Debates of Jan. 29th, 2001

The House met at 11 a.m.

The 36th parliament having been dissolved by proclamation on Sunday, October 22, 2000, and writs having been issued and returned, a new parliament was summoned to meet for the dispatch of business on Monday, January 29, 2001, and did accordingly meet on that day.

Monday, January 29, 2001

This being the day on which parliament was convoked by proclamation of Her Excellency the Governor General of Canada for the dispatch of business, and the members of the House being assembled:

William C. Corbett, Esquire, Clerk of the House of Commons, read to the House a letter from the administrative secretary to the Governor General informing her that the Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, in her capacity as Deputy Governor General, would proceed to the Senate chamber to open the first session of the 37th Parliament of Canada at 11 a.m. on Monday, January 29, 2001, at Ottawa.

A message was delivered by the Usher of the Black Rod as follows:

Members of the House of Commons:

It is the desire of the Honourable the Deputy to Her Excellency the Governor General of Canada that this honourable House attend her immediately in the chamber of the honourable the Senate.

Accordingly the House went up to the Senate chamber, where the Speaker of the Senate said:

Honourable Members of the Senate, Members of the House of Commons:

I have it in command to let you know that Her Excellency the Governor General of Canada does not see fit to declare the causes of her summoning the present Parliament of Canada until a Speaker of the House of Commons shall have been chosen, according to law; but tomorrow, Tuesday, January 30, 2001, at 2 p.m., Her Excellency will declare the causes of her calling parliament.

And the House being returned to the Commons chamber:

[The Clerk of the House]

Pursuant to Standing Order 3, I invite Mr. Caccia, member for the electoral district of Davenport, to take the chair and preside over the election of a Speaker.

Election Of Speaker

[The Presiding Officer (Mr. Caccia)]

Dear colleagues, I would like to begin by congratulating all of you on your success in last November's election. As we know, getting used to the House is no easy matter, particularly if one is newly elected.

But as time goes along, the House starts to feel like home. To all those in the class of 2000, I extend a hearty welcome.

Having allegedly been around here for the past hundred years, a few observations might be in order.

We all know this is a place for debates, announcements, questions, petitions, a place where the public interest is pursued as seen from different perspectives and where we can also rise above partisanship.

It has been said that parliamentarians have a noble task to perform for they have the unique privilege of speaking for their electors, of engaging in the exploration of the long term and in anticipating the needs of generations to come.

As parliamentarians we have the confidence of those who elected us and an obligation to those who did not cast their vote for us. As parliamentarians we all have the special mandate to implement the commitments made in the election campaign by our respective parties. As parliamentarians we all have an obligation to make this place productive, creative, relevant and meaningful.

Finally, the noble role assigned to the parliamentarian requires also that we treat this Chamber with care, gently and softly, respecting its rules and ensuring that the next generation of parliamentarians inherits an institution worthy of respect.

Let me note, as I did in 1997 when I had the honour to perform the same role, that the rules are silent on whether or not candidates for the position of Speaker can speak in the House before the vote is taken. Obviously, such a rule would give interested Canadians an opportunity to hear and see the candidates, perhaps for the first time, as most likely would be the case for the 47 newly elected members.

Such a rule, if adopted during the life of this 37th parliament, would become effective at the opening of the next Parliament of Canada. In doing so, Canadians would finally see institutionalized in this event a greater degree of transparency and informed choice in keeping with the growing expectations the public has from this venerable and vibrant institution.

We shall now proceed with the vote.

Pursuant to the standing orders the House will now proceed to elect a Speaker. The list of members who have withdrawn or are ineligible as candidates has been placed on each member's desk and is available at the table.

The list of members who are eligible as candidates has also been placed on each member's desk. It is available at the table and has been placed in each polling station.

After the Clerk has unsealed the ballots, I will suggest a method of proceeding which will help to accelerate the voting process.

It is quite clear that members know how to proceed. Hon. members are now asked to proceed with the vote. Once they vote they are to leave the area and take their seats.

The polling booths are now open.

(Members were issued ballots and marked their ballots in secret at voting stations)

[The Presiding Officer (Mr. Caccia)]

If there are any hon. members who have not voted and wish to do so, will they please vote now.

All members having voted, the Clerk will now proceed with the counting of the ballots after I have cast my own vote.

[The Presiding Officer (Mr. Caccia)]

Before I suspend the sitting may I bring to the attention of hon. members that when the counting of the ballots has been completed there will be a very short bell calling the members back to the House. The sitting is suspended to the call of the Chair.

(The sitting of the House was suspended at 12.03 p.m.)

The House resumed at 12.39 p.m.

[The Presiding Officer (Mr. Caccia)]

It is my duty to inform the House that a second ballot will be necessary.

The names of those members eligible for the second ballot are as follows:

Bakopanos, Eleni—McTeague, Dan Kilger, Bob—Milliken, Peter Lincoln, Clifford—White, Randy

If any hon. member whose name I just read wishes to withdraw as a candidate for the second ballot, will that member please rise in his or her place and state the reason.

For the benefit of hon. members, the revised alphabetical list of candidates for the second ballot will be placed in each polling station within the next five minutes at which time the voting will commence.

The polling booths are now open. The ballots will be green in colour.

(Members were issued ballots and marked their ballots in secret at voting stations)

[The Presiding Officer (Mr. Caccia)]

If there are any hon. members who have not voted and wish to do so, will they please vote now.

(The sitting of the House was suspended at 1.04 p.m.)

The House resumed at 1.28 p.m.

[The Presiding Officer (Mr. Caccia)]

Order, please. It is my duty to inform the House that a third ballot will be necessary.

