Singh booted from Chamber during estimates debate after racism spat with Bloc

Debate on the latest supplementary estimates, which were later adopted "on division," hit a momentary snag after NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh accused a Bloc Québécois MP of being “racist” over his refusal to support a motion recognizing systemic racism in the RCMP. Mr. Singh was booted from the House by the House Speaker after refusing to apologize for calling Bloc House Leader Alain Therrien (La Prairie, Que.) "racist" for voting against a motion the NDP put forward for unanimous consent. The motion called on MPs to recognize systemic racism in the RCMP and to support review of its budget, tactics, and oversight mechanisms. Assistant deputy Speaker Carol Hughes (Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing, Ont.) asked Mr. Singh to apologize when Bloc MP Claude DeBellefeuille (Salaberry-Suroît, Que.) expressed her outrage over those remarks, which were inaudible in the video of the proceedings. The sitting had to be suspended briefly in order for Speaker Anthony Rota (Nipissing-Timiskaming, Ont.) to rule on whether Mr. Singh should face disciplinary measures, at the urging of Ms. DeBellefeuille, her party's whip. Mr. Singh was asked to leave for the rest of the debate. Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet (Beloeil-Chambly, Que.) defended his party's opposition to the motion, saying it had backed the NDP's call to have the House Public Safety Committee recalled to discuss systemic racism. "We accepted that request, but I think there could be a distance between partisan politics and a very delicate issue here, as the motion seemed to dictate the conclusions of the committee that would be struck," he said. "We didn't think it would be coherent to support such a motion, and it would be better to allow the committee to do its work." Speaking to reporters Wednesday evening, after being booted from the House, a visibly upset Mr. Singh said he was “shocked” that any MP would oppose the motion. He said there appeared to be “99 per cent support” for it, until he noticed Mr. Therrien voice his dissent and gesture in a way that suggested he “dismissed” the effort. He said he experienced a "moment of anger." “It was this brazen act of one MP to not just say ‘no,' but to say ‘no’ loudly and kind of gesture, almost like ‘this is meaningless,' " he said. "And in that gesture, I saw exactly what has happened for so long. People see racism as not a big deal; see systemic racism and the killing of Indigenous people as not a big deal; see Black people being the subject of violence and being killed as not a big deal. And in that moment, I saw the face of racism, that's what it looks like, when someone dismisses the reality that people are going through." The dispute cut into the four hours of debate that was allotted for the estimates review. The process for the debate was itself not without controversy, given its departure from routine practice. Previously, additional departmental spending plans released throughout the fiscal year are referred to the relevant committees, with ministers asked to testify. The NDP and Greens lent their support to the motion that sets out the voting process, but was opposed by the Bloc Québécois and Conservatives. Both parties have been calling for a return to more routine proceedings and for the government to offer a fiscal update. The government survived the confidence vote, an outcome that was all but assured after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) announced Tuesday that the emergency relief benefit would be extended for an additional eight weeks, meeting a key ask by the NDP. Mr. Blanchet addressed that inevitability when he spoke in the Chamber, though did not discount the necessity of debate. Speaking in French, Mr. Blanchet said, “I’m convinced the government House leader must be very passionate about this, but the future of such votes seems to be sealed, and they're mentioning programs that were already voted on through legislation and various means, and for which all the spending has generally been made or committed.” Of the $87-billion in spending outlined, some $6-billion is new, while the rest has been approved by Parliament for various COVID-19 support measures. “This makes this exercise more of a formality, but not an impertinent one. It will allow us to … take stock of what programs were implemented, and how efficient they were,” he said. He added that he had hoped Parliamentarians would have had more opportunity to improve these programs. “We wanted to do that, but we were told no. I’m worried about what message that sends.” In a report released Tuesday, Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux said the supplementary estimates MPs have been asked to vote on don’t account for “all of the planned spending” in response to the pandemic and provide an incomplete picture. The documents the government tabled only include measures from the “consolidated revenue fund.” Mr. Giroux, in an appearance before the House Government Operations Committee last month, decried the process for not providing sufficient oversight for billions of dollars in new spending, saying, “the amount of scrutiny for this unprecedented spending would also be unprecedented, but for the wrong reasons.” Mr. Giroux’s office reiterated its concern in the report released ahead of the debate, noting the process skirts accountability from MPs, the majority of whom are from opposition parties. “They will not have the capacity to perform the critical role of amending, reducing, or denying any provision in these estimates, despite the fact that opposition parties hold a majority of the seats in the House of Commons,” the PBO said. Parliament earlier this year approved roughly $305-billion in spending, a 12 per cent uptick from the previous year, through the main estimates. Mr. Singh staked his party's support for the estimates on a commitment from the government to extend the Canada Emergency Response Benefit beyond four months, the relief program that provides $2,000 a month to those unable to work or find steady employment during the pandemic. A day before the vote, Mr. Trudeau said CERB would be extended by eight weeks. Fiscal ‘snapshot’ to be released July Mr. Trudeau told reporters Wednesday the government plans to release a fiscal “snapshot”on July 8, when the House is scheduled to briefly reassemble. "This will give Canadians give a picture of where the economy is right now, how our response compares to that of other countries, and what we can expect for the months to come," he said. The government had been facing pressure for weeks to offer an assessment, however limited, of the state of the country’s finances. Last week, Mr. Trudeau dismissed those repeated calls, saying it would be an “exercise in invention and imagination” to make projections of what the economy would look like “six months from now,” or a year. The snapshot won't be similar to past fiscal updates. "I think it would be unrealistic to project much further than a few months, because things are changing so rapidly," he said. - With files from Palak Mangat The Hill Times

Singh booted from Chamber during estimates debate after racism spat with Bloc

The dispute cut into the four hours of debate that was allotted for the estimates review. The process for the debate was itself not without controversy, given its departure from routine practice.

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Singh booted from Chamber during estimates debate after racism spat with Bloc

The dispute cut into the four hours of debate that was allotted for the estimates review. The process for the debate was itself not without controversy, given its departure from routine practice.

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