“Elbow-gate” has been debated by pundits nationally, dissecting the infamous video frame by frame. For MP of Battle River-Crowfoot Kevin Sorenson, what is just as concerning, if not more, was the real business of the government that he feels was being stifled.
Sorenson was in the house during the outburst where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accused of “getting physical.”
“The NDP were trying to slow down the vote a bit, which is nothing uncommon, to make a statement, by not taking their seat they were maybe going to postpone it for two or three minutes maximum,” said Sorenson. “Then all of the sudden bingo! Here comes the Prime Minister strolling over there through the crowd and grabs our whip and pulls him around the corner, and I guess when he pulled, he hit one of the NDP members in the chest.”
At first, Sorenson thought that was the end of the drama.
“I thought that was going to be it, and then I looked over and saw her crying, she had tears in her eyes and she left. I went down and told Mulcair she had left.”
The Prime Minister stormed back through the crown and engaged with Mulcair.
While the events of May 18 were shocking, he is concerned about moves by the governing party to limit the power of parliamentarians.
“What the Liberals were trying to do here is to move Motion 6, which is 17 different items that would take away the rights of opposition,” said Sorenson.
He said on Monday the government nearly lost a vote, and the speaker had to break the tie.
“The Liberals were upset that they almost lost the vote and then came out with Motion 6.”
“It allows any cabinet minister to walk in and shut down debate any time and move it to any other topic they want… they could extend the hours until 3 o’clock in the morning and you could keep a quorum and call any other motion or bill,” he said. “It has never been seen before and everyone says it is an affront to democracy.”
The event came during a debate on the divisive bill of doctor-assisted suicide that day.
“It is a big bill and regardless of what side you are on, you can appreciate both sides,” said Sorenson. “It had been a very respectful debate throughout the week, which makes it even more bizarre that they were trying to shut down debate.”
While “elbow-gate” was a spectacle, Sorensen says it did shine some light on his concerns.
“The national media started to come out on this and say “this is bizarre what are they trying to do?” And then the government did withdraw the Motion (6),” said Sorenson.
He still believes it is important to debate these decisions.
“They had lots of options, but when they start to take away a person’s right to debate and be heard it’s concerning.”
