Unity and division among MPs in the House of Commons as seasonal break looms

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With about a week of business left before a seasonal break, MPs at the House of Commons were united Wednesday behind a plan to investigate the impartiality of the embattled House Speaker, but divided over a Conservative threat to delay government business in order to stymie the Liberal carbon pricing regime.

The day swung between extremes of consensus and combativeness, with the deputy Speaker at one point kicking a Conservative MP out of the House for accusing the Prime Minister of being a liar.

In the evening, the House unanimously adopted a Conservative motion to have the Commons procedure and House affairs committee investigate Speaker Greg Fergus, whose impartiality has been questioned by many MPs because of a video of him paying tribute to John Fraser, the interim leader of the Ontario Liberal Party. The video was played at the party’s convention this past weekend.

The motion is critical of Mr. Fergus’s conduct, saying it constituted “a breach of the tradition and expectation of impartiality” connected to his office and was a “serious error of judgment.”

The Bloc Québécois and the Conservatives have called on Mr. Fergus, a Liberal MP from Quebec who has only been Speaker for about two months, to resign his post.

The NDP has said the video appearance was a serious error, but has not sought Mr. Fergus’s departure. The Liberals have noted that he has apologized, but they still agreed to the committee review.

“This motion should be passed even though the Conservative Party has already taken their position. We know that. I understand that,” said Kevin Lamoureux, parliamentary secretary to the Government House Leader.

“Hopefully, a majority of the members on the committee will at least be fair in their assessment, in terms of what has taken place, before they pass judgment.”

The committee is expected to return to the House by Dec. 14 with a recommendation on how to proceed. Dec. 15 is scheduled to be the last sitting day of 2023.

Mr. Fergus was not in Ottawa on Wednesday. Instead he was in Washington, for meetings with U.S. leaders. The previous day, he had met with former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Conservatives have taken issue with his decision to leave town. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre highlighted Mr. Fergus’s absence in a social-media post on Tuesday.

In response, Mr. Fergus’s spokesperson, Mathieu Gravel, noted in a statement that the Speaker’s visit had come after weeks of planning, and fulfills the diplomatic portion of the Speaker’s role.

He said Mr. Fergus planned to resume his functions upon his return to Ottawa on Thursday.

Also on Wednesday, Mr. Poilievre announced during a speech to his caucus that Conservatives would take steps to inundate the Commons with work, unless the Liberal government changes its policies on carbon pricing.

“We are going to put in thousands of amendments at committee and in the House of Commons, forcing all-night, round-the-clock voting to block your $20-billion of inflationary spending and the rest of your economically destructive plans, until you agree to our demand to take the tax off farmers, First Nations and families,” Mr. Poilievre said.

“You will have no rest until the tax is gone,” he added, referring to pricing on carbon emissions. Media were allowed into the caucus meeting to hear Mr. Poilievre’s remarks, but the Conservative Leader did not take questions about his threats.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was dismissive. “He can make us work late. We’re happy to do it, because we’re doing important things for Canadians while he’s pulling stunts,” Mr. Trudeau said as he arrived for Question Period.

During Question Period, Damien Kurek, the Conservative MP for the Alberta riding of Battle River-Crowfoot, alleged Mr. Trudeau had been contacting senators about a Conservative bill to create a carbon pricing exemption for farmers.

“The Prime Minister lied, and his minions continue to lie about ...” Mr. Kurek said, before he was cut off by deputy Speaker Chris d’Entremont, who was filling in for Mr. Fergus.

Mr. d’Entremont urged Mr. Kurek to retract his statement and apologize. “The honourable member knows full well he cannot use that word in this chamber,” the deputy Speaker said.

After Mr. Kurek said he would not apologize, Mr. d’Entremont, who is a Conservative MP, asked him to leave.

The Prime Minister’s Office rejected Mr. Kurek’s assertion. “The Prime Minister engaged in no such behaviour,” Jenna Ghassabeh, a press secretary for Mr. Trudeau, said in a statement.