Repudiated by all parties in Ottawa, House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota announced his resignation ahead of Question Time on Tuesday.
“It is with a heavy heart that I rise to inform Members of Parliament that I have resigned as Speaker of the House,” he announced calmly.
His departure surprised no one in Ottawa because Mr. Rota gradually lost favor among parliamentarians of various loyalties. Several Trudeau government ministers and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre had publicly called for his resignation earlier that morning.
A meeting of all party leaders at noon on Tuesday sealed its fate. The Deputy Speaker of the House, Conservative MP Chris D’Entremont, took over as Chair of Question Time later in the afternoon.
Anthony Rota will officially leave office the following day, Wednesday September 27. The General Assembly should prepare to elect a new moderator of the debates.
The Franco-Ontarian, who has been president of the chamber since 2019, briefly thanked his colleagues for their support during his mandate and reiterated his “deepest regrets” for inviting a former World War II fighter to join the Nazis. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Requested departure
Entering the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning, Mr. Foreign Minister Melanie Joly indicated on Tuesday morning that there was “no alternative” to Rota’s departure.
“If I were in President Rota’s shoes, I would resign,” added Fisheries and Oceans Minister Diane Lebothillier. Karine Gould, the leader of the government, also said the Liberals lacked support for the man to remain in office.
Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada (PCC), has also been calling for the withdrawal since Tuesday. “Trudeau [et son président libéral] It brought danger to Canada. The liberal president must step down,” the opposition leader wrote in a message On his social networks.
Earlier in the day, both the Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party (NDP) called for the resignation of Anthony Rota, who apologized. The president took all the blame for the embarrassing call by 98-year-old Yaroslav Hanka. He presented him as someone who “fought for Ukraine’s independence against the Russians” during World War II, prompting applause from all federal elected officials and President Zelensky.
The CCP did not immediately call for Rota’s resignation, instead blaming the government and the prime minister for failing to carry out the necessary checks.
“Will the Prime Minister stand up and apologize for this massive and shameful failure,” chanted Pierre Poilivre during Question Time. Justin Trudeau was not in the House and faced an empty chair.
“Where is he today?” », the leader of the opposition repeated, not without prompting the warning of the vice-president Chris d’Entremont, because it is forbidden to refer to the presence or absence of a member of parliament during the debates.
l’Prime Minister’s General Schedule He was scheduled to attend a meeting with the president of the Automobile Parts Manufacturers Association on Tuesday afternoon.
The prime minister should apologize, and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh believes so, as he called for “a plan” from the government to repair the damage caused by the affair.
The scandal also reverberated in the National Assembly in Quebec. Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, leader of the Parti Québécois, announced that his party would table a motion to stay away from the clamor of Ottawa parliamentarians. Liberal Party of Quebec and Mr. Called Rota to quit.
