Speaker sets sights on parliamentary ‘bullies’
MP Geoff Regan determined to improve level of debate in the House of Commons
OTTAWA— Like a teacher’s scolding, the comment from the chair cut through the noise.
“Does the member for Peace RiverMackenzie have a problem? I’m glad he doesn’t,” Geoff Regan, the newly minted Speaker of the House of Commons, said as he stared down on the Conservative benches.
The bemused looks on the faces of MPs provided the clue that Regan’s barb had missed its mark.
“What’s your riding? We’ll get it, we’ll get it,” Regan said.
It’s early days for the new Speaker in town, a job that demands the skills of an umpire and diplomat, a politician who can handle the ceremony of the post and command the respect of MPs to keep their behaviour in line.
As Regan discovered early on, one challenge of occupying the Speaker’s chair is learning names: of new MPs — there are almost 200 — new ridings and new ministries. But that won’t deter him in his goal of changing the tone of debate in the chamber. Canadians’ image of democracy and politicians depends on it, Regan says.
“When I see people who have negative views about the people who are in their democratic institutions, I get concerned about their views towards democracy,” Regan told the Star.
“I think we always have to look to ways to ensure that Parliament is relevant and that people feel they can have their say in the political process,” he said.
In one of the first acts of the new Parliament, Regan was elected Speaker in a secret ballot. He took the chair, denouncing the heckling that has become like a permanent white noise. One only has to go a few blocks from Parliament Hill to hear what Canadians really think about how things transpire in the chamber, Regan said.
“Ask a passerby what they think about people yelling in the House of Commons when someone is trying to talk and I think you’ll get an earful,” he said.
Regan stressed that he understands political parties have a responsibility to present alternative visions and policies, often opposing what the government is proposing. “That’s an adversarial process. There’s going to be a conflict of ideas, of proposals, of approaches. That’s healthy and I don’t want to live in a country where that doesn’t exist,” he said.
“People are going to have strong feelings about that sometimes. But what I’d like to see is a greater degree of respect shown for each other,” he said.
And he made clear that he is determined to shut down the kind of comments that veer far beyond political debate, the nasty and relentless putdowns that actually seek to deter fellow MPs from speaking in the chamber. “That’s not cool. That’s no longer appropriate,” Regan said. “It’s intimi- dation. It’s bullying. Let’s call it for what it is. Let’s try to bring an end to it and I hope Canadians will help me to achieve that.”
Having served as a cabinet minister, parliamentary secretary, backbench MP and opposition member, Regan has seen all corners of the Commons.
But the 56-year-old MP for the riding of Halifax West admits he never saw himself sitting in the Speaker’s chair. The Speaker’s elegant office in Centre Block serves as an ever-present, perhaps even intimidating, reminder of the history of the post that Regan takes on.
A scowling Winston Churchill looks down from one wall. The famous picture, taken by Yousuf Karsh in 1941, hangs in the very spot that was a backdrop for the photo. The names of past Speakers are carved into the woodwork above the elegant stone fireplace. Bookshelves hold bound copies of the Commons’ debates.
Educated as a lawyer, Regan comes from a political family. His wife, Kelly Regan, is a provincial cabinet minister in Nova Scotia. His father, Gerald, served in federal politics, including a stint in the cabinet of Pierre Trudeau’s government, and was also premier of Nova Scotia.
Regan says he always had an interest in parliamentary procedure, an interest honed during his time as parliamentary secretary for Government House Leader Don Boudria.
“I have a long-standing desire to see people’s sense of our democratic process and the House of Commons particularly improve their image of this place and the work we do and their image of politicians,” he said.
It’s easy to see the debates of years past through rose-coloured glasses, viewing them as always intelligent, civil and respectful. Clearly, that’s not the case. But Regan thinks the tone has gotten worse in recent years, a trend he is seeking to reverse.
Speakers have always sought to control debate in the Commons with congenial understatement, a polite “tut, tut” or repeated “order, order” to dampen unruly voices.
Regan says he too will be taking a “light touch,” using more carrot than stick to influence behaviour. “I want question period to flow as smoothly as possible so the less that I feel I have to say, the better,” Regan said.
Regan says he was heartened by how things unfolded in the few days the Commons sat. In a graceful note, Liberal Mauril Bélanger was named honorary speaker. The Ottawa MP withdrew from the race for speaker after he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
During the election, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Conservatives of serving up the “most centralized, partisan, self-serving” government in history. And he promised changes to Parliament to help reverse that.
Those changes include: Committees: A bigger role for parliamentary committees. Committee chairs will be elected by secret ballot and the committees will be given more resources to acquire independent, expert analysis of proposed legislation. Free votes: The Liberals promised more free votes, saying MPs will be required to adhere to the party line only for measures that implement the platform; traditional confidence matters, such as budget items; and those on values enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Question period: The Liberals say they will “restore relevance” to question period. This includes introduction of "prime minister’s question period," modelled on the practice in the British parliament where every Wednesday the prime minister fields questions for 30 minutes. Transparency: The Liberals promised to create common, quarterly expense reports that are more detailed than current reports. As well, the party also pledged to open up the Board of Internal Economy, the now-secretive all-party committee that oversees Commons’ administration.