LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA
Monday, September 30, 2019
At 10 a.m., the Sergeant-at-Arms, carrying the mace in the crook of his arm and followed by the clerks of the Legislative Assembly, entered the Chamber. The Sergeant-at-Arms returned to the main entrance of the Chamber and shouldered the mace. The clerks took post on the west side of the Chamber, stood and awaited the arrival of His Honour the Administrator.
Clerk (Ms. Patricia Chaychuk): I am pleased to advise the Assembly that I have received from the Chief Electoral Officer the lists of names of members elected to serve in the 42nd Legislature, and I am tabling those lists.
The Premier and the aides-de-camp accompanied His Honour to the Chamber in the following order:
The honorary aides-de-camp on the right;
The Premier;
The Administrator.
At the main entrance, the honorary aides-de-camp halted and turned inwards to allow the Administrator and Premier to proceed through the north doors, where His Honour was met by the mace.
Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms (Mr. Ray Gislason): His Honour the Administrator.
The Administrator then, preceded by the mace carried shoulder high and followed on his left by the honorary aides-de-camp, proceeded along the west side of the Chamber to the throne. The Premier proceeded along the east side and stood on the floor on the east side of the Chamber.
The honorary aides-de-camp took up their position on the east side of the throne.
The Administrator seated himself on the throne; the Sergeant-at-Arms made obeisance with the mace and retired to the east side of the Chamber.
Hon. Chief Justice Richard Chartier (Administrator of the Province of Manitoba): Please be seated.
Hon. Cliff Cullen (Minister of Justice and Attorney General): I am directed by His Honour the Administrator to inform you that he will not declare the causes of calling this Legislature until a Speaker has been elected in accordance with the law.
The Sergeant-at-Arms made obeisance with the mace.
Preceded by the Sergeant-at-Arms, the Administrator, accompanied by the honorary aides‑de‑camp and the Premier, exited the Chamber.
The Premier returned. The Sergeant-at-Arms placed the mace under the table and the clerks took their chairs at the table.
Clerk: Please be seated.
Members of the Legislative Assembly, pursuant to the direction of the Administrator and the rules of this Assembly, it is my duty to call upon you to elect a member to preside over your deliberations as Speaker.
Would the Sergeant-at-Arms and Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms please inspect the voting booths and place the ballot box in position. Would the pages please distribute the list of candidates to all members and place one in each voting booth.
While this is being done, I will briefly outline the process to be followed as set out in the rules of the House.
For each round of balloting, members will be asked to proceed to the clerks' table in the centre of the Chamber by moving along the row in the direction of the Speaker's dais. I will give you my best flight attendant impersonation. Proceed down the row to the end, turn around and come to the clerks' table.
On the east and west side of the clerks' table, each MLA will be handed a ballot and will be asked to initial a list to verify they've received the ballot. Please then proceed to the voting station on that side of the table and write the last name of the candidate you support on the ballot paper. Then fold the ballot paper to preserve the secrecy of your vote. Please then proceed to place the ballot paper in the ballot box located at the north end of the clerks' table.
You can only vote once and you can only vote for one candidate on the list of candidates, so please do not list or rank all of the candidates. Only write the last name of one candidate in the ballot.
I must advise the House that write-in ballots are not permitted and you must vote for one of the candidates on the list, so, sorry, no voting for Dustin Byfuglien.
When all members wishing to vote have done so, the House will recess while the clerks withdraw to count the vote. A majority of the votes cast–that is, 50 per cent plus one–is required to elect a Speaker. When the count of the ballot is completed, a five‑minute bell will ring to summon the members to the Chamber. Also, please be advised it is not possible to raise a point of order or a matter of privilege while the vote is being conducted.
The following members have declared their intention to stand for election to the office of Speaker. The candidates, in alphabetic order, are: Myrna Driedger, Cindy Lamoureux and Bernadette Smith.
In preparation for the vote, the Sergeant-at-Arms will inspect and lock the ballot box.
The list of candidates is on each member's desk and in each of the two voting booths. I will now open the sealed envelope with the ballots and proceed with the beginning of the voting.
I would now ask those members in the front row who wish to cast their ballots to proceed to the clerks' table.
* (10:10)
If there are any members who have not yet voted and wish to do so, will you please proceed to the voting station now. Last call. Any members who have not yet voted?
Since all members present have voted, the House will now recess to the call of the bells while the clerks count the ballots. The bells will ring for five minutes to recall members to the Chamber when the results are the ballot of ready to be announced.
Thank you all very much for your co-operation.
The House recessed at 10:19 a.m.
____________
The House resumed at 10:33 a.m.
Clerk: Honourable members of the Assembly, a member has received a majority of the votes cast. Pursuant to the rules, I declare Myrna Driedger, the honourable member for Roblin, elected as Speaker of the 42nd Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.
The Premier and the Leader of the Opposition escorted the newly elected Speaker to the Chair and she was invested with the robes of office.
The mace was then placed on the table.
Madam Speaker: Honourable members of the 42nd Legislative Assembly, I wish to thank the members for the high honour the House has conferred on me. I leave the floor of this House to take the Speaker's Chair. I leave behind all political and partisan feelings, and I intend to carry out the important duties of the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly with impartiality and to the best of my ability.
I understand that His Honour is on his–
The Sergeant-at-Arms with the mace returned to the north door.
The Premier left the Chamber to meet His Honour in the reception room.
The Speaker took post on the east side and the clerks took post on the west side of the Chamber.
Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms: His Honour the Administrator.
The Administrator, accompanied by the honorary aides-de-camp and the Premier, entered the Chamber, preceded by the Sergeant-at-Arms, and proceeded to and was seated on the throne.
Madam Speaker: [inaudible] –of the Assembly, it is my duty to claim all the Assembly's traditional rights and privileges, especially the privilege of freedom of speech in debate and access to Your Honour when required. I ask you to give the most favourable consideration to the Assembly's proceedings.
Mr. Cullen: His Honour is confident that the Assembly's proceedings will be conducted with wisdom and prudence. In addition, His Honour grants the Assembly's claim to its traditional rights and privileges. His Honour will declare the causes of calling this Legislative Assembly on Monday, September 30th, at 1:30 p.m.
His Honour the Administrator rose from the throne to retire. The Sergeant-at-Arms made obeisance with the mace and preceded the Administrator, accompanied by the honorary aides-de-camp and the Premier, towards the north doors of the Chamber.
The Sergeant-at-Arms remained at the north doors facing the throne.
The Speaker then took the Chair.
* (10:40)
The Sergeant-at-Arms made obeisance with the mace before the Speaker's chair and returned to the table and remained standing. The clerks took their chairs at the table.
Madam Speaker: The House will now recess and reconvene at 1:30 p.m. this afternoon.
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA
Monday, September 30, 2019
CONTENT