The House of Commons is debating whether to have a committee determine if Speaker Greg Fergus should be punished for a video message he filmed that was played at a political party convention.
Fergus apologized for the video, in which he appeared in his ceremonial robes and thanked the former interim leader of the Ontario Liberals, after it was played at that party’s convention last weekend.
Conservative House leader Andrew Scheer is moving to have a parliamentary committee study the issue, saying the Speaker is supposed to serve an explicitly non-partisan role.
Fergus’s deputy, Chris d’Entremont, is allowing the motion to be debated in the Commons this afternoon.
The Speaker has said he was asked to record a video message for an intimate gathering to honour John Fraser, who he called a long-standing friend.
The Quebec MP told members of Parliament that he regrets the video was used in other ways, and said it should not be seen as partisan to recognize a colleague’s career.
On Wednesday, Conservative MP James Bezan wrote to the Board of Internal Economy asking it to consider Fergus’ “inappropriate use of House of Commons resources” by recording the video in his office and wearing the Speaker’s robes.
Fergus is visiting Washington, D.C., amidst the controversy, where he participated in the Canadian Embassy’s annual tree lighting ceremony.