A Canadian Member of Parliament was caught completely naked during a virtual meeting of the House of Commons.
William Amos, who has been representing Quebec’s Pontiac district since 2015, appeared completely naked on the screens of his co-legislators on Wednesday. Due to the pandemic, many Canadian lawmakers are participating in video conference sessions rather than in person.
A screenshot obtained by The Canadian Press shows Amos standing behind a desk between the Quebec and Canadian flags, his genitals hidden by what looks like a cell phone in one hand.
“This was an unfortunate mistake,” Amos said in an emailed statement. “My video was accidentally turned on while changing my work clothes after a run. I sincerely apologize to my colleagues in the House of Commons for this inadvertent distraction. Obviously it was a genuine mistake and it will not happen again. “
Claude DeBellefeuille, a lawmaker for the opposition Bloc Québécois party, brought up the incident after a period of questions and suggested that parliamentary decorum requires male MPs to wear jackets and ties, shirts, underwear and pants.
Spokesman Anthony Rota later thanked DeBellefeuille for his “observations” and clarified that although he had not seen anything, he consulted technicians and confirmed that they saw something. He reminded lawmakers to always be vigilant around a camera and microphone.
Amos, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry Francois-Philippe Champagne, was only visible to Members of Parliament and staff in an internal video conference broadcast. Because he did not speak, his picture did not appear on the public broadcast.
Liberal Party colleague Mark Holland said Amos was “completely offended”. Holland said he was satisfied with his colleague’s explanation.
‘I don’t think there were any bad intentions. It is certainly an unfortunate circumstance, ”said Holland.
“This is a warning to everyone,” added Holland. “You should always assume that the camera is on and every time you approach that camera, you have to make sure you are properly dressed.”
When asked if he would issue a warning to all liberal lawmakers along those lines, Holland said, “Oh, big time.”