Liberal Speaker Greg Fergus once again participating in partisan event
The Liberal Party of Canada is organizing a partisan gathering in Gatineau featuring Speaker Greg Fergus, who has already faced criticism for previous partisanship since becoming Speaker of the House of Commons last fall.
LPC supporters and members were invited to attend "A Summer Evening with Greg Fergus," scheduled for June 4 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The event will take place at a venue near downtown Gatineau.
A spokesperson for the LPC told Le Journal de Montreal that the evening was organized by the Hull-Aylmer riding association.
“It is very common for MPs to organize summer events to thank local volunteers and to show them that they appreciate their work,” said Parker Lund, in French.
The event is billed as “a golden opportunity to talk with other Liberals about how we can continue to build a better future for all Canadians," on the Liberal website.
“While Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives propose reckless policies that could harm your health, your safety and your wallet, our Liberal team is focused on making life more affordable for Canadians and implementing its bold plan aimed in particular at creating an economic [sic] that benefits everyone, protecting our environment and ensuring security in our communities,” it states.
A spokesperson for the speaker states that the text on the site "is a generic document generated by the party and has not been endorsed by Mr. Fergus's team."
The text will be removed "as soon as possible," the spokesperson said.
WATCH: @SheilaGunnReid looks at new Speaker of the House Greg Fergus, who — surprise, surprise — is just more of the same old Liberal habits.
— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) October 5, 2023
FULL REPORT: https://t.co/4mQPDYvA8e pic.twitter.com/sHloZsBDag
In a letter to Mr. Fergus on Tuesday, Conservative deputy whip Chris Warkentin argued that this latest incident, combined with previous partisan blunders, are clear examples of why the speaker should resign.
“It has simply become impossible to make the slightest distinction between Speaker Greg Fergus and the Liberal Greg Fergus,” he accuses. “Every decision you make now – and, in hindsight, every decision you have made – will now be seen as having been made with a red tint.”
Taking over for Speaker Anthony Rota last fall after he took the fall for the invitation of a Nazi to parliament, Fergus participated in an "activist cocktail party" for Liberal MP Sophie Chatel.
Later, he would film a video dressed in his speakers' robe, greeting the leader of the Ontario Liberals.
In another partisan incident, Fergus expelled Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre from question period following a particularly heated exchange with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Poilievre was ejected from the House of Commons for the day after labelling Trudeau a "wacko" for supporting British Columbia's previous policy of decriminalizing hard drugs to reduce overdose deaths.
#BREAKING: The Liberal speaker has kicked Pierre Poilievre OUT of the House of Commons. pic.twitter.com/M5sE4KSlXe
— Canada Proud (@WeAreCanProud) April 30, 2024
Poilievre criticized it as a "wacko policy" endorsed by "this wacko prime minister." Fergus requested that he retract the "unparliamentary language."
When Poilievre refused, offering instead to replace "wacko" with "extremist" or "radical," Fergus proceeded to remove him from the session.
