The issue spilled over from a question period moment on Wednesday, when Conservative MP Garnett Genuis quoted the band Queen while asking a question about inflation. The Queen’s reference was a dig at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was spotted singing Bohemian Rhapsody with members of the Canadian mission last weekend ahead of Queen Elizabeth’s funeral. Dale Smith, an independent member of the parliamentary press gallery, then wrote that “Genuis tries to include lyrics from ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ in his question and I can’t tell you enough how lame it is. When horses are so lame, you shoot them.” Genuis rose in the House of Commons on Thursday morning on a question of privilege. He called Smith’s comments “threatening” and beyond the bounds of normal political discourse. “In the current climate we should all be aware of the dangers associated with explicitly inciting violence against public officials,” said the MP for Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan. Freelance journalist Dale Smith sent this tweet on September 21, 2022, which Conservative MP Garnett Genuis calls “threatening”. (Dale Smith/Twitter script) “Some would say he’s definitely joking, but the problem with so-called jokes that imply threats to public officials is that I, as the target of these comments, [am] somehow he is supposed to understand and be okay with a threat based on one’s supposed intentions. And I’m just not okay with that.” Genuis said Smith’s press gallery accreditation gives him access to the West Block chambers. Call the gallery to revoke these privileges. “This current access reality affects my ability to perform my functions as a member,” Genuis said. He was backed by Conservative MP Raquel Dancho, the party’s public safety critic, and Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer in asking the Speaker to consider suspending Smith’s privileges pending an investigation into whether he should be permanently removed from the gallery. . Assistant Vice President Carol Hughes said the President would look into the matter and come back with a response.
Smith says he owes ‘no apologies’
In a blog post On Thursday morning, Smith called the tweet an “unoriginal joke” and denied implying that Genuis should be shot. “I did no such thing and I owe him no apology. If nothing else, he owes everyone an apology for subjecting us to his attempt to be clever with the lyrics to ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’” he wrote. Smith then accused the Conservatives of playing “the bully game”. “If you’re critical of anyone in their group, they’re saying you’re biased, even though you’re critical of every group,” he wrote. “They scream and whine, hoping you’ll either apologize and retract, and then they know you’re weak and they can silence you through these kinds of tactics.” When reached Thursday afternoon, Smith said he was waiting to speak with the president of the press gallery before commenting further. The back-and-forth comes as journalists — particularly journalists of color — report an increase in harassment and abuse. For weeks, multiple journalists have publicly shared a series of emails they have received that contain specific, targeted and disturbing threats of violence and sexual assault, along with racist and misogynistic language. Politicians have also come under attack in recent years. MPs from both sides of the aisle condemned an incident last month that saw Deputy Premier Chrystia Freeland severely beaten in Alberta by a man who repeatedly shouted profanities at her and called her a traitor. Last month, Trudeau urged political leaders to condemn acts of aggression and intimidation directed at politicians, warning that Canada may be forced to “rethink” the ways in which elected officials and the public can safely interact. “We need to be able to have that connection that we’ve always prided ourselves on [on]of Canadians who can relate to those who represent them,” Trudeau told reporters outside Rideau Hall. “But the aggressive bullying, the hate-filled tactics of a small number of people are forcing us to reconsider the freedoms we had as MPs.” WATCHES | Journalists of color say the death threats are part of a concerted effort to silence:
Journalists of color say the death threats are part of a concerted effort to silence them
Many women journalists of color are speaking out about the intensification of racist and sexually violent death threats they have received. They say it is a concerted and targeted effort to silence them and the police are not doing enough.
