Canadian Liberal Party MP William Amos has offered an apology after being caught walking around naked on camera during a video call with fellow parliamentarians on Wednesday evening.
Mr Amos, who represents the Quebec constituency, or riding, of Pontiac, was caught fully undressed walking around on camera in his office as other members of parliament were participating in a parliamentary session.
“My video was accidentally turned on as I was changing into my work clothes after going for a jog. I sincerely apologize to my colleagues in the House of Commons for this unintentional distraction. Obviously, it was an honest mistake and it won’t happen again,” Amos said, CBC reports.
Anyone recognize this MP wandering around in the buff in their office while taking part in the hybrid Parliament? Obviously, given the flag, they are from Quebec. Wonder what kind of mobile phone he uses? #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/HWOeR9ZJBV
— Brian Lilley (@brianlilley) April 14, 2021
Claude DeBellefeuille, an MP for the separatist Bloc Québécois, later highlighted the issue during question period stating, “Mr Speaker, as you know, since the beginning of the pandemic we have tried to emphasize the importance of respecting decorum and the dress code here in the House. I think that today we have set a new record.”
“We have seen a member during question period improperly dressed. That is, unclothed. So perhaps remind the members, especially the male members, that suits and ties are appropriate but also a shirt, underpants and pants,” he said.
A picture of the incident, that did not reveal Mr Amos’ private areas, was posted on social media platform Twitter by Toronto Sun journalist Brian Lilley, which was met with concerns from some over privacy issues and mocking comments from others.
“Too much transparency,” Alberta provincial Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Devin Dreeshen wrote, while federal Conservative Party MP Pierre Poilivre stated, “Finally, an end to the Liberal cover-up.”
Leader of the Government in the House of Commons Pablo Rodriguez, meanwhile, has called for an investigation to find the identity of the person who leaked the photograph of Mr Amos.
“Taking a photo of someone who is changing clothes and in the nude and sharing it without their consent could very well be criminal,” Rodriguez said and added, “Are we really at a point in our politics where it is acceptable to try and destroy the reputation and humiliate a colleague because someone finds a very unfortunate error and unintentional mistake to be funny. Our politics has taken a very dark and destructive turn if this is the case.”
The incident is just the latest controversy for the party of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who himself was caught in photographs wearing blackface on multiple occasions.
In 2019, when the photos surfaced prior to the Canadian federal election that year, Trudeau told reporters that he did not remember all of the occasions he had donned blackface as photos emerged.
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