Speaker could not resolve dispute between Gould and Lewis

The speaker of the House of Commons was unable to sort out the truth in a nasty confrontation between Burlington MP Karina Gould and Haldimand-Norfolk MP Leslyn Lewis. Last week Gould accused Lewis of calling a Liberal Member an “anti semite” during a house proceeding. Lewis emphatically denied the accusation and demanded an apology from Gould. House Speaker Anthony Rota promised to review Hansard and listen to the audio in order to make his ruling.

In the house yesterday Rota told members, “The Chair can report that the word in question could not be heard through the audio. Since the alleged unparliamentary language could not be confirmed, the Chair is left with two versions of the same event and the impossible task to determine what was said.” He went on to request, “The Chair takes this opportunity, once again, to ask all members to conduct themselves in a dignified manner and to show continued respect for one another. All members need to be judicious in their choice of words, on and off the record.”

MP Gould’s office told the Bay Observer the Minister has nothing to add to the Speaker’s remarks.