No sanctions or calls for Justin Trudeau to apologize again for ‘elbowgate’

This article titled “No sanctions or calls for Justin Trudeau to apologize again for ‘elbowgate'” was written by Ashifa Kassam in Toronto, for theguardian.com on Tuesday 31st May 2016 22.20 UTC

Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, will not face sanctions or be forced to apologize again over accusations that he manhandled one member of parliament and elbowed another, a parliamentary committee decided on Tuesday.

The country’s normally staid House of Commons erupted into chaos earlier this month after a visibly annoyed Trudeau strode into a group of MPs, grabbed Conservative Gord Brown by the arm and led him out of the group.

Parliamentarians had been waiting to vote on a controversial motion put forward by Trudeau’s Liberals that sought to limit debate on their assisted suicide legislation. The vote was delayed as several New Democrat MPs gathered around Brown, seemingly impeding him from taking his place.

Trudeau reportedly swore as he strode toward Brown, telling MPs to “get the fuck out of the way”. Video of the tussle showed Trudeau inadvertently elbowing New Democrat Ruth Ellen Brosseau as he pulled Brown away from the group.

Mayhem ensued. MPs shouted and pounded their desks as Tom Mulcair, leader of the New Democratic party, lashed out at Trudeau. “What kind of man elbows a woman? It’s pathetic! You’re pathetic!” Mulcair shouted.

Trudeau apologized three times for sparking the heated melee, including one apology directed at Brosseau. “I want to take the opportunity … to be able to express directly to [Brosseau] my apologies for my behaviour and my actions, unreservedly,” he said.

The incident dominated Canadian news coverage for days and sent #Elbowgate trending on Twitter. Brosseau was left fending off personal attacks, including accusations that she was “crying wolf”. Parliamentarians spent hours debating the kerfuffle as Canadians wondered how much to make of an unprecedented physical fracas involving the prime minister.

The incident was referred to an all-party committee for review, after the speaker of the House of Commons, Liberal Geoff Regan, concluded that Brosseau’s privileges as an MP had been breached.

On Tuesday, the Liberal-dominated House of Commons Procedure and House Affairs committee gathered for the first time since the incident. Possible sanctions over the incident could have seen Trudeau suspended or forced to apologize for the fourth time.

NDP member David Christopherson shared a statement from Brosseau, who is currently in China on a parliamentary trade mission.

Brosseau said she had accepted Trudeau’s apology but noted that the incident would not be tolerated in any workplace. “It left many members stunned and raised important questions about the conduct of the prime minister in a House that was already confronted with unprecedented government measures to limit debate.”

She asked the committee to drop the issue. “It is my sincere hope that all members will work to ensure that we never see this conduct repeated, and also that we take this opportunity to recommit to improving the tone of debate in parliament.”

Members of the committee wasted little time in turning the page on Elbowgate: Tuesday’s review of the incident took just 15 minutes, after which members unanimously passed a motion to drop the issue.

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