Replace the Speaker of the House of Commons?

[Oscar]

SHIELDS: Respect for The Speaker of the House of Commons)

From: Stewart Shields
Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2014 3:14 PM
To: Prime ministre ; thomas.mulcair@parl.gc.ca ; Justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca
Cc: dnd_mdn@forces.gc.ca ; mccallum ; Peter - M.P. Julian ; premier@gov.nl.ca ; raitt ; T Banks
Subject: The Speaker

I watched Question Period again today and was shocked by the lack of respect the Reform/Conservatives have for Speaker Andrew Scheer.

While both the NDP and Liberals will respect a call from the Speaker for silence, the Reform/Conservatives - knowing full well they are safe to do so — continue on in even louder interferences against Opposition speakers.

After the bout Mulcair had with Paul Calandra and, indeed, the Speaker Andrew Scheer, it has become obvious the Speaker should be replaced!!

The members of the Speaker’s Party hold little regard for his efforts to bring order to Question Period, that many Canadians enjoy but can't hear, because of the Reform/Conservative members' wish to drown-out Opposition voices?

Stewart Shields,
Lacombe, Alberta

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Speaker of the House of Commons

[ http://www.craigmarlatt.com/canada/gove ... eaker.html ]

The Speaker of the House of Commons is the impartial "referee" of the Members of Parliament and is 5th on the Canadian Order of Precedence. The Speaker is elected by his or her colleagues by secret ballot and is responsible for keeping order and following protocol in the House.

Duties

The Speaker of the House of Commons has important responsibilities of a procedural, administrative, and ceremonial nature. He or she is elected by secret ballot by the whole House in a process overseen by the Dean of the House (the Member with the longest consecutive service who is not a Minister or Officer of the House). The Speaker must carry out his responsibilities in a non-partisan manner and with strict impartiality and can not vote on any motions unless there is a tie vote.

As the chief presiding officer, he or she must maintain order in the Chamber and is responsible for procedural activities. The Speaker is also the Chairman of the Board of Internal Economy which is responsible for the administration of the 1500 House of Commons employees and its annual budget which exceeds $200 million. Moreover, the Speaker is the representative of the House of Commons in its relations with the Crown, the Senate, and authorities outside Parliament. In this capacity, he welcomes many visiting dignitaries and delegations, and represents the House at national events and during visits abroad. In addition, the Speaker continues to carry out his or her responsibilities as a Member of Parliament for the their own riding constituents.

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The Honourable Andrew Scheer

Mr. Scheer was elected Speaker of the House of Commons for the 41st Parliament on June 2, 2011. He is the fourth Speaker to be chosen by a secret ballot cast by his fellow Members of the House of Commons. Born in 1979, he is also the youngest Speaker of the House in Canadian history.

Mr. Scheer was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario. He studied history and politics at the University of Ottawa and the University of Regina, where he received a Bachelor of Arts. Interested in politics at a young age, Mr. Scheer worked for the Leader of the Opposition while he was still a student in Ottawa. Shortly after graduation, Mr. Scheer joined the constituency office of Canadian Alliance MP Larry Spencer, in Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre. Mr. Scheer lives in Regina with his wife Jill, and their four children – Thomas, Grace, Madeline, and Henry.

Mr.Scheer was first elected to the House of Commons in 2004 as the Conservative Member of Parliament for Regina—Qu'Appelle. He was re-elected in 2006, 2008 and 2011. During the 39th Parliament he served as the Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole. During the 40th Parliament he served as the Deputy Speaker.

SOURCES: The Speaker of the House of Commons and the Library of Parliament.

[Oscar]

A Christmas Day Proposal ... (by R. Mathews)

From: R. Mathews
Sent: December-25-14 4:47 PM
Subject: A Christmas Day Proposal ...(by R. Mathews)

Parliament is falling apart and Andrew Scheer, Conservative Speaker of the House of Commons pretends there is nothing he can do about it. That means hard-nosed MPs will have to a act soon if democracy is to have a hope in Canada.

