Parliamentarians have chosen a new Speaker of the House of Commons!

Today, the Canadian Parliament elected a new Speaker of the House of Commons to replace the resigning Anthony Rota. And it was the Liberal Party candidate Greg Fergus.

Fergus sees his first task as helping Parliament turn the page on the awkward incident honoring Jaroslaw Hunka. Like Rota, Fergus represents the Liberal Party and therefore feels a special responsibility for what happened.

In Parliament, he represents Quebec, specifically the federal constituency of Hull-Aylmer. Fergus will also be the first black Speaker of the House of Commons. He is known in political circles as a loyal Liberal. He previously served as parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. We wrote about the election procedure and the other candidates a little earlier today.

Greg Fergus had already made his first speech to all present. In it, he reiterated his pre-election promise of the morning to achieve a cultural and productive debate in the House of Commons:

"Respect is a fundamental part of what we do here. We need to make sure that we treat each other with respect and we show Canadians that example. There can be no dialogue unless there's a mutual understanding of respect."

What will the new speaker do?

The Speakers of the House of Commons must maintain order in Parliament and impartially oversee all rules and procedures, as well as administration and finances. They are considered to be the link between the Senate and the Crown.

All speeches and questions at the meetings are addressed to the speakers, although they do not participate in the debates themselves. In the event of a tie, the Speaker shall join in the voting.

In addition, the Speaker of the House of Commons has some ceremonial duties, such as attending official meetings, as well as some privileges. The latter include an apartment in the West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa and an official estate in Gatineau Park known as The Farm.