 |
| Senate Debate, Thursday, October 24 |
2-6. (1) The Speaker may interrupt any proceeding in order to restore order or enforce the Rules.Rules of the Senate of Canada
2-6. (2) In the event of grave disorder, the Speaker may suspend the sitting of the Senate for up to three hours.
***
Standing Order 10
The Speaker shall preserve order and decorum, and shall decide questions of order. In deciding a point of order or practice, the Speaker shall state the Standing Order or other authority applicable to the case. No debate shall be permitted on any such decision, and no such decision shall be subject to an appeal to the House.
Annotated Standing Orders of the House of Commons, 2005The preservation of order and decorum has been a duty of the Speaker since 1867, but the task was never as difficult as in the early years of Confederation. Speakers in that time were regularly confronted with rude and disorderly conduct which they were unable to control. The throwing of paper, books, and other missiles, including firecrackers in one case, combined with the noises Members made imitating cats, making music and generally being loud, made for a very riotous assembly. It was often suggested, not without some truth, that the root of the problem of order and decorum lay in the basement of the Parliament Building, just below the Chamber, where a much frequented public saloon plied “intoxicating liquors” to Members seeking "refreshment” during the lengthy evening debates.
pg. 22
RON MACLEAN
Welcome to House of Commons Night in Canada. Tonight we have a special feature on play in the Senate and not the House of Commons. I'm Ron MacLean here with Don Cherry. Don, the Senate normally doesn't get much attention, a bit like the American Hockey League...
DON CHERRY
Whoa, whoa, whoa....I played in the American Hockey League.
RON MACLEAN
I'm sure the fans know that Don, particularly after you had a TV movie about you...
DON CHERRY
Yeah, "Keep Your Head Up, Kid", one of those times the CBC got something right.
RON MACLEAN
I really liked how you kept the beer cold on the bus.
DON CHERRY
Look, those were different times. Kids, no beer on the bus, OK?
RON MACLEAN
And then there's Eddie Shore and the noose.
DON CHERRY
Don't go there.
RON MACLEAN
You can relax. Tonight I want your take on what's going on in the Senate.
DON CHERRY
It's unbelievable. I didn't think the Senate could play like this. Normally, watching the Senate is like watching paint dry, a real snooze fest, but not any more...
RON MACLEAN
How so?
DON CHERRY
Come on! Wednesday, we had a Senator appointed by the Prime Minister stand up in the Senate and threaten the same Prime Minister: if Harper makes him walk the walk, Duffy's going to talk the talk. It won't be pretty. And of course Mike Duffy isn't alone, he's got Pamela Wallin and Patrick Brazeau with him. It's gonna be war.
RON MACLEAN
Maybe you could bring us up to speed on this. The Senate isn't on television like the Commons.
DON CHERRY
Sure. Duffy is being excommunicated by the Senate...
RON MACLEAN
Excommunicated?
DON CHERRY
Don't slow me down. There is an attempt by the Conservative majority in the Senate...
RON MACLEAN
Led by Senators David Tkachuk and Marjory LeBreton...
DON CHERRY
...to excommunicate....by the way, David isn't related to Keith Tkachuk is he?
RON MACLEAN
The guy who played for Winnipeg?
DON CHERRY
Yeah, him.
RON MACLEAN
No idea.
DON CHERRY
...to excommunicate Duffy and Wallin for unparliamentary claimed expenses, expenses they say they were assured by the same leaders would be OK. Now, they're being left alone in a room with a loaded revolver and asked to do the right thing for the sake of the Maximum Leader, which they don't exactly see as a reward. They'd be better off with Shanahan. At least he gives his reasons for suspensions.
RON MACLEAN
Fudging your expenses is a reason...
DON CHERRY
So is misleading voters telling them their voting station has been changed...
RON MACLEAN
Zing.
DON CHERRY
It's more fun even than the Commons where the opposition asks questions and the government gives answers that have nothing to do with the questions.
RON MACLEAN
But more has happened since Wednesday.
DON CHERRY
It just doesn't stop. It's like the playoffs. On Thursday Pamela Wallin took off on LeBreton, and Brazeau challenged his imminent suspension because there was no due process, an objection supported by members of the Conservatives like Don Plett, formerly chairman of the Conservative Party.
RON MACLEAN
Sounds like the Conservatives are coming apart under pressure.
DON CHERRY
Like the Republicans. There is definitely a split along the due process/Red Queen divide...
RON MACLEAN
Red Queen?
DON CHERRY
Keep up! It's from Alice in Wonderland. The Red Queen said "Sentence first - verdict afterwards."
RON MACLEAN
You never cease to amaze me.
DON CHERRY
And it's only Thursday! I can't wait for tomorrow...
RON MACLEAN
So that's it for tonight at House of Commons Night in Canada. Join us tomorrow after what's sure to be fire-wagon play in the Senate.
DON CHERRY
Did you know the Speaker in the Senate can suspend proceedings for three hours in the case of "grave disorder'?
RON MACLEAN
No, I...
DON CHERRY
But there is no equivalent Standing Order for the House of Commons Speaker?
RON MACLEAN
Also no, I...
DON CHERRY
But the Speaker in the British House of Commons still has that power?
RON MACLEAN
Uh....
DON CHERRY
You read Rob Walsh on Twitter?
RON MACLEAN
I don't read anything on Twitter.
DON CHERRY
You're really missing out.
