On Wednesday, April 14, 2021 a mistake made by an elected parliamentarian in Canada was turned into an act of political vengeance. It was published in all the major publications in Canada and some luminaries like the Washington Post and the BBC.
Willam Amos, member of parliament for the Quebec riding of Pontiac, stepped in front of a webcam in his birthday suit. It was during a Hybrid commons sitting where some of the members attend remotely, and some sit in parliament. A prudent Covid safeguard to minimize risk and carry on parliamentary democracy.
He had just returned from jogging and wanted to change for the sitting. He used his office as a changing room. He didn’t know the webcam was on. It was not being broadcast to the public only to parliamentary staff and other members of the parliament.
A member of another party decided to take a screenshot and leaked it. I can only assume this was an act of retribution. Then Bloc Québécois party Whip Claude DeBellefeuille pilled on. She sarcastically raised a point of order.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, you have repeated many times the importance of respecting decorum and dress code. And I think that we have broken a record today because we saw an MP, during question period, in the simplest of attires. In other words, naked,” DeBellefeuille told the speaker after seeing her undressed colleague.
“So if you could remind our colleagues, particularly the men, that a tie and a jacket are obligatory, but also a shirt, underwear and pants. We were able to see that the MP was in great physical form, but I think it’s important to remind him to control his camera.” Snicker, Snicer, HaHaHa. William Amos made an honest mistake. He apologized and made amends.
This event shows that some people are so polarized that they wouldn’t think twice about violating someone in this manner. Where is the human decency that elected officials should have? Shame on the person who leaked the picture. Shame on the media outlets that published the photos. Someone needs lessons in Mindfulness and Empathy.
