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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

MPs heap praise on retiring Commons Speaker

By: Tobi Cohen

Posted: 03/26/2011 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

SEAN KILPATRICK / THE CANADIAN PRESS Enlarge Image

Peter Milliken gets a standing ovation following question period.

OTTAWA -- When Peter Milliken was first elected as Speaker of the House of Commons, he said the only legacy he hoped to leave at the end of his career was that he would be seen to have been a "fair and objective" arbiter of parliamentary procedure.

A decade later, as he braces for retirement while the country prepares for an election in which he won't be running for the first time since 1988, the country's longest-serving Speaker can rest easy knowing he's achieved his goal.

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On the last day of the 40th Parliament, colleagues of all political stripes stood up in the Commons to cheer the 64-year-old career politician who, though elected under the Liberal banner, has clearly earned the admiration and respect of all members of Parliament past and present who have served with him.

"For four terms as the Speaker, you have conducted yourself with great integrity (and) with great professionalism," Conservative House Leader John Baird said. "You are thoughtful, you are intelligent and you have enjoyed the confidence of this House each and every sitting day of those four (terms), and that is a remarkable accomplishment."

Baird, who recalled protesting Milliken's first run for politics while he was a teenager at Queen's University, now describes the man who first defeated longtime Tory Flora MacDonald for the riding of Kingston and the Islands as "one of the best Speakers, if not the best Speaker that the House of Commons has ever had."

In his "homage" to Milliken, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff described his colleague as a "faithful guardian of our best traditions." But he earned a barrage of heckles from the Conservatives when he thanked him for ruling against the Tories three times in a bid to "defend our democracy against the abuse of power."

Hours before the government lost the confidence of the House after being found in contempt of Parliament, Ignatieff said the one unfortunate consequence of having to trigger an election was that "we would send a great Speaker into retirement."

Another goal Milliken cited early on in his mandate was that of reducing party tensions by encouraging MPs to "mix and mingle" socially -- something Milliken followed through on with bimonthly dinner parties to which all MPs were invited.

While the last Parliament has been anything but cordial, there were moments during Friday's final raucous session in which the fruits of Milliken's labours as peacemaker could be seen.

As parliamentarians filed into the lower chamber for the big vote, members criss-crossed the floor, shaking hands and sharing embraces with their rivals.

-- Postmedia News

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 26, 2011 A5

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