A CHRISTMAS DAY PROPOSAL TO SAVE THE PARLIAMENT OF CANADA, CANADIAN DEMOCRACY, AND THE CANADIAN PEOPLE FROM THE CALCULATED, FOUL, AND MALICIOUS ACTIONS PRESENTLY BEING UNDERTAKEN THERE TO EFFECT A COUP D’ETAT AND TO ERECT A FASCIST DICTATORSHIP IN CANADA.

A major Opposition Party with Independent Members of Parliament and/or Members of The Senate; or the Opposition Parties and Independent Members of Parliament and/or Members of The Senate; or a body of Members of Parliament and/or The Senate – self-selected without Party approval; or Members of either place without the other, will act.

They will ask the Speaker of the House of Commons, Andrew Scheer, M.P., Regina-Qu’Appelle, to announce and to rule in the House of Commons on the following matters in the ways indicated.

Speaker Scheer will announce to the Members of the House of Commons that from this day forward the following shall be the rule in the House:

(1) In Question Period he will judge if an answer has been made by a member of government (the majority party) to a question asked ... or if any question asked has been fairly answered. If the Speaker judges the question has not been answered fully and fairly, the Speaker, Andrew Scheer, will demand the question be answered and, if denied, will rule that until it is answered to the satisfaction of the questioner and the Speaker no business of the House may go forward. And/or he will immediately expel - for a significant term - from the House the person questioned, for conduct unbecoming to a Member of the House.

(2) In Question Period, or in discussion of legislation placed before the House, the Speaker will judge if a request for information about any aspect of a Bill presented, or the preparation of such a Bill, or any implication of the Bill whatsoever has been answered, fully and promptly, to the satisfaction of the questioner and the Speaker, Andrew Scheer. If it has not been, the Speaker will rule that until the request for information is fully satisfied no business of the House may go forward. And/or he will immediately expel from the House – for a significant term - the person questioned, for conduct unbecoming to a Member of the House.

(3) In the matter of the presentation of new legislation the Speaker of the House, Andrew Scheer, will declare he will no longer accept for consideration by the House the category of legislation presently known as an “Omnibus Bill”. If such a piece of legislation is presented to the House – in whatever form or guise or under any name whatsoever - for consideration, the Speaker of the House will reject it and demand it be presented piece by piece, in such a way that Members of Parliament may ask questions about all aspects of the matter presented, receive all the information they need to judge its suitability, and be confident they are fully informed about its meaning and its future implications.

During the time that the “Omnibus Bill” is rejected for consideration and the parts of it are being prepared for presentation as they should be, the Speaker of the House, Andrew Scheer, will rule that no business of the House may go forward.

Anyone who asserts that Andrew Scheer may not take up the matter of discipline in the House of Commons as a subject to examine, to shape, and to act upon is saying, in effect, that he must remain a Conservative MP, serving the Conservative Party of Canada and the Stephen Harper cabinet – as he is presently doing.

If the present Speaker of The House of Commons, Andrew Scheer, refuses to accept the responsibilities set out above, saying he does not have precedent to do so, or for any other reason whatsoever, the Members of Parliament and/or The Senate requiring that he act in fair and reasonable fashion will observe that it is the obligation of Speakers to create precedents as they are needed to protect the integrity of the House of Commons, and that the Members of Parliament in question have lost confidence in Andrew Scheer as Speaker of the House and will demand that all business of the House cease until a new Speaker of the House has been elected – one who will fairly assume his/her duties and act to enforce the three powers named above … as well as all of the other powers he/she possesses as Speaker of the House of Commons.

If that body of Canadians, Members of Parliament and/or The Senate, are frustrated in their attempt to free the present Parliament of Canada from the calculated, foul, and malicious actions presently being undertaken to effect a coup d’etat and to erect a fascist dictatorship in Canada, they will undertake new, forceful, imaginative methods to focus on the abuse of Parliament, the brigand actions there, the outrageous breaches of trust that are present practice … until Canadians throughout the country rise up (by whatever means appropriate) against the evil-doers responsible and restore the Parliament of Canada, Canadian Democracy, and the rights and freedoms of the People of Canada.

R. Mathews.
Christmas Day, December 25, 2014

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Robin Mathews is a Canadian poet, professor, and political activist against United States foreign policy.