The House of Commons will elect its president on Tuesday in the middle of a parliamentary session, a rare event which occurs following the resignation of Anthony Rota for having led elected officials to give a standing ovation to a former Nazi fighter.
All MPs, excluding recognized party leaders and ministers, can hold the office of president. The rules are written so that they are all presumed to be candidates. In this case, Members who are not interested were required to notify the Clerk of the House in writing no later than 6 p.m. Monday.
It is generally a member of the ruling party who becomes Speaker of the House. It is also expected that MPs support candidates based on their political affiliation, although the president must be non-partisan. However, several elements, notably the fact that the government is a minority, could muddy the waters.
Three candidates have already led the work of the House: the conservative Chris d’Entremont who is currently vice-president, as well as the liberal Alexandra Mendès and the neo-democrat Carol Hughes, both assistant vice-presidents.
The other MPs who have announced their candidacy are Liberals Greg Fergus, Peter Schiefke, Stéphane Lauzon and Sean Casey, and the leader of the Green Party of Canada, Elizabeth May.
Several MPs questioned about their interest in running for the post of president mentioned that the fact that they have no or poor command of French constitutes one of the main reasons for their decision.
The Speaker of the House of Commons is responsible for refereeing proceedings, interpreting the rules, maintaining order and defending the rights and privileges of Members. The position comes with a salary increase and an official residence known as La Ferme, in Kingsmere, in Outaouais.
Electoral process
The electoral process will begin on Tuesday at 10 a.m. This is the first item on the agenda. It takes priority over all other business and no motion for adjournment or of any other nature will be accepted during the vote, under the rules of the House of Commons.
It is the dean of the House of Commons, the Bloc Louis Plamondon, who will supervise the election. Mr. Plamondon became interim president after Tuesday’s adjournment, when Mr. Rota’s resignation took effect. He will hold this position until the election of the new president.
The presidential candidates will take turns speaking for a maximum of five minutes. A half-hour break is planned at the end of the last speech.
The deputies will then proceed to the election by secret ballot, ranking the candidates in order of preference. To win, a candidate must obtain a majority of votes.
The new president will take office immediately. Tradition has it that he is forcibly dragged to the chair by fellow MPs while pretending to resist. The ritual aims to pay tribute to presidents in parliamentary tradition who risked execution to fulfill their duties.