Speaker Greg Fergus to appear before House of Commons committee to explain video controversy

Speaker Greg Fergus will appear before a House of Commons committee Monday to answer questions about his controversial appearance in a video shown at the Ontario Liberal convention.

Fergus will appear before the procedure and House affairs committee for two hours starting at 9:30 am. CBCNews.ca will be carrying his appearance live.

In the 105-second video, Fergus is shown in the Speaker’s office, wearing his Speaker’s robes, paying tribute to John Fraser, the outgoing interim leader of the provincial Liberal Party.

In a statement to the House last week, Fergus apologized, saying he didn’t know his message would be shown during the Ontario Liberal convention and described his remarks as a “non-political message to a personal friend of more than 34 years.”

Both the Conservatives and Bloc Québécois have dismissed this explanation, insisting they want Fergus to resign. They say his appearance at a partisan event, while wearing the Speaker’s robes, has put his impartiality into question.

In Canada, Speakers are supposed to significantly limit their partisan activities once they don the black robe. A Speaker does not, for example, attend party caucus meetings, vote in the House (except in the event of a tie) or participate in debate.

All four major parties agreed to have the committee look into the issue and report back to the House by the end of this week.

Refusing to resign

Fergus told CBC News last week that he doesn’t intend to resign and will instead let the committee process unfold.

Fergus was elected Speaker in early October after his predecessor, Liberal MP Anthony Rota, stepped down amid controversy.

During Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Ottawa in September, Rota recognized in the House of Commons a man who had served in a voluntary unit created by the Nazis to help fight the Soviet Union during the Second World War.