Debates of Oct. 3rd, 2023

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to inform the House that Her Excellency the Governor General has seen fit to authorize this chamber to proceed with the election of a Speaker.

Election of Speaker

[The Presiding Officer, Bloc, Louis Plamondon]

Pursuant to order made on Tuesday, September 26, the House will now proceed to the election of the Speaker.

Before I begin, I would like to tell my predecessor, Mr. Rota, how much I admire all of the work he did during his two terms as Speaker. He was a great Speaker, and he will be remembered for a job well done. I thank Mr. Rota.

I was very pleased to fill in as Speaker temporarily. My term will end today. I had a lot of work to do, so much so that I still have not found the limousine, the keys to the official residence, the keys to the wine cellar or the form to increase my salary. I will be remembered as the Speaker with the shortest-lived career who spent the least.

All members should have received by email last night the list of candidates for the speakership.

This list is also available at the table and on ourcommons.ca if members wish to consult it before the vote.

Before proceeding, I want to invite any member whose name is on the list of candidates but who does not want to stand for election to rise and inform the Chair accordingly.

The member for Argenteuil—La Petite‑Nation.

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC]

Mr. Chair, I want to thank you for your excellent work.

Upon reflection, I wish to withdraw my candidacy.

[The Presiding Officer, Bloc, Louis Plamondon]

Further to that statement, the list of candidates is revised accordingly.

Pursuant to Standing Order 3.1, the House must proceed to the speeches from each candidate for Speaker.

Notwithstanding any Standing Order, any procedure or any practice adopted by this House, and to help the newly elected members identify the candidates for the office of Speaker, I will recognize in alphabetical order each candidate by name and electoral district.

When the last candidate to address the House completes his or her speech, I will leave the chair for 30 minutes, after which members will proceed to the election of the Speaker.

I will now call upon Mr. Sean Casey, the hon. member for Charlottetown, to speak for not more than five minutes.

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Mr. Chair, I would like to begin by acknowledging that we are on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin people who have lived on these lands for millennia. We recognize the enduring presence of first nations, Métis and Inuit peoples on this territory.

It is with great humility that I rise to offer my candidacy as the Speaker of the House of Commons.

I have been in the workforce for 34 years. One half of that time has been spent as a litigator. When I was called to the bar of Prince Edward Island in 1989, the presiding judge, Mr. Justice Gerard Mitchell as he then was, reminded me that as a member of the bar, I was an officer of the court and that my first duty was to the court. It was not to my clients, not to my firm, but to the court. Throughout my legal career, there were professional differences, robust debates and aggressive cross-examinations, but the respect for the administration of justice, the professional code of conduct and the rule of law transcended everything.

I offer this comment not to say that we need more lawyers in this House, as for God's sake we have enough already, but to say that the level of respect for Parliament and the office of the Speaker has taken an incredible beating in this session of Parliament, especially in question period, and it does not need to. A vigorous and relentless prosecution of an issue is not made stronger by the repeated flouting of the rules of this place or by defying the Speaker. It denigrates this institution and all of us, its temporary occupants.

I believe it is time for a reset, and the election of a Speaker in the middle of a parliamentary session is a historically unique opportunity to do just that. We can do better and we must. If individual members are willing to be part of a collective effort to restore public confidence in the way we treat each other and the rules of Parliament, then I would be honoured to lead that cause. If, on the other hand, members are comfortable with the current state of decorum and level of respect for the office of the Speaker, please do not vote for me.

I was first elected to Parliament in 2011 and proudly took my seat as an MP for the third party. We were in the Centre Block at the time. I spent four years as a member of the third party, then four years as parliamentary secretary to three different ministers, and the last four years as chair of standing committees. This variety of experience informs my perspective and approach to everything I do and makes it less difficult for me to put myself in the position of the MPs I am talking to. I submit this experience to the House.

The events of September 22 were unfortunate, embarrassing and hurtful. A good man, with a deep respect for all of us and for this place, acknowledged his mistake and gave up a role that he took extremely seriously as a servant of the House.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the hon. member for Nipissing—Timiskaming for his service and to welcome him back to caucus.

