A member of Canada’s House of Commons apologized on Wednesday for having taken a nude picture of one of his colleagues throughout a Zoom name, an episode that prompted mockery, anger and calls for an investigation after the picture circulated extensively on social media.

The lawmaker, Sébastien Lemire, a member of the Bloc Québécois, acknowledged having taken the picture of William Amos, a Liberal Party member from Quebec, when Mr. Amos appeared nude on Zoom throughout a legislative session final week. Mr. Lemire mentioned he didn’t know the way the picture had ended up on social media.

Mr. Amos had mentioned he had been becoming his work garments after a jog and had been unaware that the digital camera on his pc was on. Although different lawmakers who have been logged into a non-public Zoom name might see Mr. Amos standing bare between the flags of Canada and Quebec, the video was not streamed publicly as a result of Mr. Amos was not talking on the time.

Addressing the House on Wednesday, Mr. Lemire took duty for taking a photograph of Mr. Amos.

“I would like to present my apologies to the House for breaching the standing orders by taking a picture of a member on April 14,” Mr. Lemire mentioned in French. “I personally apologized to him, but I also wanted to do so publicly, to him personally, to his family, to his colleagues and anyone I may have offended. I’d like to say, to conclude, that I have no idea how that photo made its way into the media.”

It was not instantly clear what motion, if any, the House would absorb response to Mr. Lemire’s acknowledgment. After Mr. Lemire’s remarks, Anthony Rota, the House speaker, thanked Mr. Lemire and mentioned, “I will come back to the House with my decision.”

A spokesman for Mr. Lemire mentioned on Wednesday that the lawmaker would haven’t any additional remark. A spokesman for Mr. Amos mentioned that Mr. Amos wouldn’t remark as a result of the speaker was contemplating an investigation.

After the picture of Mr. Amos appeared on social media, jokes quickly adopted, together with some from different legislators.

“When we called for greater transparency, we should have been more specific,” Garnett Genuis, a Conservative member of Parliament, wrote on Twitter, alongside the picture.

But different lawmakers said they were furious that somebody had taken the picture of Mr. Amos whereas he was bare and that somebody had then uploaded the picture to social media.

Canadian regulation forbids publishing, distributing or making accessible an “intimate image of a person knowing that the person depicted in the image did not give their consent to that conduct.”

“Taking a photo of someone who is changing clothes and in the nude and sharing it without their consent could very well be criminal,” Pablo Rodriguez, the chief of the federal government within the House of Commons, mentioned final week throughout a House session. “Did the person who took the screenshot give any thought to the ramifications of their actions? Did they think of the member’s family, children, friends and the fact that internet is forever?”

Mark Holland, the chief authorities whip, was amongst those that had known as for an investigation, saying the dissemination of the picture was “a terrible violation” and a “potentially criminal act.”

“We must know who is responsible for leaking nonconsensual images from a private video feed,” he mentioned in a press release final week. Mr. Amos “made an unintentional error; his screen was on while in the middle of getting dressed,” Mr. Holland added. “It could have happened to any of us.”

Mr. Amos had mentioned final week that it was “most unfortunate that someone shared, without my consent, a photo in which I was changing my clothes.”

“This photo came from a video feed that only MPs or a very small number of staff had access to,” he mentioned in a press release. “No person deserves to suffer such harm. I expect the speaker of the House of Commons to conduct a thorough investigation.”

Mr. Amos had additionally apologized to his colleagues.

“I made a really unfortunate mistake today & obviously I’m embarrassed by it,” he said on Twitter final Wednesday. “My camera was accidentally left on as I changed into work clothes after going for a jog. I sincerely apologize to all my colleagues in the House. It was an honest mistake + it won’t happen again.”