House Speaker Greg Fergus avoids majority resignation call, asked to pay a fine, apologize again
CTV
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus appears poised to hold on to the speakership despite the controversy over his 'inappropriate' personal video message to a long-time Liberal friend, as MPs have passed a report calling on him to pay a fine and apologize again, rather than resign.
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus appears poised to hold on to the speakership despite the controversy over his "inappropriate" personal video message to a long-time Liberal friend, as MPs have passed a report calling on him to pay a fine and apologize again, rather than resign.
The Procedure and House Affairs Committee (PROC) tabled its report in the House early Thursday, after conducting an expedited study into what all MPs agreed was a bad judgment call by Fergus: filming a video for outgoing interim Ontario Liberal leader John Fraser in his Speaker's attire and in his official office, which was then played at a partisan event.
In the report, the majority of MPs decided to make three recommendations, none of which is for him to step down.
Specifically, PROC is calling for:
The committee also wants to see Fergus re-affirm in his apology that "the principle of respect, impartiality, and decorum are values he will continue to prioritize as Speaker."
"Today, an expectation exists among members of the House, and the wider public, that the Speaker's duties ought to be carried out with scrupulous impartiality and independence," reads the report.
The Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois have taken the position that Fergus' infringement of the essential impartiality expectations of his office amounts to a resignation-worthy offence, and have issued dissenting opinions, essentially addendums to the main PROC report, maintaining their calls for Speaker Fergus to resign.
