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OTTAWA – Speaker Greg Fergus insisted he is running an impartial House of Commons, as Liberal and NDP MPs appear ready to vote to keep him in the chair amid charges of partisanship.
Last week, Fergus was accused of partisanship after an invite went out to a Liberal party event that indicated he would appear and included an attack against Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. The Liberal party has since apologized for the invite and said they included the language without Fergus’s knowledge.
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The Conservatives raised the Speaker’s participation in the event as a point of privilege in the House of Commons and deputy Speaker Chris d’Entremont found on Monday there was a prima facie case that Fergus had violated the rules of the House.
That set up Tuesday’s debate, with the Conservatives calling for Fergus to resign, but the Liberals and the NDP moved to put a time limit on that debate, and a vote on the issue was expected later Tuesday.
The House of Commons is just weeks from rising for a summer recess and a lengthy debate on Fergus or a move to replace him as Speaker would make it difficult for the Liberals to pass several bills before the House rises.
“I hope all the decisions that I’ve pronounced in this place would be judged by any fair minded person as being decisions that can stand the test of time and that were impartial,” Fergus said.
Conservative MP Jamil Jivani asked Fergus to explain more about the latest incident and why MPs should trust him to oversee the House of Commons.
“Before MPs vote tonight on if you should remain chair, why should we believe you?” Jivani asked.
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Fergus has previously been criticized for appearing in a video that was played at the Ontario Liberal Party convention and has been accused of bias for his decision to remove Poilievre from the chamber earlier this month, when the Conservative leader described the prime minister as “wacko.”
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Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner went back further to an incident in 2016, long before Fergus became Speaker. Fergus was then parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and criticized the NDP after the “elbowgate” incident.
During that incident, Trudeau elbowed former NDP MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau in the chamber. Fergus said at the time the way the NDP was acting was “reminiscent of a dive in the 2014 World Cup.”
Rempel Garner said that incident and his partisanship more generally prevents him from managing harassment issues in the House of Commons.
“Do you think opposition MPs would feel safe or empowered to report instances of any sort of harassment?” she asked Fergus.
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“You said I believe him, not I believe her and that is what is wrong with every workplace around the world.”
Fergus said his comments in 2016 were not an indication that he didn’t believe Brosseau, but how he felt the NDP were acting as a party. He said if an MP brought a harassment concern to him he would handle it appropriately.
“I believe that members should feel fully confident in my ability.”
Fergus was asked by Liberal MPs on the committee how he thought they should respond to social media posts, sometimes done by other members of Parliament that led to harassment online.
Fergus said he sympathized, but said there is no role for the Speaker in dealing with that issue.
“There have been instances of members posting comments regarding fellow members on social media that some would qualify as inappropriate or even harassment. While obviously a serious matter, it is not one that the speaker has the jurisdiction over.”
National Post
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