It will now be up to the next Speaker to make sure that this never happens again and that the proper procedures and protocols are adhered to. It will also be important that the new Speaker reach out to the communities that were hurt, including Jewish Canadians.

I am ready to accept members' advice on how to lead this outreach.

I want to thank my wife Deirdre and my family for their unwavering support in this pursuit.

I am immensely grateful to the voters of Charlottetown, who have sent me back to Parliament four times to be their voice. Quite frankly, after all the good wishes I received in the riding on the weekend, I really wish they were eligible to vote.

I will bring a breadth of experience, tough love, progressive discipline and a quick wit to the role of Speaker. If hon. members share my view that these are the key ingredients for Parliament at this point in our history, then I humbly ask for their support.

If I may, tomorrow is my mom's birthday and I know she is watching. Happy birthday to her.

[The Presiding Officer, Bloc, Louis Plamondon]

I will now call upon Mr. Chris d'Entremont, the hon. member for West Nova.

[Chris d'Entremont, Conservative, West Nova, NS]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

It is an honour for me to stand before my dear colleagues today on the traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people to say a few words on my candidacy for Speaker of the House of Commons in the ongoing 44th Parliament.

I would first like to express my sincere thanks to the member of Parliament for Nipissing—Timiskaming for all the work that he accomplished as Speaker of the House of Commons over the last four years. It has not been easy any one of those days.

I am addressing you, hon. colleagues, for the second time as candidate for the position of Speaker. Since 2021, some of us have left and others have recently arrived.

Colleagues, today I am running to be your Speaker. My last two years as Deputy Speaker of the House has confirmed my deep desire to continue to work as your Speaker. My experience will assist you in the discharging of your responsibilities.

Since my election to the House of Commons in 2019, I have gotten to know quite a few of you, from all parties. I have taken that duty to heart ever since I was named Deputy Speaker in 2021. I thank you all for the great talks. I intend to maintain this approach regardless of the vote's result, because friendship must prevail in the House.

Hon. colleagues, I have heard you. Like many of you, I want to restore this august place's reputation. It is the Speaker's duty to put respect for each other, for our Standing Orders, for decorum and for procedures at the centre of our proceedings. I am convinced that I will successfully fulfill the Speaker's duties and make sure that the powers and privileges of the House are top priorities.

We must carry out our duties with diligence, honesty and respect. You can count on me to lead by example. I will exercise my functions in a fair, non-partisan and firm manner, as it is important for me to protect the right to speak for each one of you in this place.

As many of you know by now, I have a very calm French Canadian demeanour and work well with others. In fact, these are traits that are strongly tied to my deep Acadian roots, as we Nova Scotian Acadians learned, once we returned home from exile, to remain calm and non-confrontational and to continuously strive for consensus no matter the situation we find ourselves in.

Let us remember that the last few years have been difficult, and we have faced many challenges. Last week was incredible. Canadians are currently going through a lot and looking for stability and strong leadership at the core of our country's democracy.

In this regard, I wish to lead an all-party approach and put my skills, ability and experience to work to enable hon. members to navigate the House of Commons in the safest and most effective way possible while you fulfill your very important responsibilities to Canadians.

As we rise to the many challenges we face, I know that I can make a valuable contribution by uniting, rather than dividing, the members of this chamber. The Speaker is responsible for ensuring respect for members of every party as well as their strengths and values.

Canada is a bilingual nation, and the Speaker of the House must also be bilingual. However, beyond the ability to speak both official languages, the Speaker must have a firm grasp of the unique linguistic and cultural characteristics of the people who call these languages their own. I can meet this imperative.

We know as elected representatives of this chamber, it is our duty to ensure the health of our democracy is preserved and always well-respected. It is up to us to elect a Speaker who will truly be a guardian of this chamber. The Speaker has the responsibility and privilege to lead by example at all times by being a Speaker who has a good handle of the rules, and who can quickly make decisions so meaningful, structured debate can happen.

