Unparliamentary language and tweets issued in May by former MHA Steve Kent led to a House of Assembly committee review. Six months later, the final report is out.
Completed Nov. 16, the report of the House of Assembly standing committee on privileges and elections is less focused on Kent — now working in the private sector — than it addresses the broader pool of any and all current and future members of the legislature.
It places everyone on notice that use of social media matters, including when it comes to decisions on propriety and contempt of the legislature.
The public has heard plenty of warnings about social media use: how prospective employers will search for your social media profile to get a better sense of you as a potential employee, or more generally what you say and picture on social media does not exist in a bubble.
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Steve Kent found in contempt of N.L. House of Assembly
In the context of the provincial legislature, the all-party committee found, members need to also consider whether or not their activities are in contempt of the legislature and, with reference to A Parliamentary Dictionary, “lowering the institution in the eyes of the public and diminishing the respect which is its due.”
If material published on social media is considered unparliamentary or contemptuous, penalties are possible, ranging from a reprimand to suspension from service in the House, complete with salary deduction.
The code of conduct all members agree to spells it out, according to the committee. It specifically states: “Members of this House of Assembly respect the law and the institution of the legislature and acknowledge our need to maintain the public trust placed in us by performing our duties with accessibility, accountability, courtesy, honesty and integrity.”
As reported, on May 16, a ruling on a point of order in May found Kent to have used unparliamentary language — including “dishonest” and “deceit” — in a response. He refused to withdraw the comments, and was sent from the House.
Kent subsequently took to Twitter, making posts that included comments he was earlier asked in the House to withdraw.
A short while later, on May 29, those posts were brought up on a point of order in the House. Later the same day, a point of privilege was made, as the House was told Kent was re-tweeting posts including video clips of himself making the comments in the House that were found to be unparliamentary (making the video available through his own social media feed).
In a preliminary ruling, the Speaker found Kent in contempt, but the case was also referred to the committee for review.
“While the committee does not recommend that any action be taken by the House in this instance, we caution members that if a similar fact situation were to recur in respect of a sitting member another committee might well exercise its option to impose a penalty,” the committee’s final report stated.
Committee members are NDP interim leader Lorraine Michael, Liberal MHA John Finn, Progressive Conservative MHA Keith Hutchings and Liberal MHA Pam Parsons. The chair is Liberal MHA Scott Reid.
