Inside Politics

Commotion in the Commons: A Protest-Filled Question Period

by Janyce McGregor Posted: October 26, 2009 3:17 PM Last Updated: October 26, 2009 4:32 PM

Who says Mondays are slow in the House of Commons? A unusually loud and disruptive protest in the Visitor's Gallery led to arrests and a brief shutdown of Question Period today.

A more complete re-cap of all we've seen and learned is coming shortly. In the meantime, our raw video is coming back from the Hill and we're getting it cut and uploaded to you as quickly as we can. Here's the first -- some of the protesters chanting as they're escorted out the front door. We've also got more footage from inside... watch this space.

UPDATE: Here's Green Party Leader Elizabeth May's rather forgiving take of the protesters' actions: 

"What was heartbreaking was that the MPs below laughed in derision as the young
people were removed. Following the demonstration, Environment Minister Jim Prentice referred to the youth action as an NDP stunt. I just want to share with all Canadians that those were our children we threw out of the House of Commons today. Those were the best, the brightest, the most dedicated, the most responsible young adults in Canada."

For more details on what happened, and some reaction as it happened... here's a recap of our Cover It Live event for today's QP, chock full of the blow-by-blow. The protests started during Jack Layton's question at around 14:31 ET.

Click below for the replay: