On a day when politicians reconvened at the B.C. Legislature for the first time since the Easter break, things got a little heated.
During the question period of the Legislature sitting on Monday, April 25, sparks flew and tensions rose leading to an unparliamentary word slipping from the mouth of the premier.
It was heckling from the Opposition’s Todd Stone and Shirley Bond that was the source of the premier’s frustration, captured on a clip that is now making the rounds on social media.
Warning, the embedded video contains language that may be offensive to some.
After what appears to be an f-bomb by @jjhorgan to end QP, it was so heated the Speaker had to call a recess for everybody to cool down. https://t.co/LfxW8u5SGh
— Rob Shaw (@RobShaw_BC) April 25, 2022
In the clip, Horgan can be heard uttering profanity under his breath while throwing his hands up toward the hecklers.
The heated moment came surrounding the topic of Greater Victoria’s family doctor shortage as the Liberals pointed out that all of the region’s urgent and primary care centres were already full at 8:20 a.m. Monday morning, with a four-and-a-half hour wait listed for walk-in clinics.
The comments seemed to get under Horgan’s skin and the debate devolved into shouting, with Horgan arguing he needs more federal dollars to help address the crisis.
“The Canada Health Transfer is fundamental to health care in British Columbia, it’s fundamental and it has been for generations. Do you really care or do you want to hear yourself?” Horgan shouted. “Do you want to hear yourself? Do you want a headline or do you want action? Aw f***.”
The frustration ultimately lead to the premier walking out while the BC Liberals jeered “shame on you.”
As tensions boiled over throughout the room, chaos ensued as MLAs on all sides began shouting at each other.
As a result of the moment, Speaker of the BC Legislative Assembly, Honourable Raj Chouhan, admonished everyone, suggesting they act like adults, before calling a recess in an attempt to cool everyone down.
Horgan later poked fun at himself on Twitter, commenting that if his mother were still around, she’d use an age-old tactic to address her son’s pottymouth.
If my mom was still around, she’d be on her way to the Legislature with a bar of Irish Spring. pic.twitter.com/T27OxScmH8
— John Horgan (@jjhorgan) April 25, 2022
The heated question period landed on the same day that media were once again allowed back into the Legislature to meet with politicians face-to-face for the first time since the pandemic.
Premier John Horgan greeted what he called a media “gauntlet” Monday as he passed by reporters in a legislature hallway on his way to a government caucus meeting.
Horgan stopped briefly to say the experience of seeing media in the hallways wanting to ask questions after the pandemic restrictions were lifted was “weird.”
The premier did not stay for an interview, but later, while in the chamber of the legislature, he jokingly warned other politicians that the media was back in the building looking for stories.
The B.C. Legislature has been sitting throughout the pandemic, but most media events and news conferences have been conducted virtually since March 2020.
Attorney General David Eby, who did stop and answer reporters’ questions, says meeting with media in the legislature hallways gave him a feeling that a major part of democracy was making a welcome return.
“It feels good,” says Eby. “It feels very democratic. I feel more accessible and I feel like the media has the ability to ask the questions they need to. I like it.”
With files from The Canadian Press.
The official #bcleg Hansard transcript of today’s exchange diplomatically avoids @jjhorgan‘s f-bomb and substitutes “interjections” instead. https://t.co/MMdyYylDOB pic.twitter.com/QkwDRAd7jO
— Rob Shaw (@RobShaw_BC) April 25, 2022
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