Speaker Greg Fergus apologizes to committee for video shown at political convention

House Speaker Greg Fergus apologized to a committee of MPs this morning for a video he made that was shown at a recent Ontario Liberal Party convention.

Fergus was called to speak to the committee on procedure and House affairs, which is examining whether the non-partisan Speaker should be punished for appearing in the video in his ceremonial robes.

The committee has scheduled five hours of hearings on this today, with witnesses that also include House clerks and John Fraser, the Ontario member of the provincial parliament who was the subject of Fergus's video.

Fergus says a member of Fraser's family asked him to send a video message to commemorate his time in a senior position in the provincial Liberal party.

The Speaker says he believed it would be shown at a private event and not a partisan event but he also says he should not have made the video in the first place. Fergus says a protocol is being put in place to ensure he gets advice from the House clerk and administration on any future communications from his office.