Speaker Greg Fergus Must Resign

Speaker Greg Fergus once again breached the rules and ethics of his office, appearing in a partisan ad for an event (a rally featuring him) that used partisan rhetoric.  

Time and time again, Greg Fergus has flouted the rules and helped this Prime Minister cover up his scandals.

He was, himself, implicated in two scandals, one where he was found guilty of breaking ethics laws and another, helping the Prime Minister mislead parliament about his lavish vacation spending, still pending—being blocked by Liberal and NDP members in the Ethics Committee.

Fergus has long been known as a fierce partisan. So, it was a stretch for many MPs to trust that Mr. Fergus could execute the role of Speaker with the non-partisan impartiality it demands.

That said, we gave him the benefit of the doubt and a fair shot. Sadly, this is not the third but the fourth time in just six months that he has let us down.

Late last year, Mr. Fergus delivered a partisan speech to the Ontario Liberal Party, in his full Speaker’s regalia from the Speaker’s office. A clear breach of the political neutrality and impartiality he committed to when he ran for that office.

For MPs this was the equivalent of a hockey referee appearing in the opposing dressing room, in uniform, giving the other team a pep talk before the game. Or a defendant in a court case seeing the judge attending a social function thrown by the prosecutor. That official may be able to have those interactions and still maintain impartiality but the trust that he can do so is demolished. Those images will always be there causing doubt. 

He then flew to Washington for a speaking engagement about his days as a member of the Young Liberals.

A few weeks ago, Fergus came under fire, again, for kicking two Conservatives, including leader Pierre Poilievre, out of the House for using the word “wacko”, while ignoring more inflammatory words from the Prime Minister. He has come under further scrutiny as it has been revealed Hansard (the official record of every word said in Parliament) which is overseen by the Speaker’s office, altered the transcript to cover up his unjustified action of kicking out Conservative MP Rachel Thomas. The case is now being considered by the Deputy Speakers.

Now we have this ad and event.

Having broken the (already fragile) trust of Opposition MPs, the Speaker has no choice but to resign. 

Likewise, the NDP must finally do the right thing, keep their word, and join with Conservatives and the Bloc in voting non-confidence.