1st Session - 41st Legislature, Vol. 1a, May 16, 2016

The House met at 10 a.m.

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 Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor.

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 41st Legislature, and I am tabling those lists.

The Premier and the aides-de-camp accompanied Her Honour to the Chamber in the following order:

The honorary aides-de-camp on the right;

The Premier;

The Lieutenant Governor.

At the main entrance, the honorary aides-de-camp halted and turned inwards to allow the Lieutenant Governor and Premier to proceed through the north doors, where Her Honour was met by the mace.

Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms (Mr. Ray Gislason): Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor.

The Lieutenant Governor then, preceded by the mace carried shoulder high and followed on her 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 Lieutenant Governor seated herself on the throne; the Sergeant-at-Arms made obeisance with the mace and retired to the east side of the Chamber.

Hon. Janice Filmon (Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Manitoba): Please be seated.

Hon. Heather Stefanson (Minister of Justice and Attorney General): I am directed by Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor to inform you that she 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 Lieutenant Governor, 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 Lieutenant Governor's direction and the rules of the 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, and would the pages please distribute the list of candidates to all members and place one in each ballot box–pardon me–each voting booth.

While that 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 go to the blue-carpeted area behind the third row of desks on the respective sides of the House. At the first tables closest to the loge, each MLA will be handed a ballot by a table officer and will be asked to initial to verify receipt of a ballot. Each MLA will then proceed to the nearest voting booth. In the voting booth please print or write legibly the last name of the candidate you support on the ballot paper. Please fold the ballot paper to preserve the secrecy of your vote, then proceed to place the ballot paper in the ballot box at the north doors and please return to your seat. 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 on the ballot. And write-in ballots for members not on the lists of candidates is not permitted.

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 the 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.

* (10:10)

The following members have declared their intention to stand for the election to the office of Speaker. The candidates, in alphabetic order, are Myrna Driedger and Mohinder Singh Saran. In preparation, the Sergeant-at-Arms will inspect and lock the ballot box, and that has been done.

The list of candidates are now going to each member's desk and in each of the two voting booths. I will now open the sealed ballots and proceed with the beginning of the voting procedure.

Excellent. Everything is now in place. We shall proceed and we will start with the members in the third row. If you would please proceed.

* (10:20)

Honourable members, may I have your attention please? Honourable members?

Now, if there are any members who have not voted and wish to do so, this is your final opportunity.

All members having voted, the House will 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 of the ballot are ready to be announced.

Thank you all very much for your co-operation.

The House recessed at 10:24 a.m.

____________

The House resumed at 10:35 a.m.

Clerk: Honourable members, a member has received a majority of the ballots cast. Pursuant to the rules, I declare Myrna Driedger, the honourable member for Charleswood, elected as Speaker of the 41st 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 41st 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.

The Sergeant-at-Arms with the mace returned to the north door.

The Premier left the Chamber to meet Her 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: Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor.

The Lieutenant Governor, 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.

* (10:40)

Madam Speaker: [inaudible] Assembly has elected me as its Speaker. On behalf 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.

Mrs. Stefanson: Madam Speaker, Her Honour is confident that the Assembly's proceedings will be conducted with wisdom and prudence. In addition, Her Honour grants the Assembly's claim to its traditional rights and privileges. Her Honour will declare the causes of calling this Legislative Assembly on Monday, May 16th, at 1:30 p.m.

Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor rose from the throne to retire. The Sergeant-at-Arms made obeisance with the mace and preceded the Lieutenant Governor, 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.

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 this afternoon.