Manitoba Tory gets one-day suspension from legislature after racist remarks row
Manitoba Speaker Tom Lindsey ordered Tory Wayne Ewasko out for a day and expanded banned debate language after racist comment allegations.
A Manitoba legislature dispute escalated fast Monday when the chamber’s Speaker ordered a Tory opposition member out for the day and warned others could face the same treatment.
Speaker Tom Lindsey directed Progressive Conservative member Wayne Ewasko to leave the chamber after comments Ewasko made last month during heckling targeting Premier Wab Kinew.. Lindsey said public frustration has grown during the spring sitting, describing what he called low-quality debate and frequent heckling that he believes visitors are finding troubling.
The Speaker also pointed to concerns being raised by school teachers who bring students to the legislature, saying some do not want question period on display for young visitors.. While this latest action follows a pattern Lindsey has been trying to enforce, it also signals he is tightening the response when rules are ignored.
In this context, the decision matters because it shifts the focus from debate style to enforceable conduct standards, with consequences that can remove elected officials from the room.
Lindsey said Ewasko was ordered to apologize unequivocally, but he did not accept the apology offered when Ewasko said he did not intend offense if Kinew took issue with the remarks.. After further warnings to fully apologize did not produce what Lindsey considered a satisfactory response, Ewasko was suspended from the chamber until Tuesday.
Kinew, who is First Nation, said the comments were racist.. He told reporters the remarks relied on an ugly stereotype and highlighted the contradiction in being required to state that he does not drink.. Kinew contrasted that with other political leaders he said also do not drink, arguing the issue was bigger than one statement.
Ewasko disputed that characterization and said his comments were not racist, framing them instead as a response to Kinew’s conduct during question period.. He said the premier’s behavior was unacceptable, and he characterized Kinew’s questioning style as something that fell off from how he typically answers.
Lindsey’s move also continues a broader effort to control heckling and language in the chamber, following a spring session he described as increasingly chaotic.. He has previously warned repeatedly with limited impact, and Monday’s enforcement appears designed to make those warnings more consequential.
At the same time, Lindsey revealed an updated list of words that will now be forbidden during debate.. He said terms including bigot, racist, misogynist, homophobe and transphobe would be added to existing prohibited language such as liar and crap, and he indicated other jurisdictions have already banned those words.
This matters because the ban list and ejections together set a clearer boundary for what parliamentarians can say, but also raise the stakes for how disputes about conduct and intent are handled in public.
Kinew said he plans to keep calling out racism.. He argued that it is important for people who have not faced those forms of targeting to listen when accusations of racism are raised, and he emphasized that he intends to keep speaking out when he sees hate or discrimination.. Lindsey, for his part, said he would be more likely to eject members for the day if they disregard his orders, though it remains unclear how long the new approach will hold.