We will have to wait a few more years before perhaps seeing a second woman as Speaker of the House of Commons. Liberal Anthony Rota, who led the boat during the pandemic, was re-elected by his peers on Monday.
Three women were vying among the seven MPs interested in the post, namely the liberal Alexandra Mendès, the former leader of the Green Party, Elizbeth May, and the New Democrat Carol Hughes. The other candidates were the Conservatives Joël Godin, Chris d’Entremont and Mark Dalton. Mme Mendès and Mr. Godin were the only two Quebecers to present themselves.
No woman has been elected to the presidency of the House of Commons since Jeanne Sauvé in the early 1980s. The former Governor General was then appointed by Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau in 1980 and had held this seat until 1984. She was also the last francophone from Quebec to hold this position. Fransaskoise of origin, Mme Sauvé was elected in the Montreal riding of Ahuntsic at the time.
Anthoy Rota was instead elected to chair the debates in a secret preferential ballot. In his candidacy speech, he insisted on the importance of the Speaker of the House of Commons “being able to express himself without difficulty in French and English”. The Franco-Ontarian who represents the riding of Nipissing — Timiskaming even quoted the chorus of the song L’Escalier by Paul Piché and said he was inspired by it when he presides over parliamentary proceedings.
In addition to the MP’s base salary of $ 185,800, the Speaker of the House of Commons receives additional remuneration of $ 88,700, a car allowance of $ 1,000. It also has an official residence in Kingsmere, in the Gatineau Hills.
Mr. Rota’s first term as President had not been easy since he had had to supervise the establishment of hybrid parliamentary debates to allow certain deputies to participate from a distance.
Most of the deputies were present on Monday for the start of this new parliamentary session. However, a return to a hybrid format is foreseeable after the adoption of a motion tabled by the Liberals and which the New Democratic Party will support. The debate is expected to take place on Wednesday.
The Bloc, like the Conservatives, oppose the hybrid format. The 32 members of the Bloc Québécois promise to present themselves in person, anyway.
Liberals attack medical exemptions
The Liberals wasted no time in launching hostilities against their conservative opponents. The battleground: medical exemptions for unvaccinated Conservative MPs.
“It is unlikely that there are (as many) medical exemptions,” suspected Mark Holland, the government House leader, during a press briefing Monday morning.
Although he does not know the number of medical exemptions obtained by the Conservatives, Mr. Holland submits that any number above one would not be credible. To justify his reasoning, he cites the statistics: between one and five people in 100,000 would be entitled to a medical exemption in order not to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Leader Erin O’Toole refuses to say how many MPs in his caucus got one.
Mr. Holland therefore tabled a notice of motion on Monday afternoon that the debate on returning to hybrid sessions also cover the issue of medical exemptions.
The motion thus provides that the deputies who want to participate in person, and not via screens, in parliamentary proceedings must be vaccinated and “the reasons for the medical exemption”, if there is one, must follow the “guidelines From the Ontario health authorities.
These reasons for exemptions accepted by the Ontario Ministry of Health are few and specific.
The Bloc and the New Democrats agree with the Liberals that only the reasons accepted by the Ontario health authorities allow a medical exemption for an unvaccinated member of Parliament.
“The vagueness cannot last among the Conservatives and we therefore welcome the fact that the medical exemptions granted to certain members of the Conservative caucus are cross-checked,” said Alain Therrien, parliamentary leader of the Bloc Québécois, in a written statement.
Members of all political parties on Parliament Hill are fully immunized, apart from an unknown number of Conservative members. The 44e Legislative session officially opens Tuesday with the Speech from the Throne which will set out the government’s priorities.
With The Canadian Press