Whether this Parliament ends in a few months or two years, I want to make sure that the work and values of the House align with Canadians' expectations of the institution at the heart of our democracy. Above all, I want to ensure that each one of you can look back when this parliamentary session is over and proudly say that it was productive, positive and respectful.

It has been an honour to serve as your Deputy Speaker for the past two years. It would be an honour to become your Speaker, to support you in your very important responsibilities. Colleagues, I humbly ask for your vote today.

Colleagues, I humbly ask that you vote for me today.

I could maybe say that one of the first honours of duty, for whoever becomes Speaker today, would be to bring down the heat, and I mean the temperature because, my goodness, it is hot in here today.

Thank you and have a nice day.

I look forward to your vote.

[The Presiding Officer, Bloc, Louis Plamondon]

I will now call upon the hon. member for Hull—Aylmer.

[Greg Fergus, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board and to the Minister of Health]

Mr. Chair, thank you.

Colleagues, today, like all days, we pay our respects to the Anishinabe Algonquin people on whose unceded land we stand.

Regardless of what part of the country we come from, what political party we belong to or what our political ideas are, the fact is that each of us, every one of us in this chamber, frankly, has a lot more in common than we often care to admit.

We all remember the first time we walked through the doors of the House of Commons as newly sworn-in members of Parliament. As I am sure everyone here would agree, it was and still remains the proudest day of my life, after the births of my children and grandchildren.

It was also the culmination of my lifelong love for Parliament. At the age of 14, I subscribed to and read Hansard. In 1988, I sat right there at the foot of the Speaker's chair as a parliamentary page, where I was awed by the majesty of this sanctum of democracy, and where I learned that every MP, from every party and every region, impressed me with their love for this country and wanting to do better by their people. I still feel that way 35 years later, as I stand here before you asking for your vote to become Speaker of the House of Commons.

What brought us here today requires a response. Words matter. Symbols matter. This I know. As your Speaker, I would restore, and quickly bring back, honour to the chamber.

The events that bring us together today need to be addressed. The words we use matter. Symbols matter. I know this all too well. As your Speaker, I will act swiftly to restore the honour of the House.

What motivates me, and what I vow to work night and day to promote and advance, can be summed up in one word: respect.

This is about respect for our democracy and its institutions, respect for our constituents and their intelligence, respect for parliamentary traditions, respect for the rights and privileges of parliamentarians.

Finally, there is respect for each other, in the way we treat each other and the way we talk to Canadians. In other words, this is all about decorum. I would be a Speaker who was firm, thoughtful, collaborative, consistent and, certainly, fair.

As my record in the House demonstrates, as your Speaker, respect will be my credo.

It is what would guide me as a steward of the rights and privileges of all elected members in Parliament and beyond the parliamentary precinct; in fostering and supporting open, frank, honest and respectful debate in the House; and in administering the services and employees of the House.

That is why I am committed to vigorously defending and protecting parliamentary privileges. I am also committed to being a tireless advocate of the best ideas, no matter where they come from, to improve the services and resources we need, both individually and collectively, in order to better serve our constituents and everyone who lives in Canada.

Colleagues, if there is one thing I would ask you to remember, it is that Canadians look to the House to address their concerns, respond to their needs, set the example and show leadership. At its best, Parliament has lived up to and embodied these high principles. Therefore, I ask you for your support, as Speaker, to work with me in making respect our goal in what we do here every single day when we take our seats in this hallowed chamber.

[The Presiding Officer, Bloc, Louis Plamondon]

I will now call upon the member for Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing.

[Carol Hughes, NDP, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

Mr. Chair, I want to begin by thanking the hon. member for Nipissing—Timiskaming for his service as Speaker of the House.

I would also like to thank the people of Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing for placing their trust in me to represent them for the past 15 years. I am honoured to be their member of Parliament.

I begin by acknowledging that we are gathered on the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin nation. It is important that we, as representatives of the Crown, acknowledge the people whose lands we stand on and the history that this place represents in this context, especially as we just marked the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation this past weekend.

