(Ottawa) Speaker of the House of Commons Greg Fergus returned to his chair on Thursday during a typical day in the role, the first since the outcry caused by his virtual appearance at a partisan event.
The Liberal member for the riding of Hull—Aylmer, who has occupied the presidential seat since October, therefore ensured decorum during question period in the Commons.
Having returned from Washington late the day before, according to instructions from his office, he resumed the routine work of his days spent on Parliament Hill.
Mr. Fergus, among other things, chaired a meeting of the Office of Internal Economy lasting a little over an hour. Finance and budget relating to the House of Commons were discussed at this meeting, we can read in the public agenda.
A meeting between Mr. Fergus and the Speaker of the Yukon Legislative Assembly was also on his agenda, said the Speaker’s office in Ottawa.
The Speaker of the House was also expected to be present in the Commons for votes late Thursday.
Criticism of Mr. Fergus has been coming throughout the week. The trigger was 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.
The issues of impartiality raised by last weekend’s incident were first brought to the floor of the House on Monday morning by the Conservative parliamentary leader, Andrew Scheer. This elected official has already held the same functions as Mr. Fergus.
In the afternoon of the same day, Mr. Scheer announced that the official opposition was demanding the resignation of the Speaker of the House, thus adding its voice to that of the Bloc Québécois, the first political group in the Commons to have made this request.
“I will not resign,” Mr. Fergus said in recent days to a CBC journalist who accosted him in Washington. He argued that he would comply with the “process” put in place by the House in relation to this incident. A parliamentary committee which met behind closed doors on Thursday is preparing to examine what happens next for Mr. Fergus.
Committee members plan to hear from the principal interested party next Monday during testimony lasting at least two hours, according to a motion they adopted.
“Chairman Fergus thanks the committee and accepts the invitation to appear next week,” the House Speaker’s office said Thursday evening.
Mr. Fraser is also among the list of witnesses who will be invited. Elected officials also want to be able to ask questions to the chair or co-chairs of the organizing committee for the 2023 Ontario Liberal Party leadership election.
Mr. Fergus recused himself from the matter that directly concerns him on Monday while he was still in Ottawa. Before stepping down, 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.
“I recognize how this could have been interpreted. I would like to apologize and reassure MPs that an event of this kind will not happen again,” he said.
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.
Mr. Fergus did not grant any interviews this week and his office declined requests to do so from The Canadian Press.
His team also did not want to comment on other criticism he received regarding his stay in Washington, justifying this by the fact that “the House is seized of this question”.
Mr. Scheer criticized the Speaker of the House, on social networks, for having taken advantage of a moment of his stay in Washington to “relive the days when he was the head of the young liberals”.
In a video clip he shared, Mr. Fergus can be seen and heard referring to an encounter he had when he was campaigning to become president of the Young Liberals, a position he ultimately held.
Asked Wednesday about the mention of the Speaker of the House’s experience among the young Liberals, the NDP parliamentary leader, Peter Julian, replied that he considers it inappropriate.
The House leader of the government, Karina Gould, for her part affirmed that “the president is independent” when she was called upon to comment on the latter’s stay in Washington.
This “two-day mission” took place “following several weeks of planning”, Mr. Fergus’s office was informed. 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”.