Tonight, my friend @MarieFrRenaud pointed out, during debate, that some members undertake intimidating, unparliamentary behaviour in the House. The women on our side of the House often deal with staring, posturing, scoffing and other non-verbal forms of harassment. #ableg
I've been around #ableg for almost 20 years as staffer/ observer/MLA. There's always debate, there's always heckling. It's a floor of a legislature in a Westminster Parliament. Rules-based, orderly debate includes well-placed heckles. That's not intimidating, it's the job.
But. A man turning his chair around to stare at an MLA while they speak, scoffing at everything they say, puffing himself up in his chair, laughing at the MLA trying to speak, continually trying to throw them off with verbal and non-verbal harassment... isn't the rules. #ableg
Look, we know what these jobs are, but when @MarieFrRenaud stops her debate on a health care bill to say, "I feel intimidated by this behaviour," she should be heard. Part of feeling safe at work is being heard. I get questions from women interested in politics all the time...
...Because it's this sort of stuff that stops women from even considering running for a seat in #ableg. That's why it needs to change. The behaviour and the response. I'm with @MarieFrRenaud. She did the right thing.
One last thing: I’ve never seen this kind of behaviour before. I’ve just never experienced it in the context of AB politics. I’ve been around conservatives for a long time and I’ve never seen this way of acting. This is different. #ableg
