Ensemble Montréal wants to ban applause at city council

Banning clapping in city council would create a more respectful atmosphere and save more time for the important business at hand, the municipal opposition argues. The Ensemble Montréal party is hoping the City of Montreal will follow the Quebec National Assembly’s lead by banning applause during council meetings. Ending “the use of applause to demonstrate support or disapproval during question periods would decrease partisanship, eliminate any perception of antagonism between councillors and the citizens they represent and make better use of the time allocated,” says an opposition motion to be tabled at next week’s council meeting. The motion will be proposed by Coun. Karine Boivin-Roy of the Louis-Riel district and seconded by Coun. Francesco Miele of Côtede-Liesse district. In September, members of the Speaker’s standing committee in city council sent “a clear message to the committee that noise should stop (applause, banging on desks, chatting) and that councillors should consider the image projected by their attitude in the council chamber.” The opposition motion also calls for amending a rule requiring anyone who asks a question in council to avoid personal, violent, hurtful or disrespectful comments or unparliamentary language by extending it also to anyone who answers a question in council. Saying there’s a random order for councillors’ questions during question period, the motion also calls for a better system for determining which questions are asked first. In 2015, the Quebec National Assembly unanimously approved an opposition motion to end clapping during question period. In Ottawa, Liberal MPs broke with tradition in 2016 by refraining from applauding ministers during question period. In Britain’s House of Commons, MPs are forbidden to disturb others by hissing, chanting, clapping or booing, but it’s fine to cry “hear, hear.” City spokesperson Youssef Amane said the Valérie Plante administration would only respond to the motion next week, when it is presented in council.