December
18, 2015 HOUSE
OF ASSEMBLY PROCEEDINGS
Vol. XLVIII No. 1
Members
met in the Assembly Chamber on the afternoon of December 18, 2015 for the
Election of a Speaker.
SERGEANT-AT-ARMS:
All rise.
Madam
Clerk, His Honour, the Lieutenant Governor, has arrived.
CLERK (Ms. Barnes):
Admit His Honour the
Lieutenant Government.
SERGEANT-AT-ARMS:
It is the wish of His Honour, the Lieutenant Governor, that all present be
seated.
CLERK:
Members of the House of
Assembly, a Proclamation has been issued by His Honour, the Lieutenant Governor,
under the great seal of the Province, which reads as follows:
“TO:
Sandra Barnes, Clerk of the House of Assembly and Elizabeth Murphy, Clerk
Assistant of the House of Assembly
GREETING;
A
PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS
a general election of the Members of the General Assembly of the Province of
Newfoundland and Labrador was held on November 30, 2015;
AND WHEREAS
the Office of the Speaker of the House of Assembly is vacant and it is it
expedient to call together the Forty-Eighth General Assembly for the Members of
the House of Assembly to proceed to their choice of Speaker;
NOW THEREFORE,
I, the Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, do
authorize and direct you, the said Sandra Barnes and Elizabeth Murphy, or either
of you, to significant to the Members of the said House of Assembly to assemble
for the dispatch of business on Friday, December 18, 2015 at 2 o'clock in the
afternoon, and that it is my pleasure that they should proceed to choose some
person to be their Speaker and to present such person for my approbation when I
call the House Assembly together in session.”
SERGEANT-AT-ARMS:
All rise.
(His
Honour the Lieutenant Governor leaves the Chamber.)
CLERK:
Please be seated.
At the
close of nominations for the Office of Speaker at 4:30 p.m., Thursday, December
17, 2015, two candidates put their names forward. The candidates, in
alphabetical order, are Mr. Tom Osborne and Mr. Scott Reid.
Members
of the House of Assembly, pursuant to the Lieutenant Governor's direction and
the Standing Orders 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 the Pages please place the voting booths and ballot box
in position? Would the Pages please distribute the list of candidates to all
members' desks and place one in each voting booth?
Before
beginning the election, I will briefly outline the process to be followed, as
set out in the Standing Orders of the House. Members will be asked to proceed
from the back or third row of desks on their respective sides of the House and
file past the Speaker's Chair to the head of the Clerk's Table. At the Table,
each member will be given a ballot and asked to initial a list to verify that he
or she has received it.
In the
voting booth, please print or write legibly the surname of the candidate you
support on the ballot paper, place it in the ballot box at the end of the
Clerk's Table and return to your place. You can only vote for one candidate. So
please do not list or rank the candidates, and only write the surname of one
candidate on the ballot.
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 is required to elect
the Speaker. If both candidates receive the same number of votes, there will be
another ballot.
Immediately before the start of the second or any subsequent ballot, a member
who wishes to withdraw will be given an opportunity to do so. When the count of
the ballot is completed, a five-minute bell will ring to call members back to
the Chamber. In preparation for the vote, the Sergeant-at-Arms will inspect and
lock the ballot box.
The list
of candidates should be now with each member and in each of the two voting
booths. We will now proceed with the beginning of the voting procedure. I now
ask those members who wish to cast ballots to proceed from the back or the third
row of your seating on your respective sides and then file past the Chair to the
Clerk's Table where the Clerk Assistant will give you a ballot, check your name
off the list and then please initial the list next to your name to indicate that
you have received a ballot. Proceed to the voting booth, write your choice on
the ballot, fold it and then put in the ballot box.
CLERK:
It is my understanding that
all members have now voted. The House will recess to the call of the bells,
while the Clerks at the Table count the ballots. The bells will ring for five
minutes to recall members to the Chamber when the results of the ballot are to
be announced.
Thank
you very much.
Recess
CLERK:
Accordingly, further to
suborder 4(11) of the Standing Orders, I declare Mr. Tom Osborne, Member for the
District of Waterford Valley, as Speaker for the Forty-Eighth General Assembly.
(Applause.)
(The
hon. the Premier and the hon. the Leader of the Official Opposition lead Mr.
Osborne to the Speaker's Chair.)
MR. SPEAKER (Osborne):
Thank you, everybody.
I have
some brief remarks. There is a parliamentary custom that the Speaker is supposed
to resist while being dragged to the Chair by the Premier and the Leader of the
Opposition. I tried to look as though I was resisting.
The
truth is this is a position that I have wanted for some time and I believe
everybody who sat in the House prior to the election would have known that this
is certainly the position that I wanted. All current members, based on the calls
that I made two or three weeks ago seeking your support, I think it is no
surprise that this was the position that I aspired to.
It is
indeed an honour to be elected as your Speaker. I will thank my opponent today
because together we helped make history. This is the first time in this
Province's history that there was an elected Speaker to the House of Assembly,
so I thank you.
(Applause.)
