The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, has welcomed the election of the Honourable Greg Fergus as the new Speaker of the House of Commons in Canada today, October 3, 2023.
According to the statement released from the office of the Prime Minister stated that Fergus was elected by the fellow Canadian Members of Parliament through a secret ballot, the Speaker of House of Commons oversees the sittings.
Also, the Speaker is in control proceedings of House, maintaining order and decorum in the chamber, providing impartial interpretation of its rules, and defending the rights and privileges of its members.
Reacting to this development, the Prime Minister said, “Today is a historic day. Greg Fergus not only brings a wealth of experience to this role, he is the first Black Canadian to become Speaker of the House of Commons, an inspiration to all Canadians, especially younger generations who want to get involved in politics”.
Trudeau congratulated the new Speaker on his election, and looking forward to continue working with him, and all Members of Parliament, to uphold the values that unite them as Canadians, make progress on the issues facing the country and the world, and build a more prosperous future for all.
In his new role, Speaker Fergus will work to promote free speech and healthy debate in the House while upholding openness, transparency, and trust in democratic processes, as Members of Parliament continue to work hard to address the issues that matter most to Canadians.
It was reported that Parliament has a new Speaker of the House in Liberal MP Greg Fergus, who had previously served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau.
In his pitch for the job, Fergus vowed to improve the decorum in the House of Commons, something his predecessor promised with little success.
“What brought us here today requires a response. Words matter. Symbols matter. This, I know,” said Fergus Tuesday morning, hoping to charter a new course and put Nazigate behind Parliament.
Though the Speaker oversees the entire parliamentary bureaucracy and budget, Fergus is not expected to attend party caucus meetings as is the norm for the role.
The Speaker’s role is to act independently of the government and adjudicate disagreements over the rules. “As your Speaker, I will restore, and quickly bring back the honour to this Chamber,” he pledged before MPs voted him in via secret ballot.
Fergus also boasted his parliamentary nerdiness, claiming to have “subscribed to and read” transcripts of Commons debates since the age of 14.
The Liberal MP from Hull-Aylmer told House parties he would be a “firm, thoughtful, collaborative, consistent and certainly fair” Speaker of the House.
His predecessor MP Anthony Rota became the Speaker in 2019 after upsetting establishment candidate and fellow Liberal MP Geoff Regan, the previous House Speaker who had the backing of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).