We sit here today at a unique moment in the history of the House. It is obviously quite rare for us to discuss the election of a new Speaker in the middle of a Parliament. This has been done only once before, when Speaker John Bosley, who was coincidentally the last Speaker appointed to the role rather than elected, resigned to sit in the Progressive Conservative backbenches in 1986.

Speaker Bosley, whom you may remember was commemorated in the House last year following his passing, left the position because he was concerned about the erosion of public respect for Parliament and believed he could do more to build that respect from outside of the Speaker's chair. Speaker Bosley was clearly concerned about how the House was being perceived by the Canadian electorate. The erosion of public respect for Parliament is real, and I believe we, the members of the House, all have a responsibility to work toward improving it.

The role of the Speaker, as representative of the House of Commons, is to guide this institution in the debates, to oversee the rules and traditions that are so dear to us and, perhaps most importantly at this time, to maintain order and decorum so as to restore the public's respect for Parliament—something that Speaker Bosley was concerned about nearly 40 years ago.

I believe that my experience as Assistant Deputy Speaker has prepared me for this role. I have held this position for the duration of the past two Parliaments and the first half of this Parliament. During my terms, I have always been fair and reasonable in my duty to maintain order in the House.

I have made decisions that maybe, at times, were not popular, even with members of my own party, because the duties of the Chair demanded it. I have also heard from some members of all parties that they believe I am fair and even-handed and have been consistent in my application of the rules of the House. When we are here, regardless of what our party affiliation is, the rules are the rules.

Speaking of political parties, I know there is more that binds us together than divides us. We are all here because we love our nation and are all dedicated to seeing it flourish. We may have different ideas about how to accomplish this goal, and it is vital that we encourage healthy debate to find the common ground. However, I feel, as I am certain many of you do, that at times members can act in a manner that is challenging for the House. I believe that, in those moments, we do a disservice to the House and to Canadians by allowing unhealthy debate to proceed.

My commitment to each of you is that you will have your moment to engage in healthy debate, and you will allow your colleagues their moment to a healthy debate, without unacceptable interruptions, shouting or heckling. This is how we rebuild the public's trust in and respect for Parliament.

I am also looking forward to following in the footsteps of another of our predecessors, the Right Hon. Jeanne Sauvé, former governor general of Canada, who is to this day the only woman who has served as Speaker of the House of Commons. It has been over 40 years since she last presided over the House, and I believe that we must show young women that they too can see themselves represented in our institutions, including as Speaker of the House of Commons.

In closing, I would like to remind members that Canadians are looking to us to make Parliament work in a way that will deliver results for them. I have shown throughout my years in Parliament that I have the experience, judgment and temperament necessary for this role, which is vital for the functioning of our democracy.

Colleagues, this is why I ask for your support.

Your support is greatly appreciated.

[The Presiding Officer, Bloc, Louis Plamondon]

I will now call upon Ms. Elizabeth May, the hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands.

She is not here with us today, but we can watch her on the screen.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is a great honour to speak today at this unique sitting. Unfortunately, I am unable to attend in person.

Because of my inability to be on an airplane at this point in my life due to having had a stroke, and I am, as you see, recovering quite well, I cannot participate in person, which means I also cannot vote, which is a terrible shame. I am participating this way because I want to make sure this election for the Speaker takes into account what I think are the essential elements for the next Speaker of the House.

We must follow our rules.

For me, this is essential. If you walk down the back corridor behind the Speaker's chair, you will see the portraits of former Speakers. I do think you should pause in front of the portrait of Lucien Lamoureux, who served this place from 1966 to 1974. He was the best of all of our Speakers. He personified nonpartisanship.

Elected as a Liberal in the government of Lester B. Pearson, when Lucien Lamoureux ran for re-election as a sitting Speaker, he did so twice as an independent. He also applied our rules, which meant he was not always popular, and he was not elected. He was able to enforce the rules.

