Justin Trudeau deserves a two-minute minor for elbowing and nothing more

by Charlie Smith on May 19th, 2016 at 11:45 AM

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By now, most Canadians have seen the video of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau elbowing NDP MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau in the chest.

It caused an uproar in Parliament and now the matter has been referred to a committee.

After Trudeau's elbow jabbed Brosseau, NDP MP Tom Mulcair started shouting at Trudeau.

It reached the point where NDP MP Nathan Cullen is seen trying to intervene to cool things down.

Justin Trudeau should keep his elbows down when he gets into the corners of Parliament.

For hockey fans, this was all too familiar a sight.

The incident was precipitated when NDP Leader Tom Mulcair and NDP Deputy Leader David Christopher appeared to block the Conservative whip from reaching his seat in Parliament.

That prompted Trudeau to walk across the floor, where the altercation began.

Thomas Mulcair and David Christopherson appear to be blocking the Conservative whip.

The House speaker, Geoff Regan, is the referee of Parliament.

The question Canadians might want to ask is this: why not give Trudeau a two-minute minor for elbowing and assess two-minute minors to Mulcair and Christopher for interference?

The video seems to support Green Party of Canada Leader Elizabeth May's contention that Trudeau didn't know that he was elbowing Brosseau. He was tugging on the Conservative whip's arm when it happened.

This is hardly grounds for a game misconduct.

As for Brosseau, her pain seemed genuine so there's no reason to impose any penalty for embellishment on her.