D'Arcy McGee: Prime Minister channels his bouncer days in chaotic evening session on the Hill

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Prime Minister channels his bouncer days in chaotic evening session on the Hill

And they're coming off the benches now, we're gonna have a donnybrook!

Those that follow twitter found their twitter feed exploding shortly after 6 PM ET/3 PM PT on Wednesday, as report after report suggested that checking out CPAC might provide a glimpse of Canadian democracy as a full contact sport.

As the twitter avalanche continued the main theme indicated that the Prime Minister had somehow returned to his previous life as a bar bouncer as he attempted to usher Conservative MP Gord Brown to his seat, seemingly annoyed at the length of time it was taking to get to the voting on the Liberal governments assisted dying bill.

Along the way elbows flashed, one sending NDP MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau (a former bartender who perhaps has seen a good bar fight or two in her days) to the sidelines, a wayward elbow striking the MP in the chest and causing her such personal distress that she left the Chamber.

While she exited door left, the Prime Minister and NDP leader Tom Mulcair engaged in a strongly worded shouting match, with the NDP leader looking very ready to drop the gloves as they say at the Bell Centre.

All while the speaker tried to regain some form of decorum in a chamber that has seen some rough patches over the years; but nothing quite like the prospect of a bench clearing brawl that seemed in the offing, as Liberal members suddenly rushed the floor to follow the Prime Minister.

Finally, things settled down to a fashion, and like any good accident scene, the interpretations on the day covered the gambit of possibilities, the Prime Minister offering apologies, the speaker admonishing the suddenly not so honourable member of Papineau for his outburst and the rest of the Commons making as much political hay out of the situation as possible.

Statements from the opposition party leaders would follow all, of course stating the horror of such displays of churlishness could make their way into the House of Commons.

Not surprisingly, sports metaphors made for some of the barbs from the world of twitter, which was having a very good evening of snark at the Prime Minister's expense.

Suggestions that at least we knew what Don Cherry would lead off with, were mixed with comments reflecting on what kind of a penalty the Department of Parliamentarian Safety might offer after reviewing the video.

The thought of Tommy Mulcair readying up his best brush back pitch for the next appearance also found some traction on the day.

The dust up in the Green Chamber also provided for more than enough fodder for news reports and columnist contributions, the material almost writing itself for the sheer madness of it all.