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Appendix 3Deputy Speakers and Chairs of Committees of the Whole House Since 1885*The position of Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees of the Whole was created through amendments to the Standing Orders adopted on February 10, 1885, and through the adoption of legislation which was assented to on May 1, 1885. The Statute was entitled An Act to provide for the appointment of a Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons (S.C. 1885, c. 1). The Standing Orders require the House to elect, from among its Members, a Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees of the Whole at the commencement of every Parliament. The same person performs the duties of both offices and must have full and practical knowledge of the official language which is not that of the current Speaker. The Deputy Speaker is vested with all the powers of the Speaker when the latter is absent from the House, presides over the proceedings of the House, and is responsible for chairing Committees of the Whole House.
* Effective March 2003, the term “Chair” replaced the term “Chairman” in the Standing Orders of the House of Commons. [1] Following the adoption of amendments to the Standing Orders on February 10, 1885, the House resolved that Malachy B. Daly take the Chair as Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees of the Whole. [2] Charles Carroll Colby resigned as a Member, and thus as Deputy Speaker, between the Third and Fourth Sessions, upon his appointment as President of the Privy Council on November 28, 1889. Until 1931, Members of the House who accepted Cabinet positions were required, pursuant to the Senate and House of Commons Act, to resign their seats and seek re-election. [3] Louis-Philippe Brodeur was elected Speaker in the next Parliament. [4] Charles Marcil was elected Speaker in the next Parliament. [5] Pierre-Édouard Blondin resigned as a Member, and thus as Deputy Speaker, between the Fourth and Fifth Sessions, upon his appointment as Minister of Inland Revenue on October 20, 1914. [6] Albert Sévigny was elected Speaker on January 12, 1916. [7] Edgar Nelson Rhodes was elected Speaker on January 18, 1917. [8] George Henry Boivin, a Liberal Member, served under the Unionist Government of Sir Robert Borden. [9] Armand LaVergne died in office on March 5, 1935. [10] Thomas Vien was summoned to the Senate on October 5, 1942, and became Speaker of the Senate on January 23, 1943. [11] William Ross Macdonald was elected Speaker in the next Parliament. [12] Joseph Alfred Dion was appointed judge and resigned his seat on April 9, 1952. [13] Louis-René Beaudoin was elected Speaker in the next Parliament. [14] Pierre Sévigny was appointed Associate Minister of National Defence on August 20, 1959, during the recess. [15] Jacques Flynn was appointed Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys on December 28, 1961, during the recess. [16] The motion to appoint Paul Martineau was agreed to on a recorded division. This marked the first occasion that there was a recorded division on the appointment of a Deputy Speaker (Debates, January 18, 1962, pp. 5-6). [17] Lucien Lamoureux was elected Speaker in the next Parliament. [18] Hugh Faulkner was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Secretary of State on October 1, 1970. [19] Robert McCleave, a Progressive Conservative Member, served under a Liberal government. [20] Gérald Laniel, a Liberal Member, served under a Progressive Conservative government in the Thirty-First Parliament. [21] Lloyd Francis was elected Speaker on January 16, 1984, during the Second Session of the Thirty-Second Parliament. [22] Marcel Danis was appointed Minister of State (Youth) and Minister of State (Fitness and Amateur Sport) and Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons on February 23, 1990. However, although he did not sit in the Chair following his appointment to the Cabinet, Mr. Danis remained Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees of the Whole until his official resignation and the appointment to that position of Andrée Champagne on May 15, 1990. [23] Andrée Champagne was the first woman to become Deputy Speaker. [24] Peter Milliken was elected Speaker in the next Parliament [25] Changes to the process for electing the Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees of the Whole were implemented at the start of the Thirty-Eighth Parliament. The Speaker of the House, after consultation with the leaders of each of the officially recognized parties, announces the name of the Member he or she considers to be qualified for the position. The House then votes on the Speaker’s designation without debate or amendment. Charles (Chuck) Strahl was the first Deputy Speaker elected in this manner. A Conservative, he served under a minority Liberal government. |
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