2009 Legislative Session: First Session, 39th Parliament
HANSARD
The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.
The printed version remains the official version.
official report of
Debates of the Legislative Assembly
(hansard)
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Morning Sitting
Volume 1, Number 1
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CONTENTS |
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Election of Speaker |
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[ Page 1 ]
TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2009
The House met at 10:06 a.m.
This being the first day of the first session of the 39th Legislative Assembly of the province of British Columbia for the dispatch of business, pursuant to a proclamation of the Hon. Steven Point, 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: Good morning. His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor is about to enter the chamber.
His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor entered the chamber and took his seat on the throne.
Hon. M. de Jong: 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 enabled to declare, during the afternoon, his reason for calling you together.
His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor retired from the chamber.
Election of Speaker
Clerk of the House: Members of the Legislative Assembly, it is my duty to inform you that only one candidate has declared an intention to stand for the election of Speaker pursuant to Standing Order 11. Therefore, I wish to announce that Bill Barisoff, the member for Penticton, is declared elected as Speaker.
Hon. B. Barisoff took his place in the chair.
Mr. Speaker: Well, first of all, thank you very much.
Mr. Premier, the Leader of the Official Opposition, hon. Members, I want to humbly thank you for re-electing me to this honourable position. The last four years have been great, and I look forward to continuing with the grace and integrity that this office bestows upon us as the Legislative Assembly.
With that, in keeping with tradition, I will ask that we take a short recess while I dress in the appropriate attire. So we'll take a short recess for five minutes, and I'll be back.
The House recessed from 10:12 a.m. to 10:21 a.m.
[Mr. Speaker in the chair.]
Mr. Speaker: Hon. Members, first of all, it's good to see everybody back. I know that it's going to be a very busy time for the foreseeable future. At this time I would like to call on the Premier of British Columbia to say a few words.
Hon. G. Campbell: Hon. Speaker, let me first start by saying congratulations to you and thank you for taking on this onerous responsibility as Speaker of our House.
The Speaker has been a member of this Assembly since 1996, and you will all be pleased to hear that this is the first time his mother has actually been here to watch him organize the House and manage us and keep everything the way it should be.
I'd like to give a special thank-you from the House and welcome to the House to his mother and to his wife, Edna. Welcome to British Columbia's Legislature.
Mr. Speaker, in the spirit of the positive discussions we're going to have in this House, I wanted to congratulate you on the establishment of the new chamber audio headsets. I know the House in the past has sometimes been raucous and you've had to ask us to quieten down, but now with these headsets I'm sure we're going to have thoughtful, deliberative conversations about how to solve the problems of British Columbia. I think it is a very ingenious innovation, Mr. Speaker. I want to say thank you for that as well.
I also want to welcome all members on both sides of the House back to the 39th parliament. I think this is going to be, obviously, a very important session for all of us. We are living in very significantly changing times, a time that calls for all of us to come together and work on behalf of British Columbians.
I know, hon. Speaker, you will do your best to make sure we're doing just that. So congratulations, and welcome back.
Mr. Speaker: Thank you.
The Leader of the Official Opposition.
C. James: Mr. Speaker, on behalf of this side of the House I'd like to offer our congratulations to you as well. We've had the good fortune of working with you over the last four years, and I had the good fortune of working with you in our past lives around the school board table. I know your integrity, and I know the strength you bring to the role, so on all our behalf, I'd like to say thank you for serving in this role.
There is no question that democracy can be noisy, can be messy, can be loud and can be heated. I expect we'll see some of that through this legislative session. But I'm also confident, Mr. Speaker, that with your good rule from the chair, we will ensure that we are able to do our job as an official opposition, that the government can come forward and do their job and that we can ensure that issues will be raised on behalf of the people of British Columbia.
Thank you so much for serving, Mr. Speaker.
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Hon. M. de Jong: Mr. Speaker, the House will now adjourn until two o'clock this afternoon, when His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor will present the Speech from the Throne.
Hon. M. de Jong moved adjournment of the House.
Motion approved.
Mr. Speaker: This House stands adjourned until two o'clock this afternoon.
The House adjourned at 10:25 a.m.
Copyright © 2009: British Columbia Hansard Services, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
ISSN 1499-2175