THE SENATE — Business of the Senate
Motion Appointing Acting Speaker Pro Tempore for Today's Sitting Adopted
April 11, 2020
Honourable senators, with leave of the Senate and notwithstanding rule 5-5(j), I move:
That, notwithstanding any provision of the Rules or usual practice, the Honourable Senator Ringuette be Acting Speaker pro tempore for today’s sitting.
The Hon. the Speaker: Is leave granted, honourable senators?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
Honourable senators, I have a question for the leader of the ISG, Senator Woo. I don’t necessarily have a problem with his motion, but I would like to ask a few questions of the senator. We do have rules and procedures in this Parliament that have governed this place for 153 years, and it seems that since you arrived here, Senator Woo, you are hell-bent on constantly questioning each one of those rules and procedures. I assume there must be some logic and reason, but where I come from, you usually don’t spend time trying to fix things that are not broken.
Some of our colleagues may or may not know that in the absence of the Speaker pro tempore, the Acting Deputy Speaker, the prerogative of choosing that Speaker in that role is the actual Speaker. We see Senator Woo, with this particular motion, as breaking from that tradition. My two questions are: Why do you think, Senator Woo, that you are more eminently qualified than the actual Speaker himself to make the choice of Speaker pro tempore? And why don’t you have confidence in our most eminently qualified Speaker? We in the opposition have full confidence in the Speaker. I would like to think that all senators in this chamber do. Why not allow the Speaker to take prerogative, exert his authority and allow him to do his work here?
Why do you think you are more eminently qualified than the actual Speaker?
Thank you, Your Honour. It’s unfortunate that Senator Housakos would raise this kind of issue at a time of great urgency in our country, at a time when we want to get on with the business of having a Speaker pro tempore to preside over a session where we can ask the minister questions about a very important bill, which will affect the lives of many millions of Canadians and which all of us, I hope, want to properly scrutinize but get through before the end of today.
I have the utmost respect for Your Honour the Speaker and the utmost respect for my colleagues in the leadership of the Senate, and the choice of Senator Ringuette does not in any way violate that trust, violate that confidence and does not in any way run counter to the agreement of my colleagues in the leadership team. Thank you very much.
Senator Woo, I have one last question. Again, because time is of the essence and we are dealing with issues of national importance, which is precisely why we should allow procedure and the Rules of the Senate to follow their natural course and not waste time with unnecessary motions. If you had confidence in the Speaker, you would have allowed him to conduct his job.
Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?
Hon. Senators: Agreed.
(Motion agreed to.)
