Manitoba Opposition leader Obby Khan was castigated Tuesday by legislature Speaker Tom Lindsey for remarks made toward a non-binary cabinet minister that Lindsey described as hateful and dehumanizing.<\/p>\n
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Khan, however, rejected Lindsey\u2019s version of events, which included the release of a short audio recording. He said he meant nothing hateful when he called deputy premier Uzoma Asagwara a \u201cterrible person\u201d and added the remark \u201cwhatever you are.\u201d<\/p>\n
The controversy erupted during a raucous question period on March 17. The NDP complained to Lindsey that Khan had made the remarks, which were not captured clearly by the official legislature livestream recording amid a lot of heckling.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Lindsey ruled on the matter and released a 15-second snippet of audio recorded by different microphones inside the chamber.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn this recording, I can clearly hear the leader of the official Opposition say, \u2018You are a terrible person, whatever you are,\u201d\u2019 Lindsey told the chamber.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI was shocked and appalled to hear that such a dehumanizing comment had in fact been made in this chamber.\u201d<\/p>\n
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While Lindsey found the words offensive, he ruled they did not constitute a threat that violated parliamentary rules, as submitted by the governing New Democrats.<\/p>\n
Khan repeated his version of events Tuesday. He said he was challenging NDP hecklers to repeat whatever they were saying outside the chamber, where they would not be protected from legal action. Parliamentary privilege shelters politicians from possible libel suits for remarks made in the chamber.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did not make any statements intended to target or demean the minister or anyone else based on their background, identity or role,\u201d Khan told reporters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did say, \u2018Whatever you are saying, say it outside.\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n
The 15-second audio recording released by Lindsey captures Khan saying \u201cwhatever you are\u201d amid other people heckling and an NDP cabinet minister who has the floor and is answering a question. The noise gets louder immediately after that phrase and the New Democrats are heard protesting the comment.<\/p>\n
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