Posts Tagged ‘Speaker Peters’
Reflections on Day Two of Ontario’s Filibuster Equivalent
The single largest observation I would offer from the gong show unfolding in the legislature is the following; if the Liberals spent more time governing and less time playing politics and the PCs took a page from the NDP on being a more effective opposition in between walk outs and sit ins Ontario would be better off. This is an unwarranted mess.
I stand by my view that Speaker Peters went too far. Suspending an opposition MPP over their over the top attacks on the Government indefinitely is arbitrary and anti-democratic. In this case it was also selective enforcement of the standing orders. It is safe to say it is now clear he has lost control of the House, which makes his ability to preside over debate questionable. The longer this goes on, the more damage it inflicts on his ability to be Speaker, and sadly the office of Speaker.
Yes the rules allow such a suspension in theory because in 1939 the Standing Orders were amended, but that doesn’t make it right. It has also never been done. In Constitutional Law there is the matter of ’spent powers’ (those which not have been exercised and therefore are deemed ‘spent’) The Sergeant-at-Arms also carries a sword to run through folks (this is clearly a spent power) Who is for that custom coming to a legislature near you? One has to also consider the shift in our politics since then, and the precedent set the last time a member defied the Speaker in this way.
Alvin Curling did the very same thing in 1995 that Bill Murdoch did in 2009. Both refused to comply with a Speaker’s order to leave the Chamber for the rest of the sessional day. Precedent is an important part of a Speaker’s job and decision making.
One resulted in a standstill for 18 hours, the other resulted in a suspension thirty minutes in after the Speaker took two breaks to consult whomever he consulted.
That person or people gave bad advice and handed the Speaker the nuclear option and resulted in days of chaos. Frankly it did exactly what the Progressive Conservatives wanted, kicked up a fuss and stalled the HST implementation bill.
Gilles Bisson – the NDP House Leader earns the ‘gentleman and scholar’ award for recognizing the disruption the whole PC Caucus was causing was of a greater concern to the Parliamentary Privilege than the Murdoch and Hillier sideshow playing out within the deafening banging that was killing any chance of debate.
On Monday it would have been fair to say the whole PC Caucus deserved to be thrown out for the day as each individual member refused to come to order upon repeated requests by the Speaker. The Speaker started naming some MPPs by riding, but if you watch the footage gives up part way through, clearly recognizing he was about 30 minutes away from expelling a whole party for the session.
To those who are using the ‘he was just following the rules argument’ every PC member present should have been named and escorted out for the day on Monday. But the Speaker didn’t try to do that because it had become abundantly clear he had lost control of the House and even his worst tool in the box wasn’t enough to regain it. The fact the threat of suspension didn’t work, and once he had suspended one member, he found himself suspending another shortly there after and then decided to ignore the routine of calling members to order with the threat of naming them demonstrates he even gets he went too far.
I support a fair and free debate in all forums and think it is unfortunate we’re so far passed that in our politics that government MPPs are ineffective sheep – regardless of party and opposition MPPs have zero ability to impact legislation.
McGuinty has proven to be as dismissive as Harris was of opposition, whether citizen-led or across the aisle and in some ways worse.
His refusal to allow for travelling hearings on the most significant tax measure this province has seen in a long time is motivated purely by politics and not what is in the best interest of Ontario or the legislative process. Its simply in the best interest of Dalton McGuinty and the Ontario Liberal Party.
The Ontario NDP should be commended for holding a consistent, coherent position on public hearings and the HST. They should also be commended on supporting civility in the Legislature even if the Government’s tactics and the Official Opposition’s response has made that about as realistic as meaningful public hearings on the HST.
With that said – I still believe the Speaker went too far and the House Leaders and Speaker will need to work out a plan for Speaker Peters to climb down and re-instate the members in question as part of any deal. Leaving this heavy handed precedence in place too severely limits MPPs ability to stand up to government.
Until then, I hope Hillier and Murdoch can continue to hold out for some time without access to the washroom or food, because however irresponsible their actions are deemed to be – both are defending their rights to be in that Chamber and standing up for democracy.
5 Comments »Queen’s Park Speaker Suspending Any MPP From the Legislature Until the End of the Sesson is Anti-Democratic
Speaker Peters action in suspending two MPPs from the legislature until the end of the session (after the next Throne Speech) is anti-democratic and hurts the interests of all Ontarians, especially those whose representatives are forbidden from entering the House, or participating in debates on their behalf. The Speaker preventing an MPP from doing their job for a period that could last until the next election makes all other matters of Parliamentary privilege seem trivial.
The saddest part of this story? This was all because they were relentless in calling for public hearings into the HST – something the Liberals are still refusing to allow. Liberals refuse to listen to Ontarians at hearings and now have MPPs suspended for fighting for them on it.
Yes defying the Speaker is bad – I get it. But it is not without precedent. In fact – Former Speaker Alvin Curling created the precedent for defying the Speaker’s order and what was his punishment? Nothing. He left when he felt like it. The Harris Government’s response? As far as they were concerned the crisis had been averted and Curling was able to take his seat again the next sitting day. When these two MPPs rise – they will be forbidden from re-entering the House for the remainder of the session.
I have never heard of the Speaker suspending an MPP from the House before for more than the remainder of the sitting day, let along until the session ends. I find that I can sympathize with William Lyon Mackenzie for seeking to throw out the whole system after having been expelled from the Legislature by his political opponents, winning the by-election to replace him only to be expelled again. They essentially ended any facade of democracy by routinely denying his constituents the right to send him to the Legislature and rail on against the government of the day.
Exclusionary politics is a dangerous thing, and something the majority needs to recognize. Something this Liberal majority has forgotten.
The Speaker has gone too far here in denying these MPPs the ability to do their job. They have a right to be in that legislature, and for the Speaker to deny the will of those who sent those representatives to Queen’s Park is probably the most anti-democratic thing I’ve ever seen happen out of that legislature in my life. Ejecting MPPs for the session and preventing them from carrying out their duties because of their attacks on the Government is a new kind of low in anti-democratic behaviour.
I often wonder how far Ontarians will let their democracy erode before they do anything about it – and sadly I think Speaker Peters took a major step in that direction today and it will go unnoticed unless the Progressive Conservatives do something about it.
My advice would be pretty simple. They eventually have to leave the legislature. Even with access to a bathroom and food, this can’t go on too long. When they do, MPPs Murdoch and Hillier should thumb their noses at the Speaker – resign their seats and work full time to re-gain them – while hammering the Liberals on the HST, and their anti-democratic behaviour. Turn it into a William Lyon Mackenzie-esque ‘screw you’ with a taste of his Grandson’s ‘Byng-King’ thrown in for fun.
I am sure each would win their seats back, and probably by higher margins – and they’d get to batter the Liberals in the process, slamming the HST, defending democracy and neutering the Speaker that went too far. Not only that, but they’d wake Ontarians up, because this is the kind of political blood and guts the media loves and that the Tories have been having difficulty dishing out since McGuinty has been Premier.
Let’s put it this way, if I was an MPP and I found myself expelled until a new Throne Speech – I would be out on the hustings, defying the Speaker and the Government and working to remind everyone it is the people, not someone elected by a Liberal majority that decides who sits in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Liberal MPPs should remember that if they would like to continue having the responsibility of sitting in the legislature themselves.
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