House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus appears as a witness at a standing committee of procedures and house affairs on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, Dec. 11, 2023. The federal New Democrats won't be calling for Fergus to resign, but he will be disciplined for making a video that was shown at a partisan event. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
OTTAWA – The federal New Democrats say they won’t be calling for House Speaker Greg Fergus to resign over a video that was shown at a partisan event, but they do endorse a call for him to be disciplined.
NDP House leader Peter Julian says Fergus will need to apologize for his actions again and pay a fine – though he would not say how steep that could be.
The video played at a recent party convention saw Fergus paying tribute to the outgoing interim leader of the Ontario Liberals while wearing his ceremonial Speaker’s robes.
Fergus apologized Monday to the procedure and House affairs committee, which is set to report back to the House of Commons this week about whether he should be sanctioned.
Fergus told MPs he didn’t know where the video would be played, but the Bloc Québécois and Conservatives have argued he cannot be impartial and he needs to resign.
Julian told reporters today it’s not uncommon for the Speaker to have the support of only about half of MPs in the House of Commons, and that his party is taking the issue seriously.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 12, 2023.