The names of the members eligible for the third ballot are as follows:

Kilger, Bob—Milliken, Peter Lincoln, Clifford—White, Randy McTeague, Peter

If any hon. member whose name I have just read wishes to withdraw as a candidate on the third ballot, will he please rise in his place and do so.

(Members were issued ballots and marked their ballots in secret at voting stations)

[The Presiding Officer (Mr. Caccia)]

If there are any hon. members who have not voted yet, will they please vote now.

All members having voted, I do now instruct the Clerk to proceed with the counting of the ballots after I have cast my ballot.

(The sitting of the House was suspended at 1.52 p.m.)

The House resumed at 2.11 p.m.

[The Presiding Officer (Mr. Caccia)]

It is my duty to inform the House that a fourth ballot will be necessary.

The following members are eligible for the fourth ballot:

Kilger, Bob—Milliken, Peter Lincoln, Clifford—White, Randy

If any hon. member whose name the Chair has just announced to the House wishes to withdraw as a candidate on the fourth ballot, will he please rise in his place and do so.

While the Clerk is unsealing the ballots, the Chair would like to indicate that the fourth ballot will be of a different colour and that the list of the names of candidates on this ballot will be placed in each polling station shortly.

The polling booths are now open.

(Members were issued ballots and marked their ballots in secret at voting stations)

[The Presiding Officer (Mr. Caccia)]

If there are any hon. members who have not voted and wish to do so, will they please vote now.

(The sitting of the House was suspended at 2.31 p.m.)

The House resumed at 2.58 p.m.

[The Presiding Officer (Mr. Caccia)]

It is my duty to inform the House that a fifth ballot will be necessary.

The names of members eligible for the fifth ballot are as follows:

Kilger, Bob

Milliken, Peter

White, Randy

If any hon. member whose name the Chair has just announced wishes to withdraw as a candidate on the fifth ballot, will he please rise in his place and do so.

A revised alphabetical list of candidates for the fifth ballot will be placed in each polling station shortly.

(Members were issued ballots and marked their ballots in secret at voting stations)

[The Presiding Officer (Mr. Caccia)]

If there are any hon. members who have not voted, would they please come forward.

All members having voted, I do now instruct the Clerk to proceed with the counting of the ballots after I have cast my ballot.

(The sitting of the House was suspended at 3.21 p.m.)

The House resumed at 3.48 p.m.

(The Clerk of the House having provided the Presiding Officer with the name of the member having received a majority of the votes cast:)

[The Presiding Officer (Mr. Caccia)]

It is my duty to inform the House that Peter Milliken, member for the electoral district of Kingston and the Islands, has been duly elected Speaker of this House.

It is with great pleasure that I do now invite the hon. member to take the chair.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

(The Presiding Officer having vacated the chair, and the mace having been laid under the table, conducted Mr. Milliken from his seat in the House to the chair)

[The Speaker]

Hon. members, I beg to return my humble acknowledgements to the House for the great honour you have been pleased to confer upon me in choosing me to be your Speaker.

With those historic words, which are very historic because they have been used so often, I want to say how much I appreciate the kind support of all hon. members throughout the period from election day on November 27 to today.

Over the past two months, I have had the opportunity to speak to a number of members by phone or in person. It was a great experience to discuss the business of this House with you. It was a pleasure for me to have the opportunity to speak with my colleagues in the House before, during and after the election.

I have appreciated very much your kind words and your support today in the election. I am very grateful that you have chosen me to be the Speaker of the House.

I also want to express my thanks to the electors of Kingston and the Islands who have on four occasions chosen me to be their representative in the House.

It is a great honour to be a member of parliament. Those of you who are new in the House have now realized, I am sure, what a great experience it is. I well remember my first day in the House in 1988 when Mr. Speaker Fraser was elected to be the Speaker of the House, on one ballot, frankly.

I realized then, sitting in my seat, that the House was complete because we had chosen a Speaker and we were then a House complete and ready to act as the House of Commons, which of course the law requires the House to do. We have now done it.

Thank you for your support.

I also wish to express my gratitude to the constituents of Kingston and the Islands for all they have done for me over the years I have represented them here in the House.

As many of you will discover, your constituents will be very kind to you. You will have wonderful interaction with them. You will get a lot of encouragement in all that you do in the House, of course assuming it is reasonable. You will also enjoy interaction on a regular basis by phone and by correspondence. In particular, I hope new members will find the experience rich and rewarding. I certainly have in my 12 years and I continue to find it so.

I would like to pass on my gratitude to my family, who have worked for me in election campaigns in Kingston for the last 12 years. A number of them are here today. Perhaps you would permit me to indicate those who are here. My mother, Peg Milliken, is sitting in the gallery. With her are my sister Amanda and her husband Marc; my brother Bill and his wife Pat; my sister Catherine and her son Ben McIlquham; and my dad, John Milliken.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

[The Speaker]

Throughout all the elections in which I have been involved, they have been of great help to me. I know that my colleagues have had the same experience in their constituencies, and I wanted to share that with the House today.

Finally I want to say one other important thing.

The Speaker cannot do his job unless he has the ongoing support of the honourable members, not just some of them but all members of the House. I am well aware that, from time to time, the Speaker will make a decision that will not be totally acceptable to one group or another in the House. That is the nature of the House.

For the most part, even if the decision is one that some hon. members do not like on a particular day, I hope that you will continue to support the Speaker, because without your active support and co-operation it would be impossible for any Speaker to do his or her job in the House.

I look forward to having a wonderful experience working with you in trying to make the House as great an institution as I believe the House of Commons is and always can be. We will work together to make this 37th parliament a great parliament. I look forward to the opportunity of working with each one of you to make that happen.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

And the mace having been laid upon the table: