John Rafferty says he’s not surprised that Conservative MPs are starting to speak out against their own party.
For 15 minutes before Question Period in the House of Commons MPs are allowed SO31s, which are supposed to allow them time to highlight people or events in their ridings.
Last week several Conservative MPs complained that the Prime Minister’s Office had removed them from that list. MP John Rafferty (NDP, Thunder Bay-Rainy River) said even if the MPs were removed for supposedly wanting to discuss sex-selective abortion, the issue is one of parliamentary rights.
“It’s an issue of taking spots away from MPs that they should be using for their own constituents,” he said. “MPs don’t have a lot of opportunity to speak directly about things that are happening in their ridings.”
The Conservatives are allotted seven S.O. 31s while the NDP have five. Rafferty said the government has been using four of its seven spots to bash opposition parties instead of letting their own MPs speak.
“That’s not what they’re intended for at all,” he said.
Mark Warawa (Con., Langley) has appealed for Speaker Andrew Scheer to make a ruling. Raffety said he hopes that Scheer will rule that SO31s be used properly. He also hopes that MPs of all parties use the issue to discuss their rights with party leaders.
