Speaker Collins can't easily be ousted after allegations of harassment

Chris Collins has two things going for him as he faces allegations of harassment while serving as Speaker of the New Brunswick legislature.

One is the presumption of innocence. The other is centuries of British parliamentary tradition.

The allegations by a former employee of the legislature against Collins, a three-term MLA from Moncton, have not been proven.

• N.B. Speaker suspended from caucus amid harassment allegations 
• Chris Collins elected Speaker of Legislature

Even if they were — or if Premier Brian Gallant wanted to remove him quickly to avoid controversy leading up to September's election  — Collins could not easily be ousted.

He occupies a unique role in the political system. As Speaker, he is virtually untouchable unless members of the legislature take extraordinary steps to remove him.

"I often say that there are people who run more than the Speaker does, but there are very few people who run what they run as absolutely as the Speaker," said Kelly Lamrock, a former MLA and onetime Liberal house leader.

"Chris Collins is the speaker of the house until a majority of the house meets and says otherwise, or until Chris Collins tenders his resignation properly.

"There's no external measure that could be looked at."

'A different situation'

Premier Brian Gallant alluded to that Thursday evening when he revealed the allegations of harassment against Collins.

Because the legislature is a separate branch of government, the Speaker's case is "a bit of a different situation" from one "within the purview and umbrella" of the government, Gallant said.

The reason there's not a lot of precedent is before it get to that, somebody usually backs down. Somebody signs a resignation letter.- Kelly Lamrock, former MLA

That independence stems from centuries of British parliamentary tradition. A key principle is that a legislature must be able to function free of interference from the monarch, and from the ministers who serve the monarch.

Conversely, the Speaker is subject to the collective authority of the province's 49 MLAs.

The legislature's rules define how a Speaker is elected but are silent on how a Speaker can be removed.

But because of the body's own independence, including freedom from most legal challenges, its members could remove a speaker even without a clear process, Lamrock said.

"In many ways, you're getting into areas that aren't written down in any law but that come from centuries of received tradition and precedent, and it almost becomes a test of each side's saying to the other, 'what are you going to do about it?'

"The reason there's not a lot of precedent is before it get to that, somebody usually backs down. Somebody signs a resignation letter."

In 2006, Lamrock led the Liberal push to remove Speaker Michael (Tanker) Malley, arguing Malley was not independent from the then-PC government. The Tories voted down his non-confidence motion.

The Collins case is less pressing because the legislature is not scheduled to sit before it is dissolved in August for the Sept. 24 election. A new speaker will be elected when the new legislature convenes after that.

Recalling the legislature

Even so, PC MLA Brian Macdonald issued a statement Thursday night, within two hours of Gallant's announcement, demanding the house be recalled.

"The Speaker is elected by the legislature and can only be dealt with by the legislature," he wrote.

Macdonald's fellow PC MLA Ted Flemming said Friday, however, that there's not much point to doing that.

"What is calling the legislature going to do?" he said. "OK, so there's question period. You ask them a question and they don't answer it. ... So what's that going to do?"

Brian Gallant knows an awful lot more about this issue than I do. … What did the premier do? What did he know?-  Ted Flemming, Progressive Conservative MLA

Still, Flemming said Gallant needs to explain why the government didn't bring the allegations to light when the house was sitting in February.

Gallant said Thursday night that he knew of the situation then, but the former employee wasn't sure at that time whether they wanted to file an official complaint.

"I'll tell you what I do know," Flemming said. "Brian Gallant knows an awful lot more about this issue than I do. … What did the premier do? What did he know?"

Besides presiding over the legislature's debates, the Speaker is also the administrative head of the institution, overseeing staffing and contracts, for example. 

Gallant said Thursday night the government was asking the all-party legislative administration committee "to suspend the speaker from his administrative position pending an investigation." 

Deputy asks for meeting

Such a meeting could come as early as next week.

Deputy Speaker Bernard LeBlanc, who is the vice-chair of the legislative administration committee, has asked the clerk to call a meeting on Monday in light of the allegations against Collins.

"I have full confidence that the members of the committee will take appropriate steps to ensure this matter is resolved appropriately, and that due process is followed," LeBlanc said in a statement.

One possibility is that the committee would elect a new chair who would take on the administrative role at the legislature while leaving Collins officially as Speaker.

Premier wants independent probe

Gallant said Thursday night the government is hoping committee will agree to "partner" with the government to hire an outside investigator to look into the allegations.

He also said Collins had been suspended from the Liberal caucus. Unlike the Speaker's status, that decision falls entirely under the authority of Gallant and his fellow Liberal MLAs.

The suspension from caucus puts Collins's political future in doubt. Gallant said an MLA suspended from caucus would not be approved as a candidate for September's election.

Collins did not respond to interview requests Friday.