House Speaker Greg Fergus appears as a witness at a standing committee of Procedures and House Affairs on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Dec. 11.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
The NDP House Leader says Speaker Greg Fergus should be fined for providing a video tribute to the former interim leader of the Ontario Liberals, raising questions about his impartiality.
Peter Julian did not say how much an appropriate fine would be. The Speaker’s post comes with perks that include a $92,800 salary top-up to an MP’s base pay of $194,600.
“We believe a financial penalty is warranted and that is what we’re going to be pushing for,” Mr. Julian told journalists on Parliament Hill on Tuesday.
He also said it would be appropriate for the Speaker to apologize – something Mr. Fergus has done in the Commons and before a Monday hearing of the procedure and House affairs committee.
A committee of MPs is looking into the matter after hearing witnesses this week and is expected to issue a report on Thursday.
The NDP’s announcement Tuesday means that party and the Liberals – a majority of MPs – are supporting keeping the Speaker, now in his second month, on the job. Mr. Fergus was voted into the post by MPs after his predecessor, Anthony Rota, stepped down in September.
Mr. Julian, asked by reporters why Mr. Fergus should remain as Speaker, said: “I believe that Mr. Fergus has understood that this can never happen again.”
Meanwhile, the Official Opposition Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois – a total 149 MPs – are seeking his resignation.
At issue is Mr. Fergus, a Liberal MP who previously served as a parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, having been featured in a video tribute message wearing his Commons uniform for his friend John Fraser, a Liberal member of the Ontario Legislature who served as the interim leader of the provincial party.
The video of Mr. Fergus was played at a recent party meeting where Bonnie Crombie was named the new Ontario Liberal Leader.
The Conservatives and the Bloc say Mr. Fergus should step down because his conduct raises questions about his impartiality.
A spokesperson for Mr. Fergus said he was awaiting the ruling of the committee.
“Speaker Fergus is committed to following the process set out by the House. He looks forward to seeing the Committee’s recommendations when they are tabled and will follow the will of the House,” Mathieu Gravel said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Conservatives said they would move a non-confidence motion against the Speaker in the House of Commons.
In a posting on X, former Speaker Andrew Scheer, now the Conservative House Leader, chided the NDP for its position on the Speaker.
“The NDP have said they will ignore the Speaker’s partisan displays and refuse to call for his resignation. All MPs get a vote when a Speaker is selected. All MPs should get a vote now,” Mr. Scheer wrote in his posting.
The office of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre did not respond to a request for comment on Mr. Scheer’s motion or his party’s views on the fate of the Speaker.
Mr. Fergus, who was voted Speaker in October, has said he made the video for Mr. Fraser in a rush, and didn’t think through the implications of providing it given his position in the Commons.
Mr. Julian said the NDP would push for a confidence motion in the Commons if Mr. Fergus again acts in a manner that raises questions about his judgment.
And he said guidance on impartiality for the Speaker should be clarified for the office.
However, Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet was dismissive of the idea of fining Mr. Fergus, repeating the view that the Speaker should go.
“Even if he writes a cheque, he doesn’t become, the next day, somebody who has the necessary judgment to manage, in an impartial manner, in a troubled time, a Parliament as complex as Canada’s,” Mr. Blanchet told journalists.
“We should find someone out of the 338 persons in Parliament, preferably a woman, it might be time, to try and do the job properly as it should be done.”