The Canadian Scene
New Clerk in Saskatchewan
After almost 36 years of service as a Table Officer, Greg A. Putz retired as the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan on January 1, 2023.
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The Canadian Scene
The Canadian Scene
New President of the National Assembly
Montarville MNA Nathalie Roy was acclaimed as the new President of the National Assembly on November 30, 2022. Replacing outgoing President François Paradis, Ms. Roy becomes only the second woman to serve in the position in nearly 230 years of parliamentarianism.
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The Canadian Region
The 58th Annual Commonwealth Parliamentary Association – Canadian Regional Conference
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CPA Activities
New Nova Scotia Speaker
Victoria-The Lakes MLA Keith Bain was elected Speaker of the Nova Scotia Legislative Assembly on September 24. The long-time Progressive Conservative MLA, who was nominated by Premier Tim Houston, defeated New Democratic MLA Lisa Lachance. The vote took longer than usual as MLAs present lined up in groups to cast ballots in recognition of COVID-19 restrictions.
Continue reading “CPA Activities”New Nunavut Speaker
New Nunavut Speaker
On September 9, Nunavut’s Legislative Assembly elected Allan Rumbolt as its new Speaker. Speaker Rumbolt, who had been previously served as Deputy Speaker, replaced Paul Quassa. Mr. Quassa resigned as Speaker and MLA for Aggu on August 13.
First elected as MLA for Hudson Bay in 2008, Speaker Rumbolt won re-election in 2013 and 2017. In addition to his time as Deputy Speaker, he served as the co-chair of the Legislative Assembly’s Standing Committee on Government Estimates and Operations and as a member of the Management and Services Board.
The Canadian Scene
CPA Activities
New Saskatchewan Speaker
On November 30, 2020, Randy Weekes was elected Speaker of the Saskatchewan Legislature. The Saskatchewan Party MLA defeated five other challengers, including incumbent Speaker Mark Docherty, Greg Ottenbreit, Hugh Nerlien, Nadine Wilson and Lisa Lambert.
COVID-19 protocols meant the election had a very different look and feel than previous elections. Legislative officers sanitized the wooden ballot box after each round of voting and when Speaker Weekes addressed his colleagues after his victory he faced a rearranged Chamber. Only about half of the Assembly’s MLAs were present and they sat in spaced out desks behind plexiglass shields.
New NB Speaker
New NB Speaker
Progressive Conservative MLA for Kings Centre Bill Oliver was elected Speaker of the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly on October 7, 2020. Speaker Oliver was acclaimed when the only other candidate, Ross Wetmore, PC MLA for Gagetown-Petitcodiac, withdrew his name from consideration shortly before the vote was set to take place.
First elected to the legislature in 2014 and re-elected in 2018 and 2020, Speaker Oliver served as Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure in the previous parliament.
CPA Activities
CPA Activities
Appointment of Clerk of the Legislative Assembly
On March 2, the Legislative Assembly unanimously appointed Kate Ryan-Lloyd Clerk of the Legislative Assembly following the recommendation of a special committee. Since that time, there have been two additions to the newly-established Clerk’s Leadership Group. They are S. Suzie Seo, who assumed the functions of Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel on a permanent basis in April 2020, and Artour Sogomonian, who was appointed to the new position of Clerk Assistant, Parliamentary Services in May 2020.
Ms. Ryan-Lloyd has served the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia for many years, beginning in the Legislative Library, then the Parliamentary Committees Office and had served as Acting Clerk since November 2018.
The Canadian Region
The Canadian Region
New NWT Speaker
On October 24, Mackenzie Delta MLA Frederick Blake Jr. was acclaimed as Speaker of the Northwest Territories’ Legislative Assembly.
Speaker Blake said he planned to promote the value of NWT’s consensus style of government by aiming to travel more to smaller communities and particularly by focusing on visiting youth in schools.