Speaker Greg Fergus is expected to be the subject of a committee investigation ordered by the Commons.Due to his overt partisanship, 149 Conservative and Bloc Québécois MPs have already called for Fergus to resign.“Canadians are watching,” Conservative MP Corey Tochor (Saskatoon-University, SK) on Tuesday told the Commons. “They are very disturbed, what’s going on in this place, and now to find out the head referee is in the tank for one of the sides, it appears, I would say that is very disdainful.”“I have been honoured to serve under six Speakers,” said Tochor. “This is my sixth Speaker. I have to say this is the most partisan Speaker I have ever served under.”According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Fergus previously apologized for a video broadcast on December 2 during an Ontario Liberal Party convention. In the video, he appeared in his official robes at his Parliament Hill office and praised his Ontario Liberal colleagues.“Boy, we had fun,” Fergus said in the video. “We had a lot of fun together through the Ottawa South Liberal Association, through Liberal Party politics.”The guide Commons Procedure and Practice prohibits the Speaker from engaging in partisan activities.“The Speaker must always show and be seen to show the impartiality required to maintain the trust and goodwill of the House,” said the guide.On Tuesday, Government House leader Karina Gould stated that there was no reason for Fergus to resign from the Speaker of the House position.“He apologized to the House,” said Gould. “I think he recognized it was a mistake.”“We have a tradition in this place that once somebody apologizes, we accept that, and we move on,” said Gould. “I do have confidence in Speaker Fergus.”The Commons instead expressed support for a Conservative motion asking that the House Affairs committee investigate the “serious error of judgment” by Fergus and “recommend an appropriate remedy.” Opposition House leader Andrew Scheer (Regina-Qu’Appelle, SK) stated that Fergus' video was unacceptable.“This was no quiet dinner amongst friends,” said Scheer. “This was a leadership convention for the Ontario Liberal Party.”“For Members to accept someone to hold that authority, they must have 100% trust that the person who holds that position is exercising their duty free of any partisan bias, free of any favouritism or preferential treatment,” said Scheer. The video was “shocking.”“Imagine a court proceeding. Imagine you are a defendant in a court case and someone texts you an image of the judge in his robes at a backyard barbecue with the Crown prosecutor.”The New Democrats objected to the Fergus video but did not request his resignation.“We are very worried about this and the precedent this has set,” said New Democrat MP Heather McPherson (Edmonton Strathcona, AB).
