(Ottawa) The Speaker of the House of Commons, Greg Fergus, apologized Monday morning before a committee of MPs for a video he made and which was broadcast at a recent convention of the Liberal Party of Ontario.
Mr. Fergus was called to testify before the Procedure and House Affairs Committee, which is considering whether the nonpartisan president should be punished for appearing in the video in his ceremonial attire.
The committee has scheduled five hours of hearings on the matter for Monday, with witnesses also including House clerks and John Fraser, the Ontario MPP who was the subject of Mr. Fergus’ video. .
Greg Fergus says a member of Mr. Fraser’s family asked him to send a video message to commemorate his move to a senior position within the provincial Liberal Party.
The president says he thought the video would be released at a private, nonpartisan event — but he also admits he shouldn’t have made it in the first place.
Mr. Fergus says a protocol is being put in place to ensure he gets advice from the Clerk of the House and the administration on any future communications from his office.