The House of Commons is debating whether to have a committee determine if Speaker Greg Fergus should be punished for a video message he filmed that was played at a political party convention.. Speaker of the House of Commons Greg Fergus chairs his first question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
OTTAWA – The House of Commons is debating whether to have a committee determine if Speaker Greg Fergus should be punished for a video message he filmed that was played at a political party convention.
Fergus apologized for the video, in which he appeared in his ceremonial robes and thanked the former interim leader of the Ontario Liberals, after it was played at that party’s convention last weekend.
Conservative House leader Andrew Scheer is moving to have a parliamentary committee study the issue, saying the Speaker is supposed to serve an explicitly non-partisan role.
Fergus’s deputy, Chris d’Entremont, is allowing the motion to be debated in the Commons.
The Speaker has said he was asked to record a video message for an intimate gathering to honour John Fraser, who he called a long-standing friend.
The Quebec MP told members of Parliament that he regrets the video was used in other ways, and said it should not be seen as partisan to recognize a colleague’s career.
On Wednesday, Conservative MP James Bezan wrote to the Board of Internal Economy asking it to consider Fergus’s “inappropriate use of House of Commons resources” by recording the video in his office and wearing the Speaker’s robes.
Fergus is visiting Washington, D.C., amidst the controversy, where he participated in the Canadian Embassy’s annual tree lighting ceremony.
He also gave a farewell address for Claus Gramckow, who is leaving his post as head of the North America regional office at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation. During a speech, Fergus spoke about his time as a member of the Young Liberals of Canada, where he met Gramckow in 1994.
NDP House leader Peter Julian told reporters Wednesday those comments were inappropriate. “When we elect a Speaker, that Speaker in a sense leaves their past behind “¦ you’re a Speaker of the entire House of Commons. So you don’t come from any one party,” Julian said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 6, 2023.
