(Ottawa) Already subject to a barrage of criticism from the Conservative Party and the Bloc Québécois who are calling for his resignation for having recorded a video that was broadcast during the Ontario Liberal Party convention two weeks ago, Speaker of the House of Commons Greg Fergus finds himself once again in the hot seat for having participated this fall in a cocktail party for liberal activists in the Outaouais region.
Conservative MP Andrew Scheer revealed Thursday morning, minutes after a committee recommended a monetary sanction for his virtual appearance at a partisan event, that Mr. Fergus recently participated in “an activist cocktail party” organized by the Liberal Party.
For two weeks, the Conservative Party and the Bloc Québécois have been calling for the departure of Mr. Fergus due to “his serious lack of judgment and impartiality” for having recorded a video highlighting the departure of the interim leader of the Ontario Liberal Party , John Fraser, while the NDP and the Liberal Party recommended that Mr. Fergus reimburse “an adequate amount” for the use of resources associated with his position.
The Conservative Party planned to table a motion of censure when the Commons resumed work on Thursday morning to force its departure, but Liberal MPs and New Democratic elected officials joined forces to counter the maneuver.
However, the leader of the official opposition in the House, Andrew Scheer, launched this new stone in the pond.
PHOTO ADRIAN WYLD, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Andrew Scheer
“I regret to inform the House that there has been additional partisan activity that involves the President. I have in my hands photos of the president with the member for Pontiac which were published on Instagram. The event was publicized as an activist cocktail party by the Liberal Party,” Mr. Scheer said in the House of Commons.
“This event didn’t even take place in the president’s constituency. It’s in a neighboring riding and it’s described as an activist cocktail,” continued Mr. Scheer, who himself was Speaker of the House of Commons between 2011 and 2015.
He later sought consent from his colleagues to file the documents, but was refused, angering Mr Scheer.
Liberal MP Mark Gerretsen then rose to indicate that the Liberals were prepared to review the Conservative MP’s documents.
The office of the Speaker of the House of Commons did not respond to request for comment from The Press at the time of writing these lines.
A recommended monetary sanction
This new development occurred a few minutes after the tabling of a report from the procedure and operations committee which examined the actions tinged with partisanship that Mr. Fergus is accused of. The committee recommends that the latter reimburse “an adequate amount” for the use of resources associated with his function.
Even before the report was published, the NDP had indicated that it favored a financial penalty, an option that pleased the Liberals sitting on the committee.
Since the start of this affair, the Liberals have maintained their confidence in Mr. Fergus. On the procedure committee, the troops of Justin Trudeau and Jagmeet Singh have more members than the Conservatives and Bloc members.
The Conservatives and Bloc members, who are calling for the resignation of Mr. Fergus, did not fail to express their dissent in the report presented Thursday in the House.
“To repair the tear in the fabric of our democratic institution, the President must resign. The recommendations proposed by the Liberal-NDP majority of the Procedure and House Affairs Committee are weak and meaningless,” the official opposition noted in the pages of the report.
The Bloc Québécois, which was the first political party in the Commons to demand that Mr. Fergus bow out, indicates that it “does not see how the establishment of a financial penalty can give its 32 deputies the assurance of ‘impartiality, discernment and unfailing judgment’.
What’s more, the Bloc insist on the number of elected officials who no longer support the president.
“It is inconceivable that, despite two opposition parties representing 149 MPs having withdrawn their confidence in the President through the voice of their respective leaders (Bloc Québécois and Conservative Party of Canada), he has demonstrated an unshakeable conviction in effect that he can remain in office and regain the confidence of the House. »
In addition to the monetary sanction recommendation, the majority of committee members recommended “that the House administration be responsible for preparing, as part of the briefing book, guidelines for any future Speaker of the House who presents limitations clear in matters of impartiality and non-partisanship.
It is also recommended that Mr. Fergus issue a further apology “making clear that the filming of the video in his office and in his clothing was inappropriate, that he regrets the situation and that he provides a clear overview of what he and his office will do to ensure that this does not happen again.”
With The Canadian Press