December 11, 2017 QUEEN’S PARK – In the legislature on Monday, Windsor-Tecumseh MPP Percy Hatfield playfully delivered a member’s statement about heckling in the legislature. In the spirit of the season, Hatfield poetically poked fun at parliamentary debate in the form of a rhyme.

“All I want for Christmas, and Hansard, please record this COMMENT

Is a day without heckling in our provincial PARLIAMENT.

I want to speak today about DECORUM

Here, in this, our legislative FORUM.

I’d like to challenge a parliamentary TRADITION

To give our partisanship a more acceptable DEFINITION.

Now, I may be committing political HERESY

But I want to see a better example of our DEMOCRACY.

No one was elected to come here and do nothing but HECKLE…

So, why do we turn into Mr. or Mrs. Hyde and then Dr. JEKYLL?

It’s one thing to bellow out our DISSENT

But what about those we came here to REPRESENT?

Why do we look across the aisle and see a Minister or Critic as a CONSPIRATOR -

Then turn our daily question period

into a circus of political THEATRE?

Why not – for just one experimental DAY–

Forgo making what amounts sometimes as political HAY.

Why not a civilized DISCUSSION?

There’d still be room for political REPERCUSSION…

Let’s go out on a limb and leave it to TRUST

Why pretend arguments from the other side only leave us with DISGUST.

Just one day – no HECKLING

A more collegial RECKONING

Why must we always test the Speaker’s RESOLVE

Why do we get so personally INVOLVED

That we act as children yelling at recess out in the YARD…

Hoping NOT to get “Named” by the Speaker and then BARRED.

Let’s for once in this parliamentary CHAMBER

Spend just one day calmer and TAMER

We’ll still have questions asked, and then ANSWERED

It’ll still be there in black and white on the pages of HANSARD.”