(Hansard)
TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 1996
Morning
Volume 1, Number 1
[ Page 1 ]
The House met at 10:07 a.m.
This being the first day of the first session of the thirty-sixth Legislative Assembly of the province of British Columbia for the dispatch of business, pursuant to a proclamation of the Hon. G. Gardom, Lieutenant-Governor of the province, hon. members took their seats, after having taken the prescribed oath and having signed the parliamentary roll.
Clerk of the House: His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor is about to enter the chamber. Would members please rise.
His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, having entered the House, took his seat on the throne.
Hon. U. Dosanjh: Members of the Legislative Assembly, I am commanded by His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor to announce that he does not see fit to declare the cause of his summoning you at this time and will not do so until you have chosen a Speaker to preside over your honourable body. His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor hopes to be able to declare, during the afternoon, his reason for calling you together.
His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor retired from the chamber.
Hon. D. Lovick took his place in the chair.
The Speaker: Hon. members, I want to thank you very kindly for the honour you have bestowed on me and to give you my solemn assurances that I will endeavour to carry out my duties with fairness and with integrity.
I must start by asking for your patience. I am now going to declare a short recess so that I might assume the proper attire. Or, in more modern parlance, please excuse me while I change into something less comfortable.
The House recessed from 10:13 a.m. to 10:25 a.m.
[The Speaker in the chair.]
Hon. G. Clark: Hon. Speaker, on behalf of all members -- obviously the government side in particular -- let me be the first to congratulate you on your election to the Speaker's chair. It gives me great pleasure, as you know, Mr. Speaker, to have come to this chamber at the same time you did -- almost ten years ago.
Interjection.
Hon. G. Clark: It feels much shorter than that, actually.
Almost ten years ago we came together as members of the opposition. We worked together in opposition for five years, and then in government for almost five years -- and now as Speaker for a full five years.
Mr. Speaker, you are truly a parliamentarian's parliamentarian. You know the rules better than anybody in this chamber. In spite of that, we decided to elect you as Speaker. You have some other qualities, which we know well, that I know will keep you in good stead with this unruly bunch. A thespian with knowledge of Latin, you have other qualities that will come to bear, including your use of the English language. I might recommend your first order be to assign a dictionary for all members of the House so we can understand some of your no doubt articulate rulings. [Laughter.]
Seriously, on behalf of the government members of the House, it really does give me great pleasure. It's an honour for all of us to serve in the chamber, and it's an honour to be elected by your peers to be the one to try to keep order in this chamber. For our part, I know that we intend to work hard to try to ensure that your rulings are as simple and easy as possible and that we don't put you in a position of acting in a partisan manner. I know you won't do that.
We wish you all the best. Good luck -- you may well need it.
The Speaker: The Leader of the Opposition.
G. Campbell: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to have been the first, but people decided that I was going to have to be second again, so there you go.
It's a pleasure to congratulate you on your support from the House today. It is important, I think, that the House be managed by someone who does understand the rules and who can act in a non-partisan way, and I know you will do that. I would like to spend some time in your chamber with you a little later to find out how you have these kinds of elections. We've been specializing in razor-thin victories.
It's important for all of us to know that we all sit in this House today -- and over the next five years, according to the Premier -- serving all of the people of British Columbia. There are times in the House when it's necessary for you to remind us that we speak for all of the voices in British Columbia, from the Peace River to the Kootenays to Vancouver Island to the lower mainland. We're looking forward to working in this House in a constructive way. We know from your past and from your experience not just as Deputy Speaker but as Chair of committees that you will treat all of us fairly and with integrity. We look forward to working with you in this House to make sure our province delivers on the promise of the future to the next generation of British Columbians.
The Speaker: I recognize the member for Peace River South.
J. Weisgerber: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thought it important at this first sitting to remind all members that there are other members sitting at the end of the chamber.
[10:30]
Mr. Speaker, I too first came here in 1986, when you were elected. It has been a pleasure to serve with you. I think all members who have been here over that period of time recognize your experience, your knowledge. We too look forward to a House that is here to serve the interests of British Columbians. We have an opportunity for a fresh start in this House. We have an opportunity to start to deal with the business of British Columbians and to put that business ahead of the interests of our own parties.
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So I join in congratulating you. I look forward to the next three or four years, at least, before we again go to British Columbians and ask them to choose people to govern on their behalf.
The Speaker: The member for Powell River-Sunshine Coast.
G. Wilson: Thank you, hon. Speaker. I'd very much like to offer my congratulations as well. I believe you will take charge of this House and that we will have good, honest debate on behalf of the people of British Columbia. I'm also confident that when the vote gets close, it will be only too apparent that there are other members in this House down at this end of the chamber. I do think we have a great deal of challenge ahead of us right now if we are to look after the interests of the people of British Columbia. This is a heavy responsibility. I for one am pleased that you are in the chair to make sure our debate goes forward in a proper manner. Congratulations.
Hon. J. MacPhail: Hon. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn until 2 p.m. today, when his Honour the Lieutenant-Governor will present the Speech from the Throne.
Hon. J. MacPhail moved adjournment of the House.
Motion approved.
The House adjourned at 10:32 a.m.