Why chairing the BC legislature is not a job for a rookie

Perhaps the most interesting place to be this week is behind the heavy wooden door and in the red-carpeted office of the Clerk of the BC Legislature.

After weeks of recounts, the success of David Eby’s NDP government now depends in part on a secret ballot — expected around mid-November — to elect the speaker of the House of Representatives.

The name of each MLA is on a list in the registry. Any member who does not wish to be considered – there are good reasons for not wanting the job – must notify the Clerk in writing requesting removal no later than 6:00 PM on the eve of the vote.

It is safe to assume that Eby has tried to lure someone from outside his party to become Speaker. Although he will tell his party members who to vote for, Eby will not have the privilege of appointing the chairman.

Although some MLAs, such as Conservative Ian Paton, have publicly stated they are not interested, only the clerk knows who is and is not on the list.

On voting day, the clerk will post the names of the candidates in the lobby and the ballots will be placed in a box with the clerk in the House.

It is not as dramatic as a papal election – there is no white smoke from the burning of the ballots to indicate success – but the process is fraught with formality and ritual, despite the fact that the position of chairman was held until 1994 by appointment of the prime minister .

Joan Sawicki was a rookie NDP MLA when she was appointed speaker by then-Premier Mike Harcourt in 1992.

While there has been “talk” about the idea of ​​a rookie MLA becoming speaker this month, Sawicki said, “I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”

“If you’re a rookie, you’ve never been in a caucus, you don’t know what a caucus is like, you don’t know what’s going on in the dining room while the members are getting to know each other, then you can’t make subtle judgments about when you should or not to intervene in the home.”

Sawicki said Eby is in a difficult position given his slim majority. “He may prefer a party from his own party, but that leaves him with fewer voting members. If he can convince an opposition member, it will give him some more room to maneuver.”

Whoever it is, she hopes they come with experience because that will make the job a lot easier.

While it is an honor to be elected chairman — and the job comes with a $59,766.37 salary increase — it can be a thankless and isolating position that requires renouncing party loyalty.

When BC Liberal MLA Darryl Plecas was praised as speaker in John Horgan’s NDP government in 2017, he was expelled from the party and forced to run as an independent, essentially ending his political career.

“The Speaker must have the confidence of both sides of the house, and be neutral and balanced. Both sides of the house will always feel that your interventions favor the other side,” Sawicki said. “It is a very fine line that a Speaker must walk in his dual role as arbiter and servant of the house.”

If a member uses unparliamentary language, or if commotion undermines the collegial tone of the house, the chairman can intervene.

“If you are too tight in your interventions, or too loose, if you do not exercise good judgment or if they feel the Speaker is intervening unnecessarily, you will lose the goodwill of the house,” Sawicki said.

The Speaker must learn and manage the standing orders of the House. Sawicki had to “hit the books” when she was hired, saying starting as a rookie was “grueling and extremely difficult.”

The Speaker’s office and dining area are also separated from those of their colleagues. Yet it is outside the house, in hallways and dining rooms and in the caucus, where friendships are made and alliances forged.

“It’s very isolating,” said Sawicki, who dined alone every day with a set of antique china etched in gold with her new title: Mr. Speaker.

A Speaker relies on the clerks for research to make informed, precedent-based decisions, but their only support system for advice is other Speakers across Canada.

Missteps can land Speakers in hot water, as in 2023, when House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus praised the outgoing interim leader of the Ontario Liberal Party in a video tribute that was seen as partisan.

The Speaker oversees a large staff and manages the management budget of the BC Legislature.

In a 2018 report, Plecas accused Craig James, the clerk, and Gary Lenz, the sergeant-at-arms, of excessive overspending in a scandal that included accusations of self-awarded pensions, expensive lawsuits and a $3,000 wood splitter. . James was found guilty of fraud and breach of trust, while Lenz was not criminally charged.

But the Speaker’s main role is to maintain the status quo or continue the government.

With such a narrow majority, the chance that the chairman will have to cut ties is “quite high,” Sawicki said.

“In the event of a tie, each chair should rely on the clerks to go through the procedures and precedence rules to determine what decision the chair should make. It would never be a partisan decision.”

Sawicki, who was replaced as chair by NDP MLA Emery Barnes in 1994, calls it an “incredible privilege” to serve in this role.

She has this advice in case a newcomer is chosen: “Try to be fair and neutral, understand your standing orders and trust the advice of the clerks.”