Nancy introduced tonight's special guest as the first Speaker of the House who has been our guest speaker. Of course Myrna Driedger is well known to our members as a long time honorary club member and a great friend of the club.
Myrna is here with half her robes, hat and gloves. She explained some of the reasons for the attire and was glad it no longer included a wig. She then told us how there are three branches of government - Legislative, Executive and Judicial and explained some of the differences. Myrna then quized us on everything Manitoba including the shape of the legislative chamber (horse shoe), number of MLA's (57), the symbol of authority (mace), number of Manitoba Legislative buildings (3), number of trips the Golden Boy made across the Atltantic during WWI before finally making his way to Winnipeg (5), official bird (Grey Owl), official flower (Crocus) and what Manitoba has more of than both Ontario and Quebec combined (curling rinks).
Myrna told us of the history and role of the Speaker. The first mention of a Speaker came in 1377. The title comes from the fact that it is this person who speaks on behalf of the legislature, taking its decisions to the King or Queen. In those early years, if the King didn't like what he heard, he was sometimes inclined to chop off the speakers head as the bearer of bad news. This is why the job of speaker wasn't always a welcome post and why to this day, a newly elected speaker feins reluctance as they are escorted to the chair by the leaders of the government and opposition.
The Manitoba speaker used to be appointed but has been elected to the position since 1999. Myrna was elected to the position in 2016 as the 30th speaker since Manitoba became a province.
The Speaker runs the assembly and is a servant of the house. Thus they must represent all interests and ensure fairness to all members in the house. They also act as a sort of referee, ensuring everyone follows the rules of the assembly and acts with proper decorum and respect for their fellow members. She once had to remove a member for not following these rules.
She says that 25% of the job is in chamber while the other 75% is not. These other duties include diplomatic, administration, security, education and outreach. For instance, she sits on a building renovation advisory committee that is allocating $10M per year over the next 15 years to keep the 100+ year old building from deteriorating any further than it has. She was also behind new installations that she hopes will inspire more girls and women to become involved in government. This is a passion of hers as despite the fact that this province was the first in the country to allow women to run for office, just 51 women vs. 850 men have held a seat in the first 100 years.
Myrna wrapped up by presiding over our very own question period.
Nancy wanted to know what tools she used to maintain order. 1- Stand (the rules require that the house is quiet when the Speaker stands). 2- Call an individual to order. 3- Kick an individual out of the house (they lose salary for each day they're removed). 4- Give them the "Stink Eye" (it's surprising how effective this is)
No member wants to be singled out as being unruly in assembly as this would be a matter of public record and can get back negatively to the electorate
Elaine commented on the name "Speaker" and how it's a bit of a misnomer. Myrna agrees as the Speaker usually doesn't get to speak.
Ed wanted to know how the corruption demonstrated in Angola can happen in a democracy. Myrna initially thought that too, but years of experience has taught her that wherever there are positions of power, corruption is possible.
Chuck thanked Myrna for her presentation and told her that the club would be making a donation to ShelterBox in honour of her visit to us today.
