A Liberal MP Was Apparently In The Bathroom During A House Of Commons Video Conference
The MP apologized for the "unfortunate" incident and asked for forgiveness.
Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
A Liberal MP has been accused of joining a House of Commons video conference call while in the bathroom.
According to CTV News, the incident happened on May 6 during a hybrid sitting of the House of Commons that was visible to MPs and people who have access to the internal video call system but not to the public.
During a debate, a Conservative MP told the assistant deputy speaker that it looked like the Liberal MP for Brampton Centre, Shafqat Ali, was in "a washroom."
After checking with officials, the speaker told the House of Commons that it was confirmed a member appeared to be in the washroom.
On May 9, Conservative House Leader John Brassard said in the House of Commons that he wasn't happy to do so but felt he had to raise the "occurrence of misconduct" since there was no follow-up to the incident.
Brassard said he had spoken with MPs who saw the video feed and they claimed it looked like Ali was in the men's bathroom of Parliament Hill's West Block.
"I am informed that it appeared that the camera was mounted on the ledge or ridge on the wall just above the back of the toilet," he said.
Later that day, Ali appeared virtually in the House of Commons and addressed what happened.
"I want to take this opportunity to apologize sincerely and unreservedly to all members of Parliament for the unfortunate event that transpired last Friday," he said.
Ali asked for MPs to forgive him for what he called a "lapse in judgment."
"I take this matter extremely seriously, and I promise never to repeat this error again," he said.
Not even a week before Brassard brought up the supposed "occurrence of misconduct" by the Liberal MP, he also took aim at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for his conduct.
He alleged that the prime minister used an "unparliamentary term" and said that he asked the speaker to look into it.
Brassard said Trudeau dropped a six-letter "f-bomb" in the House of Commons during a line of questioning.
When it comes to being caught on camera, then-Liberal MP William Amos showed up naked on a House of Commons video conference call in 2021.
He called it "a really unfortunate mistake" and said his camera was "accidentally" left on as he changed into his work clothes after going for a run.
A month later, Amos was caught urinating on camera during a virtual House of Commons meeting.
After the incident, he stepped aside from his parliamentary secretary role and committee duties. Amos didn't run for another term as an MP in the 2021 federal election.