(Ottawa) Accusations of homophobia and partisan attacks took center stage in the House of Commons on Thursday, as MPs debated another Conservative motion to overthrow the government, after their first failed attempt.
The fall parliamentary sessions got off to a rocky start and hostilities continued to escalate Thursday, forcing House Speaker Greg Fergus to play referee during question period.
Conservative MP Garnett Genuis defended himself against accusations of homophobia following a comment he made Wednesday about the prime minister getting into a bathtub with other leaders.
PHOTO ADRIAN WYLD, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Conservative MP Garnett Genuis
The comment and response from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau derailed question period for a while after he accused the Conservatives of bullying and casual homophobia, and said he would “denounce them for their bullshit.”
On Thursday, NDP MP Heather McPherson called on the Speaker to maintain decorum in the House of Commons, calling Genuis’ remark homophobic and sickening.
“It had nothing to do with sex, I wasn’t thinking about sex at all,” Mr. Genuis said, as deputies around him shouted.
The tensions in Parliament come as the Conservatives have repeatedly tried to overthrow the minority government. The majority of MPs voted on Wednesday against the first motion of censure presented by the Conservative leader.
If this motion had passed, it would have defeated the government and very likely triggered an election campaign.
The Conservatives are now accusing the New Democratic Party (NDP) and the Bloc Québécois of supporting a government that they have repeatedly criticized.
However, the NDP and Bloc reject the way the Conservatives are presenting events, saying the vote of no confidence essentially asks them to support Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre rather than Mr. Trudeau.
Poilievre’s second motion of censure on Thursday states that the House of Commons has lost confidence in the Liberal government and “is giving Canadians the opportunity to cut taxes, build more housing, improve the budget and end to crime”.
This is the list of promises that the Conservatives have been using for months.
NDP MP Charlie Angus said Thursday the confidence vote was about “whether the leader of the opposition should be trusted.”
PHOTO SPENCER COLBY, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
NDP MP Charlie Angus
The series of confidence votes comes after the NDP ended the supply and confidence agreement that had kept the government stable since early 2022.
The Bloc Québécois has given the Liberals until October 29 to adopt two private member’s bills related to supply management and senior security if they want to avoid an election before Christmas.
MPs will vote on the latest Conservative motion on 1er October and on another confidence motion related to the Liberals’ capital gains tax changes on October 2.