Even the prime minister can get a little a peckish from time to time.
During the first hour of Wednesday night’s marathon voting session in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was called out by a member of the Conservatives for surreptitiously eating during the proceedings.
“We all know that the rules of this House do not permit us to eat in this place and I can’t help but observe that during the last vote a number of people were eating in their seats including the minister of defence, the minister of Canadian heritage, and the prime minister who appeared to be hiding a bagel in his desk,” Conservative MP Scott Reid announced.
As per the House’s Rules of Decorum, members are permitted to “refresh themselves with glasses of water during debate, but the consumption of any other beverage or food is not allowed.”
Reid gave one last parting shot at the prime minister when he stated: “Mr. Speaker, the prime minister has already stained this place with corruption, he does not need to stain it with mustard as well.”
The Conservative politician was referencing the ongoing SNC-Lavalin scandal that continues to dog the Liberals more than a month after it became public.
The SNC-Lavalin affair is also the reason why Members of Parliament were in the House of Commons on Wednesday night. The Liberal majority shot down a Conservative motion calling on the prime minister to allow former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould to testify again about the scandal.
This led to a Conservative-sponsored filibuster that has continued into Thursday morning.
In response to Reid’s accusation, Trudeau stood up and acknowledged he had eaten during the session.
“Indeed Mr. Speaker, I apologize. It was a chocolate bar and I apologize,” Trudeau stated as members of his party suppressed smiles behind him.
