The Ontario Legislative Assembly is getting a new referee.MPPs from all four political parties will elect a new speaker by secret ballot on Wednesday.So far, four Progressive Conservative MPPs are vying for the influential position, which comes with a $152,914 salary — a $36,364 boost in members’ base pay — and a stately apartment in the Legislature.Read more:Trudeau has saddled Tory with a ‘mess’ on asylum seekers, Ford saysFord puts new police oversight laws on holdMPP Ted Arnott (Wellington-Halton Hills), a 28-year veteran at Queen’s Park, has told his colleagues that he brings the experience of being a former deputy speaker, a government member, an opposition member, and a third-party member.“I have ‘seen it from all sides.’ I have sought to be fair and impartial and demonstrate appropriate respect for all members while seeking to maintain decorum in the chamber,” Arnott said in his pitch to MPPs to be their new moderator of debate.“While the speaker can still be an effective advocate for his or her constituency, the speaker must relinquish partisanship, and withdraw from caucus and party, in order to demonstrate absolute neutrality,” he noted. MPP Randy Hillier (Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston), a maverick who has often stood up to his own party’s leadership, would like backbenchers from all parties to play a greater role in House.“The election of speaker is done by secret ballot to ensure that each member has the opportunity to mark the choice without interference,” Hillier, who was first elected in 2007, told MPPs.“It is the only vote you will ever exercise in the Legislature that is secret; all other votes are public and recorded. This nuance ought not to be overlooked as it signifies the importance for all members to select a speaker who they feel will best safeguard the rights and privileges of all members, and who will act as an impartial arbiter during times of ...
|
