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OTTAWA — Conservatives are calling once more for Greg Fergus to resign as House of Commons Speaker, arguing that an advertisement for an event in his riding used “very partisan, inflammatory language” concerning Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
The Liberal Party of Canada recently advertised a “Summer Evening with the Honourable Greg Fergus” in Hull on June 4 as an “exciting opportunity to join fellow Liberals and talk about the ways we can continue to build a better future for all Canadians.”
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“While Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives propose reckless policies that would risk our health, safety, and pocketbooks, our Liberal team is focused on making life more affordable for Canadians and moving forward with our bold plan,” read the description.
Liberal Party spokesperson Parker Lund said in an email that there was a “miscommunication” between the party and Fergus’ riding association “which led to the wrong text being put on the website” but added that it is “now being corrected.”
“Even as Speaker, Mr. Fergus remains the Member of Parliament for Hull—Aylmer. It is very common for MPs to hold summer events to thank and show their appreciation to local supporters and volunteers,” said Lund.
On Tuesday morning, the event was briefly “no longer available” before reappearing on the party’s website with a new description. It now invites Liberals to “enjoy a fun-filled Summer kick-off BBQ with good cheer, refreshing drink, and appetizing food.”
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It is not the first time that Fergus has faced calls to resign as Speaker. The Conservatives and Bloc Québécois said they could not support him after he filmed a partisan video in his official robes shown at an Ontario Liberal Party event.
At the time, Fergus said he was prepared to resign if he lost the confidence of the House, but the NDP decided to give him one more chance to stay on as Speaker, saying that this type of partisan behaviour “cannot happen moving forward.”
More recently, Conservatives renewed their calls for Fergus to resign after he expelled Poilievre from the House of Commons last month for calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau an “extremist” and a “wacko.”
Conservative MP and whip Chris Warkentin raised the latest partisan event in a letter to Fergus sent on Tuesday and called on him to step down.
“It has simply become impossible to make any distinction now between Speaker Greg Fergus and Liberal Greg Fergus. Every ruling you give now — and, with hindsight, every ruling you have given — will now all be assumed to have been delivered with a red tint.”
Warkentin later raised a question of privilege in the House on what he said was “yet another instance of public display of partisanship on the part of our Speaker.”
“I would submit that the Speaker must take personal responsibility for what his local team, the Hull—Aylmer federal Liberal association — whose past president, I would add, is the Speaker’s chief of staff — has organized and published,” he said.
More details to follow…
National Post
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