Trudeau forced to apologise after sneaking chocolate snack into Canada's House of Commons during marathon voting session

Justin Trudeau was accused of breaking strict Rules of Decorum by eating in the Canadian government's House of Commons. Credit: AP

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been given a rap on the knuckles for breaking parliamentary rules and snacking while in the chamber.

According to the Rules of Decorum for Canada's House of Commons, members are permitted only to "refresh themselves with glasses of water" during debate sessions, but "the consumption of any other beverage or food is not allowed."

However, during the first hour of a marathon voting session on Wednesday night, Mr Trudeau was spotted with a sneaky snack.

“We all know that the rules of this House do not permit us to eat in this place and I can’t help but observe that during the last vote a number of people were eating in their seats including the minister of defence, the minister of Canadian heritage, and the prime minister who appeared to be hiding a bagel in his desk,” Conservative MP Scott Reid told the House.

“Mr Speaker, the Prime Minister has already stained this place with corruption, he does not need to stain it with mustard as well.”

Mr Trudeau later stood to clarify that he was actually eating a chocolate bar, not a bagel, and apologised.

The lengthy session was sparked by the ongoing SNC-Lavalin scandal currently dogging the PM's Liberal party.

There are allegations that members put pressure on the country's Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Jody Wilson-Raybould, to intervene in a criminal prosecution case against Quebec construction giant SNC-Lavalin and offer them a deferred prosecution agreement instead.

The Trudeau government has insisted that no undue pressure was applied and no laws were broken.

They argue that use of a deferred prosecution agreement could save 9,000 jobs in Canada, and that the situation resulted from a "misunderstanding".

After the Liberal majority voted down a Conservative motion calling on the Mr Trudeau to allow Ms Wilson-Raybould to testify again about the scandal, a Conservative-sponsored filibuster led to a drawn-out session in the House of Commons which continued into Thursday morning.