The Leader of NDP, Jagmeet Singh labeled a Bloc Quebecois MP as racist after the failure of a New Democrat motion on RCMP discrimination to get unanimous consent from the House of Commons.
Singh did not apologize for the utterance made at Bloc member, Alain Therrien. His refusal to apologise prompted the Speaker to order Singh to vacate the House for the rest of the day.
Singh had requested that the Commons recognize the fact that there is systemic racism in the RCMP and call on the government to review the budget of the force, make sure that the Mounties are held accountable and carry out a holistic review of the RCMP’s use of force.
Bloc MP, Claude DeBellefeuille defended Therrien by saying that the NDP was classifying her colleague as “a racist person, which is not accepted in the House of Commons.
Singh was asked to apologise by the Speaker but he refused.
Singh said: “It’s true, I called him a racist, and I believe that’s so.”
The parliamentary melee followed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s acknowledgment that existing institutions have not adequately addressed worries about police behaviour.
When asked about the truth that it normally takes years before the RCMP act on what the civilian watchdog of the force recommends, Trudeau said: “We are going to move much quicker on responding to these things, on making changes to our institutions, to really go after systemic discrimination.”
During his briefing before the sitting in the Commons recently, Singh urged the RCMP and other forces to be more accountable and transparent.
Singh particularly said there was need for improved scrutiny of public complaints about incidents that involve police.
He said: “We found that throughout Canada this is an ongoing concern, that the investigations are not conducted in a way where people are left feeling satisfied that it was thorough and that it was independent.”
