House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus says he is hoping to survive the political turmoil for appearing in his parliamentary uniform in a video tribute to the former interim leader of the Ontario Liberals.
“I hope so,” Mr. Fergus told The Globe and Mail in an interview on Monday.
Mr. Fergus, a Liberal MP from Quebec, acknowledged that “the members are upset,” adding that he could say little about the situation beyond a statement he issued earlier in the day on the matter.
“Obviously, I am concerned about the debate in the House, but will see where that leads,” said Mr. Fergus, who, two months ago, became the first Black person to serve as Speaker in the Commons.
But the Official Opposition Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois were calling for Mr. Fergus to resign immediately for appearing in a video tribute to John Fraser, who led the provincial Liberals on an interim basis after Steven Del Duca resigned as party leader when he failed to lead the party to power in the 2022 provincial election.
Andrew Scheer, the Conservative House Leader and a former Speaker, said Mr. Fergus had to go for running afoul of the impartiality required of the Speaker.
He compared the situation to a National Hockey League referee giving a pep talk to a team about to go on the ice. “How long do we think that NHL referee would continue in that post?”
He said Mr. Fergus’s conduct had so undermined the position of the Speaker that he was adding his voice to those who had asked Mr. Fergus to resign.
Earlier Monday, Bloc House Leader Alain Therrien told the Commons that Mr. Fergus had to leave the post because he had run afoul of the conventions of impartiality by his video praise for Mr. Fraser.
