Mr. Fraser, concerning your testimony, we have to be clear: the problem is not that your wife asked her friend Greg to make a video, it is that Mr. Fergus made a video at his friend's request but kept his Speaker of the House of Commons garb on and stayed in his office. That is the mistake.
Ultimately, who can criticize a friend who makes a video for a friend? Mr. Gerretsen told you that your wife approached an old friend, a very close friend, based on all the details you have given, but the big problem is that she asked for something from a friend who forgot that he was also the Speaker of the House of Commons and kept his Speaker's garb on to pay tribute to him, going so far as to introduce himself as Speaker of the House of Commons. It is not a video along the lines of "Hi John, I'm Greg;" rather, it is along the lines of "I am the Speaker of the House of Commons," with all his garb and in his office. That is the problem.
We are not denying that your wife did something nice, that you are good friends, and that Mr. Fergus is a good person. This takes nothing away from him in that regard. What it takes away from him is that he made a bad decision and he showed poor judgment. It is very sad to say, Mr. Fraser, but you are here today to defend Mr. Fergus because he is your friend and you feel bad that he is in a fix because of a situation relating to his tribute to you.
As a parliamentarian, it is impossible for you not to feel bad about the fact that he has compromised his impartiality. The way he made that tribute compromised his impartiality to the point that the members of the House of Commons unanimously told him that he had undermined the confidence of the House. You cannot say that what he did is not serious. It was nice of him to say fine words of friendship and love to you, but not the way he did it. That is what he is being criticized for.
You, as a parliamentarian, would you have liked your Speaker, dressed in his garb—I do not know how he dresses where you are, to be able to introduce himself at a Conservative convention and make the same video paying tribute and expressing love for a friend? You would probably have been the first to raise the hue and cry, as we are doing now.