Speaker reminds MLAs to keep it classy in lengthy address

The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba kicked off the fall session Wednesday by issuing a stern warning to MLAs.

Tom Lindsey, a third-term MLA, warned colleagues of all political stripes to behave themselves or be thrown out, in a lengthy address when the proceedings began around 1:30 p.m.

Lindsey told the chamber he spent the summer break thinking about the poor state of decorum — in particular, angry and loud personal insults that have been shouted across the floor over the last two years — in the legislature.

“There is no other workplace in this province where such behaviour among colleagues would be acceptable, and it should not be acceptable here,” he said.

The Speaker noted that, at the same time, there’s been a “general and persistent deterioration of decorum” in society at large in recent years — especially when it comes to political topics.

Every MLA has a responsibility to start “a trend in the opposite direction, towards civility and respect and away from division and hate,” said Lindsey, who represents Flin Flon constituents in his role as an MLA.

The Speaker’s comments were delivered moments before protesters arrived for a “Nahanni Must Go” rally outside the building in downtown Winnipeg.

Nahanni Fontaine’s Main Street constituency office appears to have been vandalized on multiple occasions in recent days.

The NDP families minister, St. Johns MLA and government house leader learned her office’s windows had been shattered on the Sept. 20-21 weekend. No one was inside when the glass was damaged.

Police continue to investigate that incident, as well as a blaze that broke out Tuesday, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

The North End constituency office of one of her cabinet colleagues, Bernadette Smith, also an Indigenous woman, has been hit by fires four times since August.

Both ministers represent voters in Winnipeg communities with higher-than-average poverty and crime rates.

Notably, Fontaine has faced widespread online backlash for reposting controversial comments about conservative media personality and gun-rights activist Charlie Kirk on Sept. 11, the day after he was assassinated.

Premier Wab Kinew and Obby Khan, leader of the Progressive Conservatives, took turns condemning all forms of politically motivated violence on the first sitting day after the summer.

Also Wednesday, the leaders of the NDP and Progressive Conservatives accused one another of making inflammatory comments.

“Democracy. Freedom of speech. Debate. These are all healthy things in this province,” Khan said, adding that what is unhealthy is NDP ministers showing “no empathy for someone who was murdered for expressing those rights.”

Fontaine issued an apology over her remarks on social media last month.

Lindsey indicated heckling in the house is not the issue in and of itself, but rather when it involves personal attacks.

“While we do have the parliamentary privilege of freedom of speech in this place, with that privilege comes the responsibility to act accordingly and respectfully,” he told the chamber.

To date, the Speaker of the 43rd legislature has yet to suspend an MLA from the chamber as a result of poor behaviour.

Lindsey said he’s been patient since assuming his role after the NDP won the 2023 election, but his patience has run out.

The last time an MLA was removed from the chamber was in 2021 when Fontaine, then the official Opposition’s justice critic, was ejected for saying the word “crap” in the legislature.

It’s against the rules to use “unparliamentary language” during question period. The public gallery code of conduct also bars visitors from making interruptions, disturbances or applauding.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca