House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus apologized to MPs on Monday about a “personal” video tribute message played this weekend at the Ontario Liberal Party leadership convention, amid Conservatives calling his participation in a partisan event “totally unacceptable.”
Fergus’ video tribute was for John Fraser, the outgoing interim provincial Liberal leader. It featured the relatively new Speaker in his office, dressed in his robe. As the appearance hit social media, Conservatives were quick to condemn it, pointing to the importance of Canada’s Speaker remaining impartial.
Kicking off Monday’s sitting, Fergus took the Speaker’s chair and addressed the simmering contention, telling MPs that he was asked to make the video, but he thought it was to be played at an “intimate party for a long-standing friend who was retiring.”
Fergus said he “regrets” that instead, the “personal” message was played at a convention for a party he is not a member of, in a province he does not live in.
Going into more detail about his decades-long friendship and close connection with Fraser and his family, Fergus sought to make the case that outside of politics “we are people” who have relationships, while acknowledging that he “can recognize how this may have been misinterpreted.”
“It should not be seen as partisan to recognize a colleague’s departure. That said… I would like to apologize and reassure members that this kind of event will not happen again,” Fergus said.
“The principles of respect, impartiality, and decorum are values I continue to prioritize,” Fergus continued.
Ahead of this mea-culpa, former House speaker and past Conservative leader Andrew Scheer had indicated he intends to raise a question of privilege in the House of Commons on Monday afternoon.
“It is unacceptable for the Speaker to participate in a political convention,” Scheer said in a Sunday post on X, formerly Twitter.
Also taking to X on Sunday, Fraser thanked his “dear friend” for his “heartfelt words of tribute,” and apologized that “it wasn’t clearly communicated to his office where and when it would be used.”
Fergus said should MPs raise the issue on Monday, he will recuse himself from the debate.
As Fergus was campaigning for the role, some Conservative MPs had raised questions about his ability to be impartial, citing past partisan roles he played, including as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s parliamentary secretary.
In an interview on CTV’s Question Period last month, Fergus was asked about these expressions of concern about him being too partisan. In response, Fergus said it only took him “all of 60 seconds” to shed his political bias.
“It’s just a different role that you play,” he said. “I’ve made mistakes like everybody else has, and I will make mistakes in the future too. But, I’m just hoping that I’ll make new ones, innovative ones, not repeat the old ones,” Fergus said at the time.
More to come…