Everyone who has spoken has said our rules are important, but on a daily basis we ignore Standing Orders 16 and 18, which require that we respect one another and that we treat each other with respect.

I completely agree with my colleague, the hon. member for Hull—Aylmer. Respect is of the utmost importance. However, we have made it a habit to flout our rules.

We ignore our rules at our peril. I cite the hon. member for Nipissing—Timiskaming for his service, and the tragedy that unfolded in this place could have been avoided if we had followed our rules.

There are rules about recognizing visitors in the galleries. In this case, it is clear that the rules were broken in acknowledging that man's presence.

I know that because I tried to convince the former Speaker to recognize someone whom I thought did deserve recognition in our gallery, only to be told that Dr. David Suzuki did not qualify, so I know the rules represent a steep hill to climb to have someone recognized in the gallery. I cannot imagine how this happened, but I also agree words are not enough.

That moment in this House brought back the words of the late Irving Abella, who said that in our history it was easier to gain entry to Canada as a Nazi than as a Jew. I think we have to do more than say we are sorry. I think we have to atone and open up the records of the Deschênes commission. We have to look at our history, just as we do on the day of truth and reconciliation for the injustices and genocide toward indigenous peoples.

We must follow our rules.

The Speaker's role is essential, as the Speaker is the only person who can decide who speaks in question period. It has been 40 years that the Speaker has broken the rules every single day, regardless what Speaker we are talking about, by accepting a list from a party whip that tells him or her who speaks and in what order. That abomination has moved the system of rewards and punishments from the Speaker to the party whip. The party whips are not the people we want to please if we want this place to operate with respect and to make Canadians look at the House of Commons and think, “There is a place I respect; that is democracy in action.”

We can try harder and we can do better. It is possible.

All of those running in this election are more than qualified to be good Speakers of the House. If it were my honour to fill that role, I cannot tell you how overwhelmed I would be. However, I think it is not likely, and I encourage you to vote for the person you think will be your best Speaker.

I pledge my support to the next Speaker, whoever is brave enough to go back to following our rule that only the Speaker chooses who speaks in question period. This was confirmed when the hon. member for Regina—Qu'Appelle was the Speaker of the House, in April 2013 on a point of order from the late Mark Warawa. It would no doubt improve our proceedings enormously.

With that, I wish you all the best of luck.

Good luck to all of my colleagues who are hoping to be the next Speaker.

I miss you all and cannot wait to see you all again. You know I love you all. I really miss you and want to give you a big hug.

Thank you very much. I wish you the best of luck. God bless you.

[The Presiding Officer, Bloc, Louis Plamondon]

I will now call upon the hon. member for Brossard—Saint‑Lambert.

[Alexandra Mendes, Liberal, Brossard—Saint-Lambert, QC]

Mr. Chair, colleagues, seeing you again is always a pleasure, despite the unfortunate circumstances, to put it mildly.

I would like to thank the member for Nipissing—Timiskaming for promoting a collegial atmosphere here and for accomplishing so much at a time of tremendous change in the House of Commons.

I am not here to stand against anyone. I am here because I have convictions that I believe could help us approach our responsibilities as parliamentarians differently.

I feel it is vital that the House invite diplomatic and community representatives of the Jewish and Polish communities to the chamber as soon as possible so we can express our dismay to them and offer our apologies. History cannot be rewritten, and I believe that we all share a collective duty of remembrance.

We are 338 individuals among the 40 million Canadians who chose us to make laws for them on matters that concern their present and, now more than ever, their future. I am keenly aware of the incredible honour that the people of Brossard—Saint‑Lambert have done me, and of the responsibilities I have undertaken since I was first elected.

Some of those responsibilities include and depend on the constant quest for truthfulness and the common good.

I also believe that one of our responsibilities is to find joy in the work we do. Loving what we do, this place where we do it and the people who help us do it, for me, is a fundamental aspect of a successful parliamentary life. It cannot and should not be all about insults and accusations, about “gotcha” moments and questionable statements.

