A parliamentary committee will look into what happens next for the Speaker of the House, Greg Fergus, but a scenario where a majority of elected officials in the Commons demand his resignation has not materialized for the moment.
A motion from Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer was unanimously adopted Wednesday evening, and it states that the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs must be “instructed to seek appropriate corrective action.”
The text was therefore notably ratified in the Commons by the deputies of the Liberal Party, of which Mr. Fergus is a member as an elected official for the Hull-Aylmer constituency.
The motion refers to committee the questions of impartiality raised by a virtual appearance by the Speaker of the House at a partisan event that took place over the weekend.
It remains to be seen what meaning “appropriate corrective measure” will give to elected officials of different allegiances sitting on the procedure committee.
From the start of the week, the Bloc asked Mr. Fergus to relinquish the functions he has held since October. The Conservatives added their voice after submitting the file, more generally, on the floor of the Commons.
The Liberals, for their part, signaled that they maintained their confidence in the Speaker of the House, while the New Democrats declared that they consider it “irresponsible,” at this point, to demand the resignation by Mr. Fergus. The two political parties insisted on ways to prevent such an incident from happening again.
The Liberals form a minority in the House, but reach a majority if we add the elected New Democrats.
On the procedure committee, the troops of Justin Trudeau and Jagmeet Singh have more members than the Conservatives and Bloc members.
One thing is certain, all the main parties have agreed that the conclusions of the group of elected officials will be returned to all deputies quickly, that is to say by December 14.
The motion states, among other tight deadlines, that committee members should meet within 24 hours after the file has been referred.
Criticism of Mr. Fergus has been rife since the broadcast, at the Ontario Liberal Party convention, of a message captured on video in which he thanked the outgoing interim leader of this political party, John Fraser.
Before recusing himself from the case on Monday, the Speaker of the House said he had been asked for such a recording for a private meeting in honor of Mr. Fraser, whom he considers a long-time friend.
The Quebec elected official told MPs that he regretted that the video had been used for other purposes. He clarified that he was not a member of the Ontario Liberal Party and had not voted in the province for 30 years.
Mr. Scheer noted, from the outset, that the Speaker of the House wore the official attire of his office during his message of thanks to Mr. Fraser and that the Speaker’s office was recognizable in the background.
Other MPs of different allegiances then also deplored this use of the title and resources of the presidency.
The Speaker of the House is expected to return to Ottawa late Wednesday, his office said, after a stay in Washington, United States.
This “two-day mission” took place “following several weeks of planning”, it was reported. It included a meeting with former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, another with “members of the Congressional Black Caucus” and an interview with the “co-chairs of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group”.