Liberal MP caught in toilet while attending proceeding, apologize to House later on

Parvasi Media Group

Brampton Centre Liberal MP Shafqat Ali has now apologized to fellow Parliamentarians after being caught for participating in House of Commons proceedings virtually from a toilet on Friday.

This incident happened on last Friday afternoon in the House of Commons when a debate on a private members’ bill was going on and Conservative MP Laila Goodridge flagged to Assistant Deputy Speaker Alexandra Mendes that it appeared the Liberal MP for Brampton Centre Shafqat Ali was participating in the proceedings from “washroom”.

Fortunately for Mr. Shafqat Ali, this incident did not occur on the public telecast of the House chamber and was exclusively visible to MPs and those who have access to the internal system of proceedings on Zoom.

It appeared that Mr. Ali entered the men’s washroom inside West Block and put his coat on hook on the back of toilet seat while his camera was still on.

Conservative House Leader John Brassard on Monday raised this issue again in the House of Commons and said that this is the “contempt of the House”.

“It appeared that the camera was mounted on the ledge or ridge on the wall just above the back of the toilet. The member of Parliament was literally using the washroom while participating in a sitting of the House of Commons, the cathedral of Canadian democracy. I can’t believe I just said those words, madame speaker,” Brassard said.

Assistant Deputy House speaker Mendes said, “I’d like to remind everyone that especially online we have to be very prudent on how we use our devices, and to be aware of the surroundings when you are online.”

Soon after that MP Shafqat Ali appeared in the House chamber virtually from his riding, to speak to the incident.

“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 asked for the House and MPs to forgive him for his “lapse in judgment.”

“I take this matter extremely seriously, and I promise never to repeat this error again.”

This is not the first time an issue has been raised about a Liberal MP conducting themselves inappropriately while participating virtually in the proceedings of House of Commons.

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 a Parliamentary committee meeting.

He did not run again in the 2021 elections.