I associate some of the most meaningful hours I have experienced in the House with debates where members strove to find shared goals. Emergency and take-note debates, private members' bills and motions, and even some legislative initiatives are often moments where we find our better natures. This is the place where Canada's important conversations should be held, where we seriously debate and where we humourously disagree.

What I take away from those moments is that we are all quite capable of rising above partisan sparring when that is what is called for, and that some of our colleagues' sense of humour seasons what would otherwise be dry or overly technical conversations with a zesty je ne sais quoi.

Holding the government to account is the essential element of parliamentary democracy. No government is immune from the necessary scrutiny of its proposed legislation and its management of the public accounts, but Canadians have told us time and again that they expect us to do this with far more civility than they see in this place every day.

Reject me if you must, but should I be given the honour of being elected to the Chair, I would strive with all my might to bring dignity to our debates by enforcing the rules that we have all chosen to adhere to. I believe in the rules and regulations that govern the House of Commons. I believe in the office of the Speaker that oversees the functioning and administration of this place. I believe in the Clerk and the table officers who guide us and provide us with their knowledge and their independent analysis.

Dignity is a principle I care deeply about. The humanity of every person in the House, elected or otherwise, must be respected. That is why I value things like a simple thanks to the page who brings us a glass of water or a lectern, a respectful awareness of the monumental task performed by our interpreters, recognition of the sensitive work carried out by the table officers, and acceptance that, despite our differences, each and every one of us is here for the same reason: to make good laws.

Joy is also a principle of enormous importance to me. The joy of music is an eternal source of wonder. As everyone knows, because I announced it two years ago, I hope to create a parliamentary choir. That has been a dream of mine for many years.

Over my many years in this place I have heard people, including journalists, staff and sometimes you members, suggest that some of the traditions and rituals we observe are silly, arcane or outdated. I tend to disagree, but that does not mean that we should not try to create new rituals that will in turn become traditions.

This is the people's House and we are only the temporary occupants and guardians of it. Our predecessors fought hard for our rights as parliamentarians. If you elect me as your Speaker, I promise to continue that fight by doing everything in my power to ensure MPs have a safe, productive and collaborative environment to do the work that they deserve.

[The Presiding Officer, Bloc, Louis Plamondon]

I will now call upon Peter Schiefke, the member for Vaudreuil—Soulanges, to speak.

[Peter Schiefke, Liberal, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Mr. Chair, right hon. Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, leader of the Bloc Québécois, leader of the NDP, leader of the Green Party, hon. colleagues, hon. candidates, dear friends, it is a privilege for me to rise in the House today as an official candidate for Speaker of the House of Commons.

Colleagues, I am running for this position because I want to follow in the footsteps of the extraordinary men and women who came before me in service of us all. Two of those extraordinary men are here in the chamber with us: the hon. member for Regina—Qu'Appelle and the hon. member for Nipissing—Timiskaming.

Honourable colleagues, to stand here as a candidate for Speaker means to stand for the candidacy of the custodian and the guardian of this sacred democratic chamber. It is not lost on me that I do so 71 years after my grandfather, Luis Gonzalez, fled Spain under dictatorial rule, boarding a ship called the Anna Salen in search of a place where he could speak freely, where he could send a representative to speak on his behalf, arriving on the shores of Halifax on December 29, 1952.

This past weekend, my daughter Ellie, who just turned seven, asked me what I was doing. I told her that I was running for speakership of this place. She is too young to understand what that means. She is too young to fully grasp the significance of the work that we do here every single day, but she will understand it one day. Colleagues, if you are asking me for my two reasons for running to be the 38th Speaker, there they are: to be your servant as we honour those who sought this place out in generations past and to be your servant to help build an even stronger democratic institution for my children, your children and future generations of Canadians.

Colleagues, we are at a pivotal moment in Canadian history. I truly feel that. Through the conversations that I have had with so many of you over the weekend, I know that you feel that way, too. We have the work ahead of us of rebuilding trust in this place among members, of rebuilding trust that Canadians have in this place, of rebuilding trust that our allies and friends around the world have in us. As your Speaker, that will be my primary priority.

