Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I appreciate the presentation, Mr. Reid.
Ultimately, the goal is to try to remove partisanship, as you have stated, to get that sense of independence. That's what you're hoping to achieve. I think a vast majority, if not all, parliamentarians respect that and would want to see that.
I come from a system at the provincial level where we've had Speakers, and I've witnessed Speakers who were appointed by the premier directly. That system evolved into the election of Speakers. You can see the difference. There was far more partisanship in the 1990s, for example, and when we did get our first elected Speaker, it made a significant difference in terms of the relationships between the MLAs and the Speaker.
I say that because I agree with you. You made reference to the fact that this is something that's evolving. What you're suggesting is that we look at ways in which we can enhance the way a Speaker could get elected and, hopefully, add a higher sense of non-partisanship and that sense of independence we referred to.
The question I have for you is, election aside, are there not some other ideas you want to share with us as to what you think would enable that higher sense of independence? For example, a Speaker still has to get a nomination. I think that would likely do far more in terms of achieving some of your goals. Are there some other examples you think would enable future Speakers to become more independent or less partisan in their thinking?