Committee to Probe Actions of House Speaker Greg Fergus After MPs Call Impartiality Into Question

Storm clouds pass by the Peace Tower and Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Aug. 18, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld)

Members of Parliament have unanimously voted to launch an inquiry into the conduct of House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus for a video message he recorded that was shown at a Liberal Party convention.

MPs voted Dec. 6 in favour of a motion from Conservative House leader Andrew Scheer to have the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs (PROC) determine if the Speaker violated Commons rules that require him to be impartial.

The PROC has been asked to meet “within 24 hours” with the Speaker conduct probe taking “priority over all other business.” The committee will report its verdict to the House of Commons no later than Dec. 14, the second-last day the House will sit in 2023.

Video footage recorded of Mr. Fergus praising a former Ontario Liberal leader was played at the Ontario Liberal leadership convention last weekend. In the video, Mr. Fergus is seen exiting the Speakers’ chamber wearing the traditional robes of his role to speak about his relationship with former Ontario Liberal leaders Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne.

According to parliamentary rules, the Speaker of the House must always show “the impartiality required to maintain the trust and goodwill of the House.”

The decision to send the matter to committee was an amendment to the original motion to vote on if the Speaker had breached House of Commons rules that require him to be non-partisan.

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If the motion passes it would see the House of Commons agree that Mr. Fergus committed “a breach of the tradition and expectation of impartiality required for that high office, constituting a serious error of judgment which undermines the trust required to discharge his duties and responsibilities.”

House Speaker Apologizes

Mr. Fergus apologized in the House of Commons Dec. 4, assuring MPs that “this kind of event will not happen again.”

Mr. Scheer said his party believed that Mr. Fergus needed to resign for the incident. That sentiment was echoed by Bloc Quebecois MP Alain Therrien. He said his party was calling for Mr. Fergus to resign because he had not shown the two “essential” qualities of impartiality and good judgment.

Mr. Fergus has rejected calls to resign from his position, telling a reporter on Dec. 5 that “there’s a process that has been set out by the House,” and that the best way to keep the confidence of MPs was to “demonstrate fairness and impartiality and getting the job done.”

That same day, Mr. Fergus was seen in another video on social media, where he was in Washington D.C. speaking about his time running for president of the Federal Young Liberals.

“The No. 1 job of the Speaker is to be non-partisan. Greg Fergus broke this rule. His highly partisan actions led to an unprecedented ruling today,” Mr. Scheer said on X. “Where’s he? In DC, caught on camera reliving his time as head of the Young Liberals. He must resign.”

Mr. Fergus became House Speaker after previous House Speaker Anthony Rota was forced to resign for recognizing a former member of the Nazi SS during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Parliament in September. Mr. Rota, who apologized for the incident, resigned from his position later that month.