First and foremost, I seek to put in place a policy that will ensure due diligence, so that when I rise as your Speaker to ask hon. members to rise on behalf of somebody who is in the gallery, you can do so with trust and with confidence. I pledge to you that within one week of being elected your Speaker, I will invite Jewish community leaders from across the country, as well as veterans groups that are also affected by what happened that Friday, to this place, to apologize as your Speaker on behalf of all members of this House. I pledge that I will send a communiqué within one week of being elected Speaker to the hon. Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine, informing him of my intentions to apologize to him and the members of the Ukrainian Parliament.

I believe these to be diligent measures and ones that are necessary if we seek to move on and truly reconcile with what occurred on September 22. Just as important will be my work to ensure that your right to speak freely in this place is defended. The story goes that the distance between the Right Hon. Prime Minister's desk and the desk of the leader of the official opposition was measured in such a way to be the distance of two duelling individuals, their swords drawn, with one inch added in the middle, that inch to symbolize that in this place we solve our differences not through violence but through discourse, dialogue and debate.

As your Speaker, I vow to do everything that I can within the powers and the tools available to me as Speaker, to ensure that when you come to this place every single day to do the hard work for Canadians, you are able to do that, to share your gift, the gift that your constituents saw in you and the reason they sent you here: to be able to share that gift unimpeded and without fear of intimidation.

Hon. colleagues, since 2015, I have had the privilege of working with you as the proud member for Vaudreuil—Soulanges, as the parliamentary secretary on four different portfolios and as the chair of a committee. I hope that those I have had the chance to work with could see that I am a fair and transparent person. I come here every day with the intention of working with you, regardless of which party you belong to, to find solutions for improving Canadians' quality of life.

Hon. colleagues, I sincerely thank you for giving me the opportunity to address you today.

Colleagues, I hope you will give me the grand honour of being the 38th Speaker of this House of Commons.

Sitting Suspended

[The Presiding Officer, Bloc, Louis Plamondon]

Before I suspend the sitting for 30 minutes, may I bring to the attention of hon. members that the bells calling the members back to the House will be sounded for not more than five minutes.

The sitting is suspended to the call of the Chair for 30 minutes.

(The sitting of the House was suspended at 10:44 a.m.)

(The House resumed at 11:16 a.m.)

Sitting Resumed

[The Presiding Officer, Bloc, Louis Plamondon]

Pursuant to the provisions of the Standing Orders, the House will now proceed to elect a Speaker.

After the Clerk has unsealed the ballots, I will suggest to the House a procedure that will accelerate the voting process.

We will now prepare to begin to vote according to the provisions of Standing Order 4. Please allow me to outline the procedure for all members.

The names of the candidates eligible for the election are listed on the ballot in alphabetical order. To vote, you must rank the candidates in order of preference by placing the number “1” in the space next to your first-choice candidate, the number “2” next to your second-choice candidate, and so on, until you have ranked all candidates for whom you wish to vote. Please note that it is not necessary to rank all candidates.

In order to vote, I will ask that members leave their desks, exit through the curtains, and come to the table using the doors on the left and right sides of the chair on their respective sides of the House. The clerk will issue to each member a ballot paper.

After casting their ballots, members are asked to leave the voting area.

The polling booths are now open to vote.

The polling booths are now open to vote.

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

[The Presiding Officer, Bloc, Louis Plamondon]

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

Sitting Suspended

[The Presiding Officer, Bloc, Louis Plamondon]

Before I suspend the sitting, I wish to remind hon. members that, when the counting has been completed, the bells to call the members back to the House will be sounded.

The sitting is suspended to the call of the Chair.

(The sitting of the House was suspended at 12:00 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 House resumed at 1:30 p.m.)

Sitting Resumed

[The Presiding Officer, Bloc, Louis Plamondon]

It is my duty to inform the House that a Speaker of the House has been duly elected.

It is with great pleasure that I invite the hon. member for the electoral district of Hull—Aylmer to take the chair.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!