A Conservative MP who made gunshot gestures as he voted to kill the long-gun registry last month says he meant no offence.

A clip of Jim Hillyer miming a two-gun shoot-out as he voted was posted on YouTube on Tuesday, which was the anniversary of the Montreal massacre.

Hillyer says if people were offended they should blame whoever posted the six-week-old video on the anniversary.

New Democrat MP Francoise Boivin says she has had tons of complaints from people appalled by the video.

She demanded an apology.

Hillyer delivered a two-minute soliloquy on the matter, never quite apologizing, but promising not to make gestures in future votes.

Rookie Alberta Conservative MP Jim Hillyer, shown here in a file photo from May, made shooting gestures during a Nov. 1 vote on government legislation to scrap the long-gun registry. Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian PressHis rambling address came after Gordon O'Connor, the government whip, tried to defuse things on his own.

"Somebody maliciously set the video up for yesterday," O'Connor said. "However, regardless, if people anywhere are offended by this action, I apologize.'

Hillyer then plunged into his own painful explanation amid catcalls and jeering laughter.

"If I had intended to cause any offence to victims of violence or anyone else, that would not only demand an apology it would demand far worse than just an apology," he said.

"No offence was intended. No one who sincerely looks at the video and the timing of the video would think for a second that I intended offence towards victims of violence.

"The people who caused the association, the offence, are the people who connected the video at the wrong day. That is terrible."

He told Speaker Andrew Scheer he was sorry he hadn't followed a ruling against making gestures.

"I will not make gestures any more," he said. "I, uh, I have nothing but sympathy for victims of violence and I continue to remain committed to ending violence toward women and all Canadians."

Scheer quickly shut the matter down.

"The member has indicated that he will respect the Speaker's ruling going forward and certainly seems to have indicated regret that anybody may have taken offence."

This video isn't the first time a YouTube post drew attention to the otherwise low-profile MP. During last spring's election, a much-discussed video showed Hillyer refusing to answer a blogger's questions while campaigning. His local newspaper, The Lethbridge Herald, dubbed him "The Man Who Wasn't There" for his refusal to attend all-candidates debates.

Here's a transcript of what was said Wednesday in the House of Commons about Hillyer's gestures:

André Bellavance (Richmond-Arthabaska, BQ):

[Translation]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday we commemorated the terrible massacre of 14 young women who were killed for anti-feminist reasons at École Polytechnique in Montreal 22 years ago. In the meantime, a video was being broadcast on the Internet and on television of the inappropriate and disgraceful gestures made by the hon. member for Lethbridge during a vote in the House on eliminating the firearms registry. He was making gun-shooting gestures with his hands. Not only has he not apologized in the House—and I do not believe he has apologized outside the House either—but in an article I found today in La Presse, he said it was just a subtle, little gesture. He is making a mockery of this and even says that his Conservative colleagues facing him were not offended.

I am asking the hon. member for Lethbridge to do the right thing and apologize for the gestures he made during the vote on November 1. Obviously in a democracy we are entitled to vote for or against abolishing the firearms registry. Everyone in the House respects that right. However, this is not about democracy, but about contempt. That type of gesture shows contempt for the victims, the victims' families and the House. I know that decorum is important to you, Mr. Speaker. We are not talking about subtle, little gestures. If the hon. member for Lethbridge refuses to apologize—and I will close on this—then someone from the Conservative government side should stand up, condemn those gestures and say that the hon. Conservative members and the Conservative government were indeed offended by the gestures made by the hon. member for Lethbridge. He should stand up and apologize.

Jim Hillyer (Lethbridge, CPC):

Mr. Speaker, the video was released yesterday on the anniversary of the tragic events at the École Polytechnique, and that is what is tragic.

The vote occurred five weeks before and had absolutely nothing to do with these tragic events. The gesture was not made towards anyone; it was not even made towards the colleagues I faced in the Conservative Party. It has nothing to do with the victims of violence.

If ending the long gun registry was a victory for violence, then this would be an offensive gesture. It is not a victory for violence. The long gun registry was ineffective and targeted peaceful, law-abiding gun owners.

