Here's how Speakers of the House keep rowdy politicians in line
Speakers gathered in Labrador this week to sharpen their styles
It takes a lot to keep a room full of rowdy elected officials in order, so Speakers of the house from parliaments across country decided to compare notes in Labrador this week on how to do it best.
Speakers from provincial and federal legislatures met at the annual Canadian Presiding Officers conference in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.
"To be honest with you I'm still working on my style," Daniel Guitard said.
Guitard has only been in the Speaker's chair in the New Brunswick legislature for three months.
"Being here this weekend, guaranteed, will give me some tools to do my job within the House of New Brunswick."
If things kind of seem to be getting out of control, the best thing I can do in one of those situations is, first of all, I control myself.- Buck Watts
Perry Trimper, Speaker of Newfoundland and Labrador's House of Assembly, decided to bring the meeting to Happy Valley-Goose Bay instead of going to the capital city of the province, where the meetings are traditionally held. Trimper is MHA for the district of Lake Melville.
"These are pros, and to be able to pull it off in one of our venues in Labrador, in this town, it's a great accomplishment," Trimper said.
Speaker's notes
John Bercow recently gave the Speaker's role in the U.K. some notoriety.
His style of keeping the crowded chamber in check through Brexit votes — which range from growling drawn-out bouts of "order!" to pointing at and insulting politicians — recently went viral.
Given Canadian legislatures use a similar Westminster system to govern, his performance is giving Speakers in attendance at the Happy Valley-Goose Bay conference something to chew on.
"On the Brexit vote, you've had all the MPs there — 650 MPs in a chamber that only fits about 400 or 450 so ... it's going to cause an incredible tension and noise," said Speaker Nils Clarke, who oversees a 19-member legislature in Yukon.
Clarke said he employs a firm but fair approach to keeping his House in order and has had to resort to using the override button to stop members from speaking, but he's never gone so far as to kick somebody out.
"Even [Bercow], with a fairly hefty degree of criticism, and very colourful — some would almost say with a very Monty-Pythonesque language — he's not naming and ejecting MPs."
In Nunavut, Speaker Joe Enook says things don't get that wild in his House. The territory is governed by consensus government, which means there are no political parties, although some that aren't in cabinet take on the role of opposition.
"We work ... under Inuit principles, one of them being [about] "having a discussion" which respects the the Inuit culture of coming to a discussion in a proper manner," Enook said.
"Our House is pretty tame compared to what I see across the country."
Prince Edward Island Speaker Buck Watts said he rules with a "fairly firm hand."
"If things kind of seem to be getting out of control," Watts said. "The best thing I can do in one of those situations is, first of all, I control myself.
"Then I can adapt to control the situation at hand."
In N.L., allegations of harassment and bullying were front and centre last year within the walls of the House of Assembly, a topic up for discussion at this year's conference.
"If I've identified a member from a particular district to speak, that's the only member I want to hear from," Trimper said.
"When they've completed, then you can react away as you choose."
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