Liberal MP apologizes for taking Zoom camera to washroom
OTTAWA — MPs were warned once again Friday to keep their calls with nature and the call to democracy separate after a Liberal parliamentarian was forced to apologize for taking the House of Commons to the bathroom with him via Zoom.
One would think that after two years of virtual Parliament, MPs would know not to take their recording devices with cameras turned on with them to the bathroom while attending proceedings. And yet, on Friday, Liberal MP for Brampton Centre Shafqat Ali was caught on an internal camera feed doing just that.
“I want to take this opportunity to apologize sincerely and unreservedly to all members of the Parliament for the unfortunate event that transpired last Friday,” Ali said in the House of Commons Monday via Zoom. “I ask that the House and its members to forgive me for my lapse in judgment. I take this matter extremely seriously and I promise never to repeat this error again.”
The incident was made public Friday by Conservative MP Laila Goodridge. She rose in the House on a point of order to note that the Liberal MP for Brampton Centre “might be participating in a washroom.”
The alleged incident was not visible on the public parliamentary feed, only to MPs on an internal stream. In an interview, Goodridge said she was “stunned” that she needed to make a point of order on this kind of incident at all.
“I thought people had learned their lesson,” she said. “This is just another reason why these virtual proceedings need to come to an end, because they are not being treated with the respect that they deserve.”
On Monday afternoon, Conservative MP John Brassard brought up the “distressing occurrence” during a new point of order and asked the Speaker to rule that it was potentially contempt of Parliament and refer the matter for study by committee.
“Those who witnessed the events quite clearly saw the Liberal MP enter what appeared to be a toilet stall in one of the men's washrooms located on this very floor of this very building. The visible stonework, wooden door and the stainless-steel door hinges and coat hook on the back of that door, which is part of the long side of the stall, all looked quite familiar,” Brassard said.
He added that it appeared that the camera filming the member was sitting on a “ledge or ridge on the wall, just above the back of the toilet.”
“A member of Parliament was literally using the washroom while participating in a sitting of this House of Commons, the cathedral of Canadian democracy. I cannot believe that I just said those words,” Brassard said.
Later in the day, Deputy Speaker Chris D'Entremont ruled that he considered the matter closed following the “sincere apology” from Ali.
“I do take this opportunity to, again, encourage all members to always be vigilant when participating remotely in proceedings of the House. If you don't have to have the camera on, turn it off. If you don't have to be in voting, turn it off,” he said.
This is not the first time a Liberal MP was caught with their pants down while in virtual Parliament.
Former MP Will Amos was caught twice last year acting indecently while participating in parliamentary proceedings via Zoom. The first time he was caught naked on camera while changing, and the second time he admitted to urinating in a mug while attending committee of the whole. He did not run again in the 2021 election.
Goodridge said the Ali and Amos incidents are a reminder that virtual proceedings should be treated the same as a physical presence in the House of Commons.
“It's an extremely alarming pattern and disrespectful and frankly, absolutely inappropriate,” she said.
Assistant deputy speaker and NDP MP Carol Hughes said she found the issue “deeply concerning.”