Rick Mercer Final Report by Rick Mercer

Author:Rick Mercer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Published: 2018-06-10T16:00:00+00:00

EVERYTHING BUTT THE TRUTH

March 11, 2014

The very worst thing that anyone can do in the House of Commons, believe it or not, is to suggest, or even hint, that an MP is lying. If you do that and you do not apologize immediately, the Speaker will throw you out of the House. And the reason why it’s such a no-no is because members of Parliament are such upstanding members of society that they would never intentionally lie to the House. Meanwhile, back on planet Earth, we know better.

Last month, Tory MP Brad Butt stood in the House and said that he had witnessed widespread voter fraud in his riding. He saw it—he saw rival campaign workers pluck voter ID cards out of the blue bins and then use them to commit voter fraud. He used the phrases “I saw” and “I witnessed” five separate times. Shocking allegations. Except…a complete lie. He just made it up to make his government’s legislation look better. He just made it up.

Bear in mind, MPs take an oath of allegiance before they take their seat in the House of Commons. And it’s serious. It’s like being on the stand, swearing on your mother’s grave and a double pinky swear all wrapped up in one. In the real world, if you’re caught lying, there are consequences. If you do it in court, you go to jail. If you do it on the job, you get fired. A seven-year-old understands this. They may not get fired, but they would get a time out. But not Brad, oh no. All Brad had to do was stand up and, like a sulking adolescent, say, “I did not mean to mislead the House.” Ironically, he said this in the House—another lie in the House.

I have to believe in my heart of hearts that MPs, most of them, would not intentionally lie. But it is getting harder and harder to be shocked when they do. Because without any consequences, the House is becoming more and more common and less and less honourable every day.

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