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In an interview, Lalonde said she only wanted a little flexibility for someone who had been in an accident and could not attend. It was not “respect for an elected official,” she said.

“Honestly I think it’s arrogance, and my question to them would be: What are you afraid of?”

She added that she had spoken to Simard, who was not badly hurt.

Fraser said the stumbling block is an agreement between NDP and Conservative leaders on how to handle the current situation where the Liberals don’t have party status. He said this agreement allows one Liberal to replace another, which is what happens within official parties. But the system precludes other independents from having one replace another, and this is a formal system, not done on a whim.

“So a Liberal can give a Liberal a question but another independent cannot give a Liberal a question.”

He said it did not appear to be directed against Simard personally.

He also said the system has generally let Liberals switch places to ask a question when one of them is ill, but this is the second time the other parties have refused to let a Liberal step in and help Simard.

“If a Conservative member, or a member of a Conservative bent, wants to give a Liberal a question or give the Green Party a question, isn’t that the way it’s supposed to work?” he said.

“Here’s the point in the whole thing. There are 11 independent members,” representing more than a million voters in last year’s election, he said. “And they have one question a day.

“We are asking questions on behalf of our community. What we are asking is: you don’t have to call us an official party, just make sure the questions and the participation are commensurate with the fact that we represent a lot of people and they have an expectation.”

Fraser noted that the independents get along pretty well and often work together to make life run more smoothly, despite political differences.

tspears@postmedia.com

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