The Speaker takes a stand (II)

And you’ll never guess who’s unhappy.

Ottawa-area Tory Pierre Poilievre vigorously defended the right to criticize. He suggested the Speaker might have succumbed to pressure from fellow Liberals.

"Part of a democracy is promoting ideas. The other part of a democracy is pointing out the flaws in some of those ideas," Poilievre said.

He said it should be up to voters to scrutinize and judge MPs for their behaviour in the Commons, not the Speaker.

There was, in fact, a lengthy debate after Question Period today on the Speaker’s ruling. A transcript wasn’t immediately available, but will be posted here on Friday.