Hickes leaving legislature

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This article was published 11/02/2011 (5537 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One of the Manitoba legislature’s longest-serving speakers is hanging up his robes for good this fall.

George Hickes, an NDP MLA for 20 years and the House’s first elected speaker, announced Thursday he will not seek re-election this fall.

Hickes, 64, said he wanted to spend more time with family members — including his nine brothers and one sister who live in Nunavut, where he was born.

“They reminded me that they’re all very close with one another but they’re not close with me because I have been away from Nunavut and family for over 25 years,” Hickes said of his siblings.

In November 1999, Hickes became the first elected speaker of the Manitoba legislature, chosen in a free vote of MLAs. Previously, speakers were appointed by the premier. Only three Manitobans have served longer in the speaker’s chair than the affable MLA for Point Douglas, who has forged close friendships on both sides of the House.

Also entering into his decision to retire was the “little health scare” he had last year when doctors removed a malignant tumour from his right lung. Hickes said he realized he needed more rest to protect his health.

“I’m not 21 anymore,” he said in an interview at his spacious Manitoba Legislative Building office.

Born in Nunavut, Hickes was raised in Churchill and caught beluga whales in his youth, earning him the nickname “coldwater cowboy.” He got involved in politics after working in adult education and training in Winnipeg and in the North. In September 1990, he was the first person of Inuit descent to be elected to the Manitoba legislature.

Hickes said he will not campaign for his party in the Oct. 4 provincial election because, as speaker, it’s important that he remain impartial.

While presiding over the legislative assembly he said he avoided caucus meetings, party functions and even cheque presentations in his own constituency.

He said he has got the most satisfaction as an MLA from working with constituents to help make Point Douglas a safer and more cohesive community.

But the avid hockey fan, whose nephew, Jordin Tootoo, plays for the NHL’s Nashville Predators, is also passionate about the role of the speaker in the operation of government.

Last fall, during a particularly unruly question period in which MLAs kept debating even as he stood calling for order, Hickes called a timeout and ordered the three party house leaders into his office. It may have been the first time in Manitoba history that a speaker recessed the House during question period.

“They just pushed it too far,” Hickes recalled on Thursday. He said he respects enthusiastic debate but insists that MLAs also respect the dignity of the House and, by extension, the voters who sent them there.

Premier Greg Selinger praised Hickes for his “stellar service.”

“As speaker he has earned the deep respect of members for his fairness and equanimity,” Selinger said in a statement.

Hickes and his wife Pauline have five children. The couple plan to continue living in Winnipeg.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca