BRENDA O’FARRELL
The 1510 West
Newly re-elected West Island MP Francis Scarpaleggia played to the crowd in the House of Commons on Monday as he was mockingly dragged to the Speaker’s chair by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Conservative interim leader Andrew Scheer after being elected the 40th Speaker of the House.
The new job puts the MP for the riding of Lac-Saint-Louis in charge of managing the lower house, including ensuring order and decorum are maintained during Question Period.
Scarpaleggia performed his first formal duty yesterday as he led members of the House into the Senate for the reading of the Speech from the Throne by King Charles.
Scarpaleggia, who was first elected to the House of Commons in 2004, was re-elected last month marking the beginning of his eighth term in Parliament. Receiving 67.4 per cent of the votes cast in the April 28 vote in the riding – which includes Pointe Claire, Beaconsfield, Baie d’Urfé, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Senneville, Kirkland and a small section of western Pierrefonds-Roxboro – he recorded his highest level of support. He is now longest-serving Liberal in Quebec.
The duties of Speaker also gives Scarpaleggia a $99,900 annual pay raise, bringing his base salary of an MP of $208,800 to $309,700. He will now also be provided with an official residence in Gatineau Park, across the river from Ottawa, known as The Farm. A small apartment in the House of Commons will also be at his disposal.
The speaker is chosen by MPs by secret ballot. He beat five other Liberal candidates, including the former speaker, fellow Liberal MP Greg Fergus, who represents the Quebec riding of Hull-Alymer. Just hours before the vote two Conservative candidates for the post – Chris d’Entremont of Nova Scotia and John Nater of Ontario – pulled their names from the race.
“I would like to remind colleagues that we are at the beginning of a mandate, in the selfish hope that you will afford me a little grace period,” Scarpaleggia said in his first words to the chamber on Monday, displaying an upbeat tone as the new Parliament sets to begin what is expected to be a busy first few weeks.
Scarpallegia was not available for further comment yesterday.
Although the position allows Scarpaleggia to maintain his status as a Liberal MP, the role carries an expectation that its duties are carried out impartially. They do not get to vote on legislation, except in the event of a tie.