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'Crack the whip' - Blair urges speaker to discipline unruly parliamentarians
Edmond Campbell, Senior Staff Reporter EXPRESSIONS OF indignation were written on the faces of some lawmakers yesterday after they were rebuked sharply by Political Ombudsman Bishop Herro Blair in a letter to House Speaker Delroy Chuck.
One vociferous parliamentarian was blunt in his criticism of Blair, saying in soto voce comments that he was out of order.
The same member was seen crushing a copy of the letter and throwing it under his desk.
Blair chastised the legislators for their repugnant conduct in the House of Representatives.
The political ombudsman urged Chuck to "pull the rein in" on House members whose behaviour had been detestable.
Cracking the whip on errant parliamentarians, Blair, in a letter dated January 14, addressed what he described as a troubling matter.
"I have been disgusted and am indeed appalled by the level of misconduct that has increasingly become the norm among parliamentarians during official sitting of the House. Conduct void of common courtesy and respect to each person shows a level of debasement that has no place among the leaders of any nation, and more so that of the leaders of Jamaica, land we love."
Opposition MP Lisa Hanna, who was contributing to a debate on a private member's motion, supported the political ombudsman's comments. The motion, among others things, dealt with the pursuit of proper family values and the protection of the nation's children from an "unfriendly and aggressive environment".
Hanna said some lawmakers were not in a position to "uphold morals and social justices" when their own behaviour is called into question.
"Certainly, when you look at some of our members, you can concur that some of us do have bad behaviour," Hanna insisted.
However, a number of House members, in hushed tones, registered their disgust with the ombudsman's rebuke.
Hitting back at Blair, West Central St James MP Clive Mullings seemingly rejected the suggestion that legislators' behaviour was repulsive. Pointing to the motion moved by Gregory Mair, the west central St James MP said he commended the motion to "those who like to criticise us like the political ombudsman" that good work is being done in Parliament.
Meanwhile, Bishop Blair recommended that workshops, seminars and other training sessions be used as a "prudent measure in stemming the downhill slide currently evident among the nation's otherwise capable leaders."
He contended that the use of language "presenting violent imagery" has been known to incite others to violence. "We all need to be careful in our words and actions," Blair concluded.
Last year, Chuck issued a warning to parliamentarians about the use of unparliamentary language. He indicated then that breaches of the House rules would not be tolerated.
Edmond Campbell, Senior Staff Reporter EXPRESSIONS OF indignation were written on the faces of some lawmakers yesterday after they were rebuked sharply by Political Ombudsman Bishop Herro Blair in a letter to House Speaker Delroy Chuck.
One vociferous parliamentarian was blunt in his criticism of Blair, saying in soto voce comments that he was out of order.
The same member was seen crushing a copy of the letter and throwing it under his desk.
Blair chastised the legislators for their repugnant conduct in the House of Representatives.
The political ombudsman urged Chuck to "pull the rein in" on House members whose behaviour had been detestable.
Cracking the whip on errant parliamentarians, Blair, in a letter dated January 14, addressed what he described as a troubling matter.
"I have been disgusted and am indeed appalled by the level of misconduct that has increasingly become the norm among parliamentarians during official sitting of the House. Conduct void of common courtesy and respect to each person shows a level of debasement that has no place among the leaders of any nation, and more so that of the leaders of Jamaica, land we love."
Opposition MP Lisa Hanna, who was contributing to a debate on a private member's motion, supported the political ombudsman's comments. The motion, among others things, dealt with the pursuit of proper family values and the protection of the nation's children from an "unfriendly and aggressive environment".
Hanna said some lawmakers were not in a position to "uphold morals and social justices" when their own behaviour is called into question.
"Certainly, when you look at some of our members, you can concur that some of us do have bad behaviour," Hanna insisted.
However, a number of House members, in hushed tones, registered their disgust with the ombudsman's rebuke.
Hitting back at Blair, West Central St James MP Clive Mullings seemingly rejected the suggestion that legislators' behaviour was repulsive. Pointing to the motion moved by Gregory Mair, the west central St James MP said he commended the motion to "those who like to criticise us like the political ombudsman" that good work is being done in Parliament.
Meanwhile, Bishop Blair recommended that workshops, seminars and other training sessions be used as a "prudent measure in stemming the downhill slide currently evident among the nation's otherwise capable leaders."
He contended that the use of language "presenting violent imagery" has been known to incite others to violence. "We all need to be careful in our words and actions," Blair concluded.
Last year, Chuck issued a warning to parliamentarians about the use of unparliamentary language. He indicated then that breaches of the House rules would not be tolerated.
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