There’s no physical touching in politics — or, at least, there is not supposed to be.
While they say federal politics is a contact sport, Housing Minister Nate Erskine-Smith took it to a whole other level, engaging in a handsy exchange with female political foe Melissa Lantsman Saturday.
If this was a hockey game, the Beaches-East York MP would have been given two minutes for holding.
This physical faux pas occurred on Queen St., while Lantsman, deputy leader of the Conservative party, was live on air in front of microphones offering her opinion on the Liberal leadership race.
Unlike Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s famous 2016 elbow on NDP MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau, or his alleged groping of a reporter in British Columbia before he was in politics in 2000 — Trudeau apologized to the women involved — Smith has so far not said he’s sorry.
And, par for the course with politics, there’s debate on whether he should. But there is no debate that something happened because it was all seen on TV.
The awkward moment came just when Lantsman, who referred to Erskine-Smith as a “radical drug advocate,” was criticizing Carney for not announcing his full platform.
On video of their exchange, there was an off-camera voice saying, “I am a radical drug advocate? Really?”
Then Erskine-Smith appears and says to Lantsman, “welcome to Beaches-East York.” Appearing surprised, Lantsman chuckled and said, “thank you,” adding, “I want to know what you promised Mark Carney?”
Said Erskine-Smith: “I want to buy you a drink.”
But then the CTV News feed shows Erskine-Smith appearing to place his left hand on Lantsman’s back, before leaning in and placing his right hand on her shoulder as she tried to continue uncomfortably with her media hit.
“I promised him nothing,” Erskine-Smith retorted.
It did not take long for social media to light up.
“What a creep,” Conservative campaign lead Jenni Byrne posted to X. “Touching her, asking her for a drink and then standing and heckling her from the sidelines.”
Lanstman’s fellow MP Michele Rempel-Garner added, “imagine what the MSM reaction would have been to a CPC male minister doing” the same thing “to a female Liberal MP.”
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There does appear to be a double standard at play.
For example, when Liberal MPs Pam Damoff, Iqra Khalid and Chrystia Freeland complained of taunts from Conservatives, Prime Minister Trudeau lectured, “the aggressive bullying, hate-filled tactics of a small number of people is causing us to have to rethink the freedoms that we’ve had as parliamentarians.”
In deciding to leave politics because of the nasty climate, Damoff said, “the threats and misogyny I have experienced as a Member of Parliament are such that I often fear going out in public, and that is not a sustainable or healthy way to live.”
But Liberal supporters have not offered the same view or any support for Lantsman and, instead, are backing Erskine-Smith.
“Don’t crash someone’s press event, and they cry about being confronted when you are talking trash about someone within earshot,” highly respected political commentator Sarbjit Kaur posted to X. ”He was still good-natured.”
Journalist Rachel Gilmore posted “for the record, I don’t think it’s creepy to tease someone in a collegial way manner and touch their shoulder after they called you a radical drug advocate on air. But if Melissa was uncomfortable, I’m sure Nate would be happy to apologize.”
Erskine-Smith, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or perceived Liberal leadership front-runner Carney have so far not responded to requests for comment. While Lantsman has not shared her thoughts on the physical contact, the Thornhill MP told The Toronto Sun she has not so far received an apology from the cabinet minister.
Lantsman was doing her job, calling out Carney and commenting on Erskine-Smith’s well-known drug policy positions. But it seems with this one, like so many things in politics, it falls down party lines on how people feel about it.
The edict that perhaps a woman experiences an exchange differently that was espoused by Trudeau in his situation is not being applied by Liberals in Lantsman’s case.
So much for not blaming the victim.
As someone who has covered incidents of inappropriate, misogynist heckliing by men towards female reporters on the air – some of which lead to criminal charges – there is an unwritten rule that when someone is working on camera, it’s not appropriate to interrupt or touch them.
While this is not the same as a media report, Erskine-Smith crossed the line into Lantsman’s personal space without invitation. But he can end this controversy quickly by simply apologizing to her.
That may happen quicker if his fellow Liberals hold him to the same standard they would a Conservative MP.