Speaker dismisses complaint about nurse-bribe heckling

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This article was published 19/04/2023 (872 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Speaker of the Manitoba legislature has ruled against the NDP, which had alleged Health Minister Audrey Gordon had accused one of its MLAs of paying nurses to quit their jobs.

Speaker Myrna Driedger said the incident didn’t meet the threshold of a matter of privilege.

Meanwhile, Gordon would not deny making the alleged claim when pressed by reporters Wednesday to set the record straight.

“Hansard is the official record of discussions that are held in the chamber and Hansard shows that I did not speak that morning,” Gordon told reporters.

Earlier this month, NDP health critic Uzoma Asagwara alleged that on March 23 in the chamber, Gordon said: “How much did you pay the nurses to resign?”

Asagwara alleged Gordon made the remark while heckling from her seat as Tory MLA Andrew Micklefield was speaking about government spending on health care. Acting deputy speaker Dennis Smook presided over the debate.

Asagwara said their rights as a member of the house had been violated and they denied bribing health-care workers.

The health minister and her government had been under intense scrutiny following the resignations of seven nurses from the sexual assault nurse examiner program at Health Sciences Centre.

On Wednesday, Gordon was asked repeatedly whether she denies making the accusation. She would not provide a definitive answer and instead noted Hansard does not have a record of her speaking that morning.

Only a person who has been recognized by the Speaker or chairperson is on the record, according to the Manitoba Legislative Assembly. All banter and heckling during debate is off the record unless a member who has the floor responds to an interjection and the comment is clearly audible.

“I’m not going to spend time in smear campaigns. I am going to focus on the needs of Manitobans and moving their concerns forward,” Gordon said.

The Manitoba Nurses Union denounced the alleged remark and described the political discourse as a new low in the relationship between the government and nurses.

In her ruling, the Speaker said the alleged comments are not in Hansard, and as such, she does not have the scope to make a ruling on the language used. She noted intent must also be demonstrated when alleging a member has attempted to deliberately mislead the house.

“For all of these reasons I must respectfully rule that a prima facie (at first look) case of privilege has not been demonstrated,” Driedger said, dismissing the complaint.

However, she went on to challenge elected officials to demonstrate better behaviour.

“The health of our democracy is judged by what the public observes here,” the Speaker said. “Sadly, we are reaching a place where there is a loss of public confidence in governments of all levels and in democratic institutions.

“We must be more vigilant and aware that some of the actions taken in this house may be viewed in the eyes of the watching public as going too far, which can tarnish the image of our institution and the esteem by which we are all held,” she said.

Asagwara accepted the ruling and said they remain concerned about the impact of the alleged accusation on nurses.

“The minister has not denied making that statement. She has simply used the procedures of the house to try and shield herself from accountability,” Asagwara said.

Gordon said she takes the Speaker’s cautions to heart.

“I move forward knowing that I’m elected by the people in my constituency and I want to set a really good example for young people and to be a role model for my community, which is the Black community,” Gordon said.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca