Ontario new Democrats have removed one of their mpps from caucus leader Meritt Styles says she had no option after Sarah jamama refused to delete a statement she posted about the Israel Hamas War as a team you cannot continue to move forward when one person just continues to act unilaterally and not in
Good faith we tried everything that we possibly could um and gave her lots of opportunities but unfortunately here we are I’m trying to move her side is that she wants you to make space for Sarah Jama would not speak to reporters as she left the legislature she’s been the source of controversy for
Nearly two weeks ever since she posted her support for the people of Gaza but did not condemn Hamas or speak about Israeli lives lost the progressive conservative government also moved a motion to censor her in the house it was approved today and it means she can’t speak in the chamber until she retracts
And deletes her original statement and formally apologizes Robert benzy is the Toronto Stars Queens Park bureau chief he has had a busy day but he’s made time for us uh he’s in Toronto uh Rob uh chaotic couple of weeks I mean take us through how we got to he well David I mean
Remember Sarah jamama was controversial before uh the Hamas attack on on Israel in the byelection that she ran in in Hamilton Center in March uh video emerged of some statements uh that she made about Israel calling it an illegitimate State and and other things and uh Mar Styles was forced to
Apologize and and so was Miss jamama to Jewish Community leaders last March so it’s not a complete surprise that this kind of thing would surface again uh two weeks ago on the same day that the mounties announced that they were going to be doing a criminal investigation of
Premier Doug for’s Green Belt Scandal which is a huge thing here in Ontario uh and should be the greatest day for the opposition new Democrats Miss jamama decided that that was the day she was going to put out a state this controversial statement that uh Mart Styles the leader asked her to withdraw
Uh 24 hours a day 24 hours later she uh apologized for the statement but didn’t actually retract it and then um last week she pinned it on her Twitter and then the next day she launched a uh tried to launch a legal action against Premier Doug Ford for some over-the-top
Statements that Ford had made about her so she tried to serve him with a or her lawyer tried to serve him with a cease and desist lawyer uh letter last Thursday in the legislature which is a no no security were involved and it was a bit of a security incident uh sources
Were telling us today so and then this morning uh this censor motion was coming uh and um the NDP voted against it uh the Liberals abstained and the greens voted against it but the Tories used their majority to pass this censor motion uh against Miss jamama but as
This morning Miss jamama came into the leg isure and instead of speaking to the motion she reiterated her um uh dislike of the Israeli government and and the situation in in Israel and the plight of of Palestinians and I think uh that wasn’t what she had agreed she was going
To talk about I think so I think that was the straw that broke the camels back so we had this unusual situation of the of the the her being defenestrated really in real time uh as she was being censored so but she wasn’t kicked out of
The NDP for her views on Israel and pales Palestinian situation she was kicked out of the new democrats for insubordination she was censored by the legislature led by the conservatives uh for her for her Hamas uh views okay uh that’s interesting especially the distinction as to what got her in
Trouble with Merit Styles because I watched her scrum earlier and she just talked about her going off and doing her own thing not telling anybody and sort of essentially being uh a poor caucus mate uh for for lack of a better term so what happened after uh she was oued from
Caucus and you know in terms of today at Queens Park what happened after that I mean it was um a very messy situation I mean Miss jamama is uh is uh in a wheelchair so she was coming out of the legislature she was surrounded by reporters and cameras and and and you’ve
Seen that scene on Parliament Hill many times and it was one had to feel for her trying to to leave she didn’t want to speak to reporters some of her supporters kind of were jostling with some of the some of the uh journalists I think I wasn’t in that particular scrum
I was at the other side of the building but uh it was a pretty loud scene um and I think so that the the the visuals of that are are not good um it was it was an unpleasant day all around no one likes to see uh an MPP being censored I
A conservative cabinet minister pulled me aside and and and said they felt discomforted with this saying look she was elected by her cabinet her her uh constituents we may not agree with her views but she has a right to espouse them but remember this is something this legislature has actually done now twice
In two years uh last year Randy Hill you’re independent MPP a former conservative he was censored for some comments he made about Omar Al gabra then at that time the Federal Transportation minister so I mean it’s it’s this is a relatively new phenomenon I’ve been here a long time and I don’t
Remember mpps being censored as as certainly the two in two years seems like a lot yeah so what happens now because if you I mean what she said in the legislature today the fact that the the statement that that started all of this is still her pin tweet on her
Social media I don’t know Sarah jamama but I I get no indication she’s going to apologize and with retract and withdraw so does the MPP for Hamilton Center is just just goes on unable to speak in Queens Park like where does this go now well I mean she’s going to sit as an
Independent so Independents don’t get to speak very much in the legislature anyway unfortunately there there are sort of several Vincent C came back today he’s the uh the former Tori MPP who was who was who sitting as an independent since his he was named in the in all that China election medling
Stuff so he was back today it’s quite it was quite a circus-like atmosphere frankly David um and I think I I mean I I don’t know how she she moves on in terms of doing her job because she she has an important job being the MPP for Hamilton center it’s a very important
Seat to the new Democrats it was the seat of uh former leader Andrea horbath for 18 years something like that so it’s very very important writing to that party um Miss jamama won the nomination in an uncont it was an uncontested nomination they were very excited to
Have her she’s telegenic she has a strong support base um and she uh bring some New Perspectives to to the to the legislature and and in last winter they were really excited about her but I think they in in that they were kind of maybe they didn’t look at some of the
Other things that you maybe would look at when you’re vetting a candidate such as past social media Behavior past public statements things like that so I mean now she could it’s up to the speaker for her to be recognized so it’s it’s a speaker’s judgment he could recognize her doesn’t mean she can’t
Vote in in or anything like that on on legislation and so on it can still participate but not in the same way and certainly no it’s uh it’s interesting uh where this one is going to go and as you say the second cental Mo Motion in the
Last couple of years uh benzy we’ll never silence you that’s uh Rob benzy the Toronto Stars Queens Park Bureau Tre thanks for coming on tonight man see you David
Ontario New Democrats have kicked Hamilton Centre MPP Sarah Jama out of caucus nearly two weeks after she posted a controversial statement in support of Palestinians. The Toronto Star’s Robert Benzie joins Power & Politics to explain what led to her removal and what happened after.
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