Evidence of meeting #98 for Procedure and House Affairs in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was fergus.
A video is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
Mr. Fergus said that it was his understanding that the video would be shown at an intimate event on December 1 at a private gathering.
What was the intimate event or what private gathering took place, or did such a gathering take place on December 1?
Member of Provincial Parliament, Legislative Assembly of Ontario, As an Individual
There was no gathering on December 1.
As a normal course of matter—and I think maybe this is where one of the miscommunications came in—often, when you have a convention, you do a tribute, and you do it on a Friday night. I think it was just an error on Linda's behalf, and I think that's where the date of December 1 came out.
Conservative
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
What precisely was Mr. Fergus told, at least based on your understanding of what he was told, presumably in conversations that you've had with your wife? He was very clear that it was to be shown at a private gathering.
Member of Provincial Parliament, Legislative Assembly of Ontario, As an Individual
I don't have exact knowledge of the conversation between my wife, Linda, and Mr. Desfossés, so I can't provide you that information. That might be a question that's better for Mr. Desfossés, but I'm not privy to that conversation or the exact details of that conversation.
Conservative
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
You have no idea what your wife said to Mr. Desfossés.
Member of Provincial Parliament, Legislative Assembly of Ontario, As an Individual
No, I don't, other than what I've just told you right now. My—
Conservative
Member of Provincial Parliament, Legislative Assembly of Ontario, As an Individual
Just so I can finish here, what my family, and my wife in particular, did in this tribute was something very special. It was something that they were very proud of, and it was something that touched me very deeply.
Like I said, I had to watch it again because I didn't fully grasp it the first time around.
Member of Provincial Parliament, Legislative Assembly of Ontario, As an Individual
If I can finish this part—
Member of Provincial Parliament, Legislative Assembly of Ontario, As an Individual
I'll do my best to get it in 10 seconds.
My wife felt very bad about it. I wasn't about to make her feel even worse, simply because she did it out of love. Maybe that's why we've been married for 43 years, or maybe it's because she's patient.
I don't have the exact details.
Conservative
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
To be clear, I appreciate that you feel bad and your wife feels bad. That's fine and understandable, but my question isn't about that. I would assume you would not feel good. It is about the fact that this video that was to be presented was intended for the Liberal leadership event. Is that correct?
That's what your wife was making—
Member of Provincial Parliament, Legislative Assembly of Ontario, As an Individual
I can't give you the exact details of that conversation because I wasn't privy to the exact details. I think it's a question that's better for Mr. Desfossés.
Conservative
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
Can you undertake to contact your wife today and provide those details to the committee by the end of today? It's a very straightforward question.
Member of Provincial Parliament, Legislative Assembly of Ontario, As an Individual
Respectfully, Mr. Cooper, I think there's a way that, if you need to find this out, you can have a conversation with one of the participants. I just want to make it clear. I am not going to make my wife of 43 years feel bad by.... I am not going to do that, so just simply, I will let you know—
Conservative
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bardish Chagger
I am going to pause.
I'm sorry it has come to this, because none of us are new. All of us have a lot of regard and respect for this work. I need one person speaking at a time. I think we need to understand.
I think we know the parameters in which we are working. All members know, publicly, what the motion we agreed to was. We understand there are some documents we're asking for. People are endeavouring to provide them, and we need to have some regard for this. To pretend that, prior to our next meeting later on today, we're going to have all this stuff.... It's not factual or real. There are certain things that I think are very important. I'm not determining what isn't. I'm just suggesting we maximize our time to get the information we need from the people we called here, so that PROC can do its work and report back in a timely fashion.
Moving forward, I would like to hear one person in my ear at a time. I put my earpiece on to ensure that remains the case.
Mr. Cooper, you have one minute and 52 seconds.
December 11th, 2023 / 11:50 a.m.
Conservative
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
What I'm understanding, Mr. Fraser, is that there was no private event. Secondly, the video was going to be shown on Friday night, but a decision was made to present the video at the convention, instead—on Saturday night.
Is that correct?
Member of Provincial Parliament, Legislative Assembly of Ontario, As an Individual
No.
What I said was that I believe what happened with Linda's communication was that she believed, at the time, that there was a tribute on December 1, which would normally be the course of those tributes. I'm sure that, in your party and all the other parties, outgoing leaders get this. That's where the date of December 1 comes in.
Conservative
Michael Cooper Conservative St. Albert—Edmonton, AB
That would have been a tribute at the leadership event. Is that correct?
Member of Provincial Parliament, Legislative Assembly of Ontario, As an Individual
It would have been, if it had been a convention. That's what it normally would have been, but it wasn't. It was an event that wasn't an official meeting. It was, basically, “count the votes”.
Member of Provincial Parliament, Legislative Assembly of Ontario, As an Individual
It was a public event. That's correct.
Conservative