MR. SPEAKER:
I want to assure all members
that it is my intention to be fair and impartial as I preside over the
deliberations in this Chamber. I also intend to bring a greater level of decorum
and a higher degree of respect to the manner in which we conduct the people's
business.
There
are forty members in this Legislature. It is indeed a huge honour to be selected
by the people of the Province to represent our respective districts. The people
of the Province have an expectation of us, and that is that we conduct our
business in this Legislature professionally. I hope that, collectively, we are
able to restore a greater level of respect for what this Legislature stands for
and our roles in this Legislature.
For our
new members, the task that lies ahead of you may at times seem daunting, but you
will quickly transition into your roles and responsibility. I am certain you
will have a greater understanding very soon of how the legislative process
works.
I want
to let all of you know that I am available to each and every member who has
questions or seek guidance. The Speaker's office is open to assist all members
of the House.
I also
want to congratulate all members for being elected. To our new Premier, to the
ministers who have been chosen to represent the Crown, to the leaders of the
Opposition and the Third Party, you also have very important roles to play in
our Chamber.
I want
to recognize as well the Member for Cartwright – L'Anse au Clair who today, as
the Premier presents her name, will take on the role of Deputy Speaker and as
well to the Member for Mount Pearl – Southlands who will take on the role of
Deputy Chair of Committees. I know together we will make a great team in the
operations of the House of Assembly.
(Applause.)
MR. SPEAKER:
I want to recognize my wife
Daphne, my children Rhiannon, Reegan, Spencer and Casey, as well as our parents
and other members of our family and friends who have joined us today for the
special occasion.
It is
also customary to recognize former members of the Legislature when they visit
us. It so happens that the former Member for St. John's West who also happens to
be known as my mother, Sheila Osborne, is sitting in the Speaker's gallery.
(Applause.)
MR. SPEAKER:
Yesterday, when I was
explaining to Rhiannon and Reegan that I was running for Speaker and that there
was going to be a vote today in the House, they had some questions: What does
the Speaker do? I replied that we help with the operation of the House and keep
decorum. We help with decisions that are made with the motions put forward in
legislation.
Like
what? I said: Well, if there is a vote in the House, I preside over the vote. So
the next question: Are you going to have an office? I said: Yes, I will have an
office. Will you have a bowl of candy in your office?
(Laughter.)
MR. SPEAKER:
I said: Well, I am not sure.
So I was advised that my first role of business is to ensure that I have a vote
to make sure that there is a bowl of candy in the office.
All
those in favour, say ‘aye.'
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Aye.
MR. SPEAKER:
Thank you.
That
being our first order of business, I want to wish members a wonderful Christmas.
I am going to point out one other individual who is in the gallery today. My
assistant has been with me nineteen years, Susan Elliott. I know what little
hair I have left will probably be gone because she does not like the attention,
but she has helped me operate my office and helped ensure that I continue to be
re-elected, so I wanted to point her out today as well.
I want
to wish all members a wonderful Christmas. I want to as well thank the staff of
the House of Assembly who see us through – the Pages, the Commissionaires, the
folks in the Broadcast Centre, Hansard, to political staff, and certainly to all
public servants. To those that are at home watching the proceedings today, I
wish you a very wonderful Christmas indeed.
Again,
thank you to all members of the House for bestowing upon me this honour. I will
serve you well.
The hon.
the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Congratulations on this, what has been truly, I believe, for the first time in
the history of our Province, an example of democracy working in our own House of
Assembly. I want to also congratulate the Member for St. George's – Humber for
making this happen. Just one word to Rhiannon, the daughter of the Speaker: He
is the Speaker in this House, not your house.
It is my
pleasure today to move, seconded by the Opposition House Leader, that the Member
for the District of Cartwright – L'Anse au Clair be appointed Deputy Speaker for
the Forty-Eighth general session of this House of Assembly.
MR. SPEAKER:
It has been moved that the
Member for Cartwright – L'Anse au Clair take on the position of Deputy Speaker
of the House of Assembly.
All
those in favour, ‘aye.'
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Aye.
MR. SPEAKER:
All those against, ‘nay.'
So
passed.
The hon.
the Premier.
PREMIER BALL:
Thank you again, Mr. Speaker.
I move,
seconded by the Opposition House Leader, that the Member for the District of
Mount Pearl – Southlands be appointed Deputy Chair of Committees for the
Forty-Eighth General Assembly.
MR. SPEAKER:
It has been moved that the
Member for Mount Pearl – Southlands take on the role of Deputy Chair of
Committees.
All
those in favour, ‘aye.'
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Aye.
MR. SPEAKER:
Those against?
So
carried.
The hon.
the Government House Leader.
MR. A. PARSONS:
Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded
by the Minister of Natural Resources, that this House now do adjourn to the
Chair's call.
MR. SPEAKER:
It has been moved and
seconded that this House do now adjourn.
All
those in favour, ‘aye.'
SOME HON. MEMBERS:
Aye.
MR. SPEAKER:
Opposed?
This
House now stands adjourned to the call of the Chair.