BUST UP
Mayhem as Canada’s PM Justin Trudeau elbows woman and tells MPs to ‘get the f*** out of the way’
Astonishing scenes as the Prime Minister gets frustrated while waiting for a vote to start
JUSTIN Trudeau has apologised after an elbowing incident which has left the Canadian Parliament in uproar.
Video footage from inside Canada’s House of Commons shows the prime minister striding up to a group of MPs and pulling one of them by the arm to lead him back to his seat.
5
When he was walking towards the Conservative Gord Brown, reports he told other MPs to “get the f*** out of the way”.
As Trudeau led Brown from the group, he elbowed New Democrat MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau in the chest.
This caused Parliament to descend into mayhem with MPs heckling and banging their desks.
Opposition leader Tom Mulcair shouted at Trudeau: “What kind of man elbows a woman? It’s pathetic! You’re pathetic.”
5
5
Later in the House, Brosseau said she had been “elbowed in the chest by the prime minister”.
She said she was so upset by what had happened she had to leave and so missed a vote on the government’s physician-assisted dying legislation.
Her New Democratic Party colleague Niki Ashton said she was deeply troubled by what happened.
She said: "I am ashamed to be a witness to the person who holds the highest position in our country do such an act.
“I want to say that for all of us who witnessed this, this was deeply traumatic.
“What I will say, if we apply a gendered lens, it is very important that young women in this space feel safe to come here and work here.
“He made us feel unsafe and we're deeply troubled by the conduct of the prime minister of this country."
5
5
Once order was restored in the House Trudeau apologised saying he took full responsibility for the ‘unadvisable course of actions’.
He said: “I want to take the opportunity to be able to express directly to [Brosseau] my apologies for my behaviour and my actions, unreservedly.
“The fact is, in this situation, where I saw I noticed that the whip opposite was being impeded in his progress, I took it upon myself to go and assist him forward, which I can now see was unadvisable as a course of actions that resulted in physical contact in this House that we can all accept was unacceptable.”
"I look for opportunities to make amends directly to the member and to any members who feel negatively impacted by this exchange and intervention."
Topics