Debate got heated in the House of Assembly Tuesday as the pressure of rising gas prices and cost of living bubbled over. The Opposition grilled government on what it will do to alleviate the pressures being felt by Newfoundlanders and Labradorians—leading to some testy exchanges, and disruptions during Question Period.
Speaker Derrick Bennett warned members of the Opposition who were chipping at the government side.
David Brazil asked whether government will eliminate or lower gas taxes like has happened in other provinces. As Finance Minister Siobhan Coady started her response she was interrupted by the Opposition, prompting a warning from the Speaker who told the member “this is the last time, the next time you will not be recognized any more today.”
The heckling continued on both sides leading the Speaker to question whether members wanted to waste Question Period altogether.
Members on both sides shouted back and forth with members on the government side shouting “Muskrat Falls” and “Let’s see your shadow budget!” The Speaker interrupted the exchange asking “You want to waste Question Period?”
Eventually, Bennett asked Loyola O’Driscoll, the member for Ferryland not to rise again, and that he would not be recognized anymore during Tuesday’s session.
