Photo: Adrian Wyld La Presse canadienne Le ministre de l’Emploi, du Développement de la main-d’oeuvre et des Langues officielles, Randy Boissonnault, lors de la période de questions à la Chambre des communes, le lundi 18 novembre 2024 à Ottawa
The Speaker of the House of Commons had a hard time stopping Conservative MPs from calling federal Official Languages Minister Randy Boissonnault corrupt, a fraudster and a liar on Tuesday. He ended up excluding three of them from the debates.
“I can withdraw my comment that he is a fraudster and corrupt. Instead, I will say that he has committed fraud and corruption. Does that work, ?” said Quebec MP Pierre Paul-Hus during question period.
He was far from the only one in his ranks to challenge the authority of a Speaker of the Commons overwhelmed by the numerous insults and other obstacles to the rules on Tuesday. Greg Fergus was notably taunted by one of his predecessors, MP Andrew Scheer, who was reading a list of synonyms on his cell phone. “I take back the word fake [fake] and replaces it with imposture, imitation, counterfeit,” he shouted, provoking laughter from his colleagues.
Speaker Fergus spent much of the question period standing, alternating between irritation and resignation. He tried unsuccessfully to restore order to a Parliament that was hearing Official Languages Minister Randy Boissonnault being accused of pretending to be Indigenous and hiding his involvement with his former medical protective equipment company.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000“I invite the honourable member to find another way to ask his question,” Mr. Fergus complained to MP Luc Berthold, who immediately scoffed at the reprimand by specifying that he is asking for the dismissal of “all the Randys” in one fell swoop by firing his “imposter Minister of Official Languages.”
“You are putting me in a very awkward position,” Greg Fergus lamented. The Speaker finally cracked down on three Conservative MPs at the very end of question period, after a minute of silence for Ukraine. Michelle Rempel Garner, Michael Barrett and Rick Perkins were excluded from debate for the rest of the day on Tuesday, as they refused to withdraw their remarks. Parliament's rules prohibit insults between colleagues or directly referring to an MP by name.
Resignation requested
Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages since 2023, Franco-Albertan Randy Boissonnault has been struggling to extricate himself from a multifaceted scandal that originated in messages sent by a former business partner who was planning a meeting with a “partner” named “Randy.”
In recent months, the Conservatives have tried ironically to show that Boissonnault is this “other Randy,” and have multiplied their mockery of him. The main person concerned, present Tuesday, tried as best he could to defend himself from the numerous allegations against his former company and his past claims of an Indigenous identity.
Recently, another new problem fell on Minister Boissonnault when it was revealed that his former company, Global Health Import, presented itself as an Indigenous business. He was forced to clarify on social media that he is not in fact Indigenous, but was adopted by a family of Métis descent, which led him to participate in the Indigenous caucus within the Liberal Party.
The minister instead identified himself as “adopted Cree” during speeches in the House of Commons in 2016 and 2018, the statement log shows.
This shocked New Democratic Party (NDP) MP Blake Desjarlais, himself Indigenous and also the MP for the city of Edmonton, on Tuesday. “A minister of our country … continues to demonstrate this unfortunate abuse of the Indigenous procurement system. […] Randy Boissonnault must resign! And if not, it is up to the Prime Minister to throw someone like that out.”
Long-term paralysis
Le Devoiralso revealed that Mr. Boissonnault presented himself as a “journalist” during the 2015 and 2019 elections, even though he never signed any journalistic articles. The Fédération professionnelle des journalistes du Québec called his claim “morally questionable.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came to his defense from Brazil, where he was attending the G20 on Tuesday. “Mr. Boissonnault has answered these questions, and will continue to do so. In the meantime, I am pleased that he will continue to lead on the employment files, and represent Alberta in our government.”
Minister Boissonnault and his former company are the subject of a question of privilege, which could also paralyze the House of Commons for a time. However, proceedings have already been disrupted by a first question of privilege in a file that the Conservatives have dubbed the “green slush fund.”
The official opposition announced Tuesday that it will continue this blockage, which has been ongoing since the end of September, until it receives documents concerning a disgraced green fund, Sustainable Development Technology Canada. Instead, the government has sent documents that are redacted or with pages missing.