I am sorry not just that this has been misinterpreted but that it has been misrepresented as being associated with the tragic events at École Polytechnique 22 years ago. The vote was five weeks before the anniversary. I remain committed to improving the safety of all Canadians and ending violence towards women.

Françoise Boivin (Gatineau, NDP):

[Translation]

Mr. Speaker, I was really hoping that the member for Lethbridge would rise at least to apologize for his gesture. It is sad. True, it happened some weeks ago; however, the act is behind us.

When I got home yesterday, I had many messages from people across Canada who were offended by the gesture. This matter really got under people's skin, and we know what it stands for. It was definitely a very regrettable and very disrespectful gesture.

Mr. Speaker, I refer to the ruling you handed down yesterday concerning decorum in the House. When people vote, they are supposed to exercise restraint. They express their opinions through their vote and through their “yeas” or “nays”, but no one should be making any gestures that could be perceived as offensive. I am sorry, but imitating the firing of a handgun was definitely an offensive gesture. It is completely understandable that many people would misinterpret the gesture, which, unfortunately, has been seen around the world.

I would have liked my colleague to have the decency at least to let us believe that perhaps he had misunderstood something and to apologize to anyone who was offended. And, yes, people were definitely offended. The gestures were completely inappropriate and had no place in this House during a vote.

Bob Rae (Toronto Centre, Lib.):

[Translation]

Mr. Speaker, I might be able to suggest a solution to the problem.

Frankly, I was disappointed to hear what the hon. member for Lethbridge had to say. Every hon. member has been in a situation where he was not pleased with how people interpreted some event or something he did. However, it is clear that many people were shocked by the gestures made by the hon. member during the vote.

There is a simple solution to the problem. Mr. Speaker, you made a ruling yesterday, a ruling that all of us in the House accept. You clearly said that any demonstration made by hon. members during a vote is unacceptable.

The hon. member could simply acknowledge that he did not recognize the importance of the solemnity of the vote, that he regrets his actions and he fully accepts the Speaker's ruling. That is the choice that is before the hon. member. He cannot say that he has nothing to say when he clearly did things that go against the ruling made yesterday by the Speaker of the House. That is the solution I propose.

Gordon O'Connor (Minister of State and Chief Government Whip, CPC):

Mr. Speaker, the member for Lethbridge has pointed out that the vote occurred weeks before yesterday when the video was shown. Somebody maliciously set the video up for yesterday. However, regardless, if people anywhere are offended by that action, I apologize.

Jim Hillyer (Lethbridge, CPC):

Mr. Speaker, yesterday you made a ruling on decorum during votes. It is true that I am new in the House. I have only been to about 100 votes or so. I have seen many members make different gestures while they vote. That was before the ruling.

You have made the ruling, Mr. Speaker, that we should not applaud during votes and I will accept that ruling. I will not be making gestures of any nature during votes, from this point on. I respect that. I think that the offence occurred because someone took this video in an inappropriate way and connected this gesture to the victims of violence. That is deeply regrettable. I—

Some hon. members:

Oh, oh!

House Speaker Andrew Scheer:

Order. We are going to let the member for Lethbridge finish his remarks.

Jim Hillyer (Lethbridge, CPC):

Mr. Speaker, if I had intended to offend victims of violence or anyone else, that would not only demand an apology but it would demand far more than just that. No offence was intended. No one who looks at the video and the timing of the video would think for a second that I intended any offence toward victims of violence. The people who caused the offence are the people who connected the video on the wrong day, and that is terrible.

I am sorry that I did not follow the ruling that you, Mr. Speaker, have made since then. I will not make gestures anymore. I have nothing but sympathy for victims of violence. I continue to remain committed to ending violence toward women and all Canadians.

House Speaker Andrew Scheer:

We can consider the matter closed. The member has indicated that he will respect the Speaker's ruling going forward. He certainly seems to have indicated regret that anybody may have taken offence.

I thank all hon. members in advance for respecting the ruling I gave yesterday on overall decorum and comportment not only during votes, but also during question period when members are both putting questions and trying to answer them.

with files from CBC News