As the House prepares to adjourn for the Christmas holidays, the Chair would like to make a short statement about order and decorum.
In recent months, for a variety of reasons, the atmosphere in the Chamber has been difficult. This is perhaps not surprising, since the House is made up of Members who are committed and whose strongly-held views are freely expressed on a daily basis. The House is also an inherently adversarial forum that tends to foster conflict. As a result, sometimes emotions get the better of us and we quickly find ourselves in situations marked by disorderly conflict. Tone and gestures can cause as much of a reaction as the words used in debate. Lately, it appears that all sides have, at different times, strayed quite far from the flexibility, accommodation and balance that ideally ought to exist in this place.
My task as Speaker is to ensure that the intensity of feeling expressed around some issues is contained within the bounds of civility without infringing on the freedom of speech that Members enjoy. The Chair tries to ensure that our rules are adhered to in a way that encourages mutual respect.
But all Members will recognize that ultimately, the Speaker must depend on their collective self-discipline to maintain order and to foster decorum: my authority to enforce the rules depends on the cooperation of the House.
Our electors expect all Members to make greater efforts to curb disorder and unruly behaviour. So I urge all Members to reflect on how best to return the House to the convivial, cooperative atmosphere I know all of us would prefer.
This would be a great help to me and my fellow Chair Occupants, about whom I would also like to say a few words.
I would like to take a moment to salute, on behalf of us all, the excellent work of our Deputy Speaker the Member for Windsor-Tecumseh (Mr. Comartin), and our Assistant Deputy Speakers, the Members for Haliburton - Kawartha Lakes - Brock (Mr. Devolin) and Simcoe North (Mr. Stanton).
Often under trying circumstances, my colleagues in the Chair have soldiered on, doing their best to uphold the finest traditions of this Chamber. As all honourable Members are aware, unusual events arise frequently in the House. Thus the task of reading the will of the House is often left to Chair occupants -- whether an unexpected sequence of events occurs or an expected sequence of events does not.
Since the House resumed its sittings in mid-September, we have witnessed our fair share of instances where the House has been faced with unforeseen situations but has nevertheless found its way with the help of Chair Occupants. I want to say that the three gentlemen who share duties in the Chair have in my view upheld the highest standards of professionalism and impartiality while trying to facilitate the orderly conduct of House business.
Only those who have had the privilege of serving in the Chair and presiding over the deliberations in this Chamber can truly understand to what degree the role involves as much art as science. I am very proud of the way in which these Chair Occupants conduct themselves and I want, on your behalf, to thank them for their dedication to the institution and for their ongoing good work.
I thank the House for its attention.
I expect you shall go down in history as the worst Speaker who has ever ruled the House. Congrats!
Do something about that!
The purpose of QP is to provide an opportunity for MP's to seek information from the government on behalf of all Canadians by asking questions and to hold the government accountable for its actions. Unfortunately QP is a farce where questions and answers are nothing more than political rhetoric more befitting campaign ads than informing Canadians or holding the government's feet to the fire.
Decisions on serious issues are made behind closed doors, presented as fait accompli and defended in QP with scripted talking points. There\'s nothing left to debate so don't expect anything other than shouting, smears and at times even threats.
The sorriest part of this is that Canadians are being deprived of the opportunity to have their concerns and questions addressed before decisions are made and even after, of information on which to evaluate them.
Decorum barely rates mention when compared to the shutting out of Canadians from the democratic process.
The Speaker may not have the authority or the wherewithal to demand that questions be answered with at least a modicum of sincerity, but someone bloody well should.
Most committee meetings are now held "in camera" which cuts off information to the public.
As QP no longer serves its purpose, it should be scrapped and replaced by a 2 hour televised, weekly debate among the leaders or their designates. Election campaigns are far too short in Canada to have in depth debates especially when the current PM only speaks to his Party members and avoids questions from the press. Let the speaker moderate these debates and worry about decorum.
We are being robbed of our democracy by a Prime Minister and a dozen Cabinet Ministers who don't care what we want or think and try to sell us their snake oil with meaningless talking points and smearing anyone who disagrees.
As a Canadian and a taxpayer, I demand debate in the Hose of Commons be conducted in a responsible, forthright and orderly manner.
what a cop out ------van loan should have been tossed from the house ---in the recent dust up ----
and all proceedings put on hold till he vacated -----
good thing he expressed pride done by others who occupy the chair --
And he appears to be a magnet for unruly behavior.
The Canadian taxpayer sent him over to the British parliament for some "training". The Brits have their own "bar" in their parliament building and this fellow had just left the "bar" when a skirmish broke out between two politicians.
Instead of this memo to HuffPo, the speaker should have called a carpenter and refashioned the "question period" chamber.
Instead of hurling insults back and forth, simply constructing two podiums opposite one another would resolve many of these behavior/grand standing issues.
Then, the questioner approaches one podium and the government minister approaches the other and the exchange/debate then takes place moderated by the speaker with dead silence in the rest of the chamber.
Now, to aid the speaker further, adoption of the hockey rink penalty box should also be constructed in the chamber. If anyone steps out of line, give him/her a 10 minute misconduct and off to the penalty box they go!
If these 'goofs' quit trying to 'be funny' with their one-liners and cracking jokes we would have more decorum in the house---they are a disgrace and I resent tax dollars being spent on these fools!!
Sometimes the highest indication of character is the ability to say "This is wrong, and we need to start over."