NDP ethics critic calls for Scheer to appear before House ethics committee

New Democrat ethics critic Matthew Green is calling for Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer to appear before Parliament’s access to information, privacy and ethics committee to answer questions about why he broke House of Commons rules by filming a partisan video in his Parliament Hill office.

Scheer shot the video to endorse a Conservative candidate in an Ontario byelection earlier this year.

“In relation to media reports that parliamentary resources were inappropriately used in an attempt to influence the nomination process of the 2023 Oxford by-election, that the committee invite Andrew Scheer … to appear before committee for no less than two hours,” reads Green’s notice of motion.

With Parliament expected to rise for its Christmas break Friday and resume sitting in late January, it could be several weeks before the committee deals with Green’s motion.

Green told CBC News it was “the height of hypocrisy” for Scheer to lead calls for Speaker Greg Fergus to resign for filming a partisan video in his Hill office.

“The former Speaker of the House Andrew Scheer was himself guilty of the exact same transgressions and was levied an administrative fine quietly, and privately, without public shame and embarrassment, while simultaneously leading the charge to remove Greg Fergus from the Speaker’s chair,” Green said. 

“It just shows a lack of integrity of the Conservative leadership office in general and Andrew Scheer in particular.”

Parliament needs tougher ethics fines, NDP critic says

Green said Parliament also should consider stiffer penalties for using House resources for partisan purposes, such as the U.K. practice of suspending MPs rather than issuing monetary fines.

“I don’t think $500 quite accurately covers the cost recovery of the trust that is lost when these things happen,” he said.

Green’s comments come after CBC News reported that Scheer was fined $500 earlier this year for filming a video in his parliamentary office to support Arpan Khanna, who was seeking the Conservative nomination in the southwest Ontario riding of Oxford. Khanna went on to win the nomination and the byelection. He now sits as a member of Parliament.

Scheer served as the Speaker of the House of Commons from 2011 to 2014.

While Khanna has not responded to questions from CBC News, a source said Khanna’s campaign paid the $500 penalty.

Asked Thursday about his video to support Khanna, Scheer drew parallels with an earlier incident in 2019, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau filmed a fundraising video in his Parliament Hill office.

“Mr. Trudeau set the precedent when he improperly used House resources,” Scheer told reporters.

Scheer’s office has not yet responded to questions from CBC News about Green’s motion to bring him before committee.

CBC News began looking into the incident in mid-November after a reference to it appeared in the Oct. 26 minutes of the Board of Internal Economy, a committee of MPs which oversees the operations of the House of Commons precinct and parliamentary resources. Scheer sits on the committee.

Rules for MPs on partisan activity

Under House of Commons rules, MPs are prohibited from using parliamentary resources or parliamentary premises for partisan purposes such as fundraising or endorsing a candidate in a partisan contest.

The board minutes do not name the MP but say the board decided on July 19 to accept a $500 “reimbursement” for a violation that involved “the use of House of Commons resources by a Member to endorse a candidate in a nomination contest.”

Former Conservative MP Dave MacKenzie filed a complaint with former Speaker Anthony Rota after Scheer tweeted out the video. Khanna ran against MacKenzie’s daughter, Deb Tait, for the Conservative nomination to succeed MacKenzie in the riding of Oxford.

Scheer’s name also appears in Khanna’s financial filings with Elections Canada following the nomination contest. The list of Khanna’s campaign expenses includes an expenditure of $500 to Scheer on May 10 for an “Elections Canada pending penalty.”

Sources say the penalty mentioned in the filings was actually the reimbursement to the House of Commons.

WATCH | Scheer ‘flabbergasted’ by Speaker in partisan video: 

Scheer ‘flabbergasted’ by Speaker in partisan video

Conservative MP Andrew Scheer, a former Speaker of the House of Commons, says he is “appalled” current speaker Greg Fergus made a partisan video while in his non-partisan role.

News that Scheer incurred a penalty for misuse of House resources by filming a video comes as he has been spearheading a push to force current Speaker Greg Fergus to resign.

Fergus had filmed a video tribute to outgoing Ontario Liberal Leader John Fraser while wearing his House of Commons Speaker’s robes. While Fergus said he thought the video was for a private dinner, it was shown at the Ontario Liberal Party convention.

Scheer has said the video was a breach of the impartiality of the Speaker’s chair. His comments in the House have focused on the need for the Speaker to be impartial rather than the use of House resources to film a partisan video.

On Thursday, the House of Commons procedure and House affairs committee recommended that Fergus be fined and made to apologize, but fell short of recommending he resign.

Reaction on Parliament Hill was swift.

“There is no limit to Conservative hypocrisy,” Ryan Turnbull, Liberal MP for Whitby in Ontario, posted on social media.

Bloc Québécois MP Claude DeBellefeuille, who has served on the Board of Internal Economy for the past four years, said it’s not the first time the board has been called on to examine a case of an MP using House resources for something other than their job as an MP.

“The concept of a financial sanction doesn’t exist. What you have to do is to identify the cost to reimburse for the use of the resource with measurable indicators,” DeBellefeuille said. “I can tell you, sincerely, that there is no cost for a lack of judgment.”