Embattled House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus may be able to weather the current political firestorm over his personal video message to a long-time Liberal friend, as the NDP revealed Tuesday that they are pushing for sanctions, rather than his ouster.
"We believe in taking tough measures, and the Speaker needs to respond to these tough measures," NDP House Leader Peter Julian told reporters in the House of Commons foyer ahead of question period.
Julian said specifically that, as the party that could tip the scales in making the call about Fergus' fate, the NDP want to see a financial penalty imposed, for Fergus to apologize again, and make sure he's fully aware the same serious error of judgment cannot happen again.
This comes amid questions over whether the Procedure and House Affairs Committee (PROC) would be recommending that Fergus resign, a call that would need the support of the majority of MPs to be included in the committee's report, due to the House on Thursday.
Fergus has been under scrutiny and called out by the entire House of Commons for breaching the expectations of impartiality that are essential to his high office, by filming a video for outgoing interim Ontario Liberal leader John Fraser in his Speaker's attire, which was then allegedly errantly played at a partisan event.
While Fergus has apologized repeatedly, and vowed to rebuild trust with MPs, throughout the controversy, both the Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois have been calling for Fergus to resign. Without the NDP's backing, it appears unlikely their push will be enough to pressure the relatively newly-elected Speaker to step aside.
Julian said the NDP also wants to see the Speaker's job description beefed up to include more direct language around the importance of maintaining impartiality, and a codification of the parameters of what would be considered partisan conduct, echoing suggestions made by House of Commons Clerk Eric Janse during his PROC testimony.
"We believe these are vitally important to maintain confidence in the institution," Julian said.
Though, should a similar situation ever happen again, the NDP wouldn't hesitate to move a motion of non-confidence in the Speaker, Julian added, noting he led the calls for Fergus' predecessor Anthony Rota to resign over his invitation and recognition of a man who fought for a Nazi unit during the Second World War.
"We did that on the basis of what we felt that was in the best interests of the institution. And in the same way this time, we're acting as the adults in the room," Julian said.
If the Liberals are amenable to the NDP's proposals, the two parties would have the votes on the committee to see these recommendations for sanctions and overarching procedural changes included in the final report, while the resignation calls may be relegated to an opposition dissenting addendum.
The committee met for two hours behind closed doors on Tuesday morning and is scheduled to resume sitting on Tuesday afternoon to continue drafting its report into the controversy, after hearing directly from Fergus and other key players on Monday.
Last week, MPs gave the committee clear marching orders to probe the Speaker's perceived partisan participation, with the expectation that they had to report back to the House as a whole, by Dec. 14.
During his two hours of testimony, a repentant Fergus said Monday that he would accept whatever recommendations the committee makes.
"I've been pining over this moment in my mind, over and over again. I wish I had just taken a moment to think about it. Sometimes in politics, and I think we all do this… we go from one event to another, to another. We don't take the time sometimes to just take a step back and think about it," Fergus said.
"I made the wrong decision. I am here today to say that I will do better… I will set up a more rigorous protocol to make sure that it never happens again."
While the Liberals accepted their colleague's apology, Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer, who has been leading the charge as a former House Speaker against Fergus, said he couldn't see a path forward for him.
Upon learning of the NDP's position, Scheer—who was the MP to launch the call for the committee study—indicated his party plans to ratchet up the pressure further, regardless of what the probe concludes.
"Conservatives will move non-confidence in Speaker Fergus in the House. 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," Scheer said in a post on "X."
On Tuesday, Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said he thinks Fergus has "disqualified" himself from the job and should vacate the Speaker's chair.
Julian described the proceedings as "disciplinary hearings into the actions of the Speaker," and sought to position the New Democrats as the party "asking tough questions" while the other parties "make speeches."
"What the NDP has been attempting to… is get to the bottom of things, and get clear answers as to what transpired," Julian said, expressing disappointment in specifically how the Conservatives comported themselves in Monday's marathon hearing.
"I think it's fair to say we have a responsibility when we're talking about a parliamentary institution like the Speakership, to ensure that we are working in a methodical way… And, I'm satisfied with the NDP's approach in this, that we're ensuring that it will never happen again," Julian said.
