House
Ruling Text
The Speaker:
I am also now ready to rule on the point of order raised on September 27, 2024, by the member for Edmonton Strathcona concerning an alleged personal insult made by the member for Calgary Heritage during a statement delivered pursuant to Standing Order 31.
In her intervention, the member for Edmonton Strathcona alleged that the member for Calgary Heritage used a personal insult directed at the member for Burnaby South earlier that day in his statement. She noted that the Chair had made a ruling recently about personal insults directed towards other members. She suggested that the member for Calgary Heritage should be asked to withdraw his comment and apologize.
[Translation]
As I indicated in my ruling of September 26, 2024, I remain very concerned about the tendency to use overly personal criticism and insults. I also concluded my ruling, found at page 25926, of the Debates, by inviting, and I quote, "members to be more judicious in their choice of words and behaviour. If they are not, the Chair will have no choice but to discipline those members who persist in their unparliamentary behaviour." The Chair has reviewed the statement made by the member for Calgary Heritage and finds certain words indeed constituted a personal attack on the member for Burnaby South.
[English]
The member for Calgary Heritage should have been aware that his words were problematic as I had warned one of his colleagues a few days before during Statements By Members against using the exact same terms. As I have stated before, there are ways to make our point without resorting to personal insults. As a result, the member for Calgary Heritage will not be recognized until such time as he withdraws his offending words.
I thank all members for their attention.
The hon. member for Don Valley West is rising on a point of order.
Edit Metadata
Holding
"The words used by the member for Calgary Heritage constituted a personal attack, and the member will not be recognized by the Chair until the offending words are withdrawn."
AI Summary
The Speaker sustained a point of order, finding a member's words to be a personal insult and refusing to recognize them until the words are withdrawn.
AI Analysis
- Outcome
- Sustained
- Tone
- Stern
- Procedural Stage
- Routine Proceedings
- Significance
Low
High