- By Bernd Debusmann Jr
- BBC News, Washington
May 1, 2024
video caption, Watch: Canada's opposition leader calls Trudeau 'crazy'
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre was expelled from Canada's House of Commons after heated arguments with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Mr. Poilievre's removal came after he refused to apologize for calling Mr. Trudeau a “lunatic” and “extremist” during a question period.
They debated the controversial decriminalization of hard drugs in British Columbia.
Rachael Thomas, another Conservative MP, was also expelled.
Conservatives in British Columbia's government are currently trying to reverse the province's landmark drug decriminalization.
During the exchange in the national parliament, Mr. Trudeau accused Mr. Poilievre of flirting “shamefully” with “white nationalists,” referring to recent images showing him with demonstrators at an anti-carbon price protest displaying flags and symbols from groups including the Fara-right group Diagalon.
Mr. Poilievre, in turn, called Mr. Trudeau's comments his “latest distraction” from his own “extremist politics.”
“When are we going to put an end to this crazy policy of this crazy Prime Minister?” he said.
By then, Speaker Greg Furgus had already expelled Ms Thomas for calling the Prime Minister “disgraceful”.
He intervened again, calling Mr Poilievre's comments “unacceptable” and urging him to “simply retract” them.
When Mr Poilievre failed to do so, Speaker Fergus threw him out of the chamber.
The majority of conservative MPs followed.
“Today the Liberal spokesman censored me for calling Trudeau’s tough drug policies crazy,” Mr. Poilievre, also known as X, said on Twitter. “This is a crazy policy from a crazy prime minister that is destroying lives.”
British Columbia's decriminalization project, launched in January 2023, is facing increasing opposition due to concerns about public unrest and drug use.
In early April, the province announced it would re-criminalize hard drug use in public and partially roll back the policy.
Police will soon have the power to crack down on drug use in all public places, including hospitals, restaurants, parks and beaches.
It is unclear when the new rules will come into force. The province said it is working with the federal government to change the policy “urgently.”