Andrew Scheer broke Parliament’s rules by filming partisan video in his office

The House of Commons imposed a $500 penalty earlier this year on Conservative House leader Andrew Scheer after he broke the rules by filming a partisan video in his parliamentary office, CBC News has learned.

The violation is mentioned in the Oct. 26 minutes of the Board of Internal Economy, a committee of MPs that includes Scheer. The committee oversees the operation of the House of Commons precinct and parliamentary resources.

“On July 19, 2023, the Board agreed to set an amount for payment as an appropriate remedy for non-compliance with the By-law in the case of the use of House of Commons resources by a Member to endorse a candidate in a nomination contest and accepted the reimbursement in the amount of $500 offered for non-compliance,” the minutes said.

The minutes do not name the MP, but sources told CBC News that Scheer triggered the penalty by filming a video in his parliamentary office earlier this year to support Arpan Khanna, who was seeking the Conservative nomination in the southwestern Ontario riding of Oxford. Khanna went on to win the nomination and the byelection and now sits as a member of Parliament.

A source with knowledge of the matter said Khanna’s campaign paid the $500 penalty to the House of Commons.

News of the penalty comes as Scheer — who served as the Speaker of the House of Commons from 2011 to 2015 — spearheads a push to force current Speaker Greg Fergus to resign after Fergus 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.

The source told CBC News the $500 penalty was based on a precedent set in January 2019, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau filmed an end-of-year fundraising video in his Parliament Hill office. Following a complaint from NDP MP Charlie Angus, the Liberal Party of Canada reimbursed the House of Commons $500.

Under the 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.

When asked about the penalty, Kenzie Potter, an aide to Scheer, referred CBC News to the board’s minutes.

Speaking in the House of Commons last week, Scheer said Fergus’s video breached the impartiality of the Speaker’s chair.

“He was standing there in the full non-partisan trappings of his non-partisan office, paying a partisan tribute to a partisan friend at a partisan event,” he said. “This conduct is simply unacceptable. It defies all long-standing traditions and expectations attached to the high office of Speaker.”

While the Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois have pushed for Fergus to resign, New Democrat House leader Peter Julian said Tuesday his party favours fining Fergus and seeking an apology to the House of Commons.

WATCH: Scheer says he’s ‘flabbergasted’ by Fergus’s 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.

Scheer’s penalty came after former Conservative MP Dave MacKenzie filed a complaint with former Speaker Anthony Rota in response to Scheer tweeting out in February a video filmed in his parliamentary office to support Khanna. Khanna was running against MacKenzie’s daughter Deb Tait for the Conservative nomination to succeed MacKenzie in the riding of Oxford.

MacKenzie told CBC News he was never informed of the outcome of his complaint.

“It’s a mess,” he said when asked about the $500 penalty. “I was in politics for a while but I was in policing longer, and the whole thing just stinks.”

When asked for his thoughts on Scheer going after Fergus for filming a video in the Speaker’s office, MacKenzie laughed.

“When I saw a little bit of that I thought, ‘People who live in glass houses,'” he said.

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

Sources say the penalty mentioned in Khanna’s campaign expenses actually reimbursed the House of Commons.

Reached for comment, Khanna’s office asked CBC News to send questions because Khanna was occupied in meetings. His office has not yet responded to the questions.

Myriam Croussette, spokesperson for the Office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections, said it has not issued any administrative monetary penalties (AMPs) related to the Oxford nomination race. If one had been issued, she said, it wouldn’t be a recognized campaign expense.

“If an AMP was issued to an official agent, candidate or other campaign worker, the Canada Elections Act would not allow the use of campaign funds for the payment of the AMP,” Croussette said.

Matthew McKenna, spokesperson for Elections Canada, said on Nov. 17 that Khanna’s financial return for the nomination contest has not yet gone through its routine audit. He said auditors would have to decide if the $500 House of Commons reimbursement is a justifiable campaign expense.