Pro-Palestinian protesters interrupt Trudeau during House of Commons question period

OTTAWA — Pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted question period briefly on Wednesday, interrupting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as he answered a question from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.

A handful of people carried banners and chanted: “Free free Palestine, stop arming Israel.”

House of Commons security personnel grabbed the banners and escorted demonstrators out as some kept chanting near the exit. 

The Speaker stopped debate for two minutes to allow the chaos to subside before resuming proceedings. 

Amid the cacophony, Conservative MPs yelled “shame” toward the New Democrat benches. 

NDP MP Blake Desjarlais stood up, pointed his finger and yelled “shame” right back. 

Some Bloc Québécois and Tory MPs said later they had seen one or more NDP MPs clapping for the protesters.

Conservative MP Blaine Calkins told reporters he saw NDP MPs clapping but wasn’t sure who they were, as did Bloc MP Julie Vignola. Bloc MP Kristina Michaud named her New Democrat colleague Lindsay Mathyssen.

The NDP caucus did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Visitors who enter the House of Commons to watch question period from the public gallery must go through security screening when they enter the building.

It’s far from the first time that protesters have stood in the gallery to disrupt proceedings and call attention to their cause. 

“We need to make sure that we allow groups to have their voices and that’s exactly what happened, and then we resumed our business,” Defence Minister Anita Anand said after the fracas.

Bloc MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe said in French the protest was “not appropriate.”

As proceedings got back underway in the Commons, Parliamentary Protective Service officers escorted handcuffed protesters, who continued chanting, into police cars waiting outside.

Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said later it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to say whether the protesters should have been arrested.

“Anyone who comes here needs to abide by the rules of the House of Commons, if we want to have orderly debates,” he said.

“Everyone is welcome in this place, but I think people are also expected to abide by the rules, because that’s how this place functions, and this is the seat of democracy for Canada.”

One of the protesters told reporters they had posted a statement to a Palestinian Youth Movement Instagram page.

“The calls to stop arming Israel took place in expression of a deep concern of the ongoing genocide in Gaza at the hands of the Israeli state, leading to a death toll of over 28,000 with more than 67,611 wounded,” the statement said.

“After months of blocking aid to civilians, indiscriminate bombing of civilians and vital resources — Canadians express anger and frustration to the federal government and Canada’s complicity in this violence.”

After question period resumed, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh lobbed a question to Trudeau about arms exports to Israel.

He said the Liberal government authorized $28.5 million in “new military exports” to Israel’s government, headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

“The prime minister has the power and responsibility to protect civilians. When will the prime minister stop selling arms to Netanyahu?” Singh asked.

Trudeau responded that Canada hasn’t issued “any new export permits since Oct. 7.”

Pro-Palestinian protests have been happening across Canada since the Israel-Hamas war began that day last fall, when Hamas militants stormed into Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking roughly 250 hostage.

Israel declared war on Hamas, and since then Gaza Strip has been under near-constant bombardment. Officials in the Hamas-controlled territory say more than 28,000 Palestinians have been killed in the past four months.

Global Affairs Canada says Ottawa has not allowed arms to be sent to Israel in decades, but does allow for the export of military technology and “non-lethal” goods, a term disarmament advocates argue is not clearly defined.

Israel was within the top 20 destinations for the export Canadian military goods in 2022, the most recent year for which figures are available.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 14, 2024.

— With files from Alessia Passafiume.

Anja Karadeglija and Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press