Canada selects a new Speaker of the House of Commons
Parliament is voting on a candidate to replace Anthony Rota, who has resigned.
Canada is having a not-so-frequent event today — an early election for a new Speaker of the House of Commons. Parliament lost one last week when Anthony Rota resigned. The Speaker's voluntary resignation was linked to a scandal over honoring an SS veteran.
According to the Constitution, the House cannot sit in an incomplete session, and therefore the issue of electing a new member is an urgent one. However, given the extraordinary nature of the situation, the House of Commons did not adjourn last Wednesday — with Bloc Quebecois MP Louis Plamondon as interim Speaker.
Why Plamondon? He is considered the so-called "Dean of the House", that is, the MP with the longest unbroken record, while not being a minister or party leader.
Who's in?
According to the procedure, all MPs who are not party leaders or ministers are considered candidates. Provided that they have not notified their unwillingness to participate by 6 p.m. Monday, October 2. Each candidate was given a five-minute speech today.
The full list ends up looking like this:
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