Winnipeg Free Press By: Royce Koop
I DON’T usually watch debates in the Manitoba legislature. But I did watch last Thursday as the government introduced Bill 56, a bill that would have the effect of restricting smoking and vaping on First Nations and which will almost certainly be challenged in the courts.
Opinion
I DON’T usually watch debates in the Manitoba legislature. But I did watch last Thursday as the government introduced Bill 56, a bill that would have the effect of restricting smoking and vaping on First Nations and which will almost certainly be challenged in the courts.
The conduct in the legislature over the reading of this bill was strikingly combative and hostile. The best comparison I can make is to sittings of the House of Commons just prior to a federal election, when MPs tend to be rambunctious and combative, testing out speaking lines and thumping their chests in anticipation of a hard-fought election.