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| Speaker of the House Peter Milliken. |
Peter Milliken is in a hurry.
A vote has come up in the House of Commons, which is why the Speaker of the House is rushing to tie up his parliamentary dress when I enter his library-like office. He apologizes that he might have to cut our interview short, a prospect which worries me: I have a whole slew of questions to ask Canada鈥檚 longest-serving Speaker, not only about his time as a AV俱乐部 student but about the unique experience of overseeing Parliament through 10 tumultuous years of political history.
My worries vanish as Mr. Milliken takes a seat and starts answering my questions with clinical precision: short, succinct, charmingly utilitarian. The man has efficient conversation honed to a science.
It鈥檚 possibly the only way to survive as Speaker. Lest you think that the job begins and ends at question period, Mr. Milliken runs me through his agenda for the day. Even though the House isn鈥檛 formally sitting, it鈥檚 still chockfull: four receptions, including one at the National Gallery; plans for both lunch and dinner (the latter an event he鈥檚 hosting, no less), several important correspondences to respond to...oh, and the vote in the House that just came up. He doesn鈥檛 expect to make it back to his residence until late evening.
鈥淭he hours,鈥� he answers without hesitation when asked his least favourite part of the job. 鈥淚f I鈥檓 lucky I鈥檒l get a morning at home in Kingston on the weekend. But usually the weekends are pretty busy as well.鈥�
On one of those weekends, a few weeks after we spoke, he told a hometown crowd of friends, family and supporters that he will not run in the next federal election. So begins the process of ending a vast and distinguished career in Canadian politics. Few Speakers in our country鈥檚 history have made such an indelible mark.
In the House of Commons, procedure makes the Speaker the centre of attention; he鈥檚 the conduit through which every debate and cross-floor exchange takes place. ?But he鈥檚 often invisible to those of us watching at home, edged out by political soundbites.
There are exceptions. Only 11 times in Canadian history has the Speaker of the House had to cast a vote in the case of a tie; he lays claim to six of those votes, most famously on a 2005 budget amendment that constituted a confidence motion. (As is procedure, he voted 鈥測ea鈥� because it moved the matter forward.) And some of his decisions, such as his 2007 ruling allowing an opposition bill on the Kyoto Accord, have earned national media attention.
Even by those standards, though, his ruling on April 27 this year was unique.聽Citing national security concerns, the minority Conservative government was refusing to share sensitive documents on the possible abuse of prisoners in Afghanistan. The opposition had voted to demand their release. Stuck in a stalemate, the House asked the Speaker for a ruling: does parliament have the authority to demand the documents, or does the government have the right to withhold them?
Many saw this as a potentially landmark decision: a ruling on the balance of power between cabinet and Parliament that may have longstanding implications. But the attention took Mr. Milliken by surprise.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think it would be that big a deal for the media at the time, but obviously, given what happened the next day in the newspapers and on TV, I guess they thought it was,鈥� he says with a modest chuckle. 鈥淚t got a lot of coverage, which was a bit of a surprise because, generally, my rulings...well...don鈥檛.鈥�
Political watchers tuned in as the Speaker delivered a ruling that affirmed parliamentary supremacy while delaying judgment on whether the government was in contempt. Instead, he urged both sides to work toward balancing the competing concerns. A week later, a compromise was reached.
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| At work in the House of Commons. |
That sense of fairness 鈥� a belief in encouraging cooperation in Parliament 鈥� is a trait that has followed Mr. Milliken through his time in office. It鈥檚 why he, a Liberal, has continued to earn the support of the House even as the government changed hands to the Conservatives. And it helps explain why the cordiality built into his schedule is so important: if he鈥檚 going to command the attention of Canada鈥檚 parliamentarians, he also needs their respect.聽
Spending time with fellow MPs is fun as well. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot more in there, the House, that鈥檚 for show. Most members love to sit down and chat with each other, over dinner or when we go on foreign missions together. They鈥檙e really great to work with.鈥�
You鈥檇 almost think Mr. Milliken, the eldest of seven children raised in Kingston, was destined to be Speaker; at the very least, a life in politics was an obvious career path. Not only does it run in the family (his cousin is former MP John Matheson), but he was a teenage subscriber to Hansard.
鈥淚 think I was in Grade 7,鈥� he recalls. 鈥淚 had a class trip up and watched the House and I thought it was fascinating. I don鈥檛 know how much more I can explain it than that; it鈥檚 just something that gripped my interest right away.鈥�
Like many with political ambitions, Speaker Milliken sought out a career in law, which brought him to AV俱乐部 in 1970 after two years at Oxford.
鈥淏ecause I was finishing my degree in a single year, I had to take a first-year course in criminal law, to my recollection, and the rest of them were second- or third-year courses. So I got to meet a lot of the students because I was in these different classes for different years.
鈥淚 maintain contact with a lot of those students from when I was there.鈥�
Jumping into political life in 1988, he won the Liberal nomination and defeated a Progressive Conservative cabinet minister. He took an immediate shine to parliamentary procedure; his first major speech in the House was on a point of order. Little wonder that when the Liberals took power in 1993 he made his way through several procedure-heavy roles: parliamentary secretary to the government House leader, chair of the Commons procedure and House affairs committees, and deputy Speaker of the House.
In 2001, Mr. Mililken was elected Speaker of the House; as is custom, he was dragged to the chair by the prime minister while feigning opposition.
鈥淚 was very keen to do the job but, of course, I resisted, 鈥� he says with a laugh.
In the years that followed, he became renowned not only for his commitment to fairness and good order, but also a dry sense of humour.
He鈥檚 modest about his accomplishments, though. Asked what he鈥檇 like to be remembered for as Speaker, he returns once again to fairness.
鈥淚 guess just the importance of trying to be fair and equitable in the way that you apply the rules of the House to the members when they鈥檙e raising issues. I think that鈥檚 the basic and most important part. That鈥檚 how you keep everyone happy.鈥澛�
Of all the questions I ask Speaker Milliken, he seems happiest answering one that comes spontaneously from a tangent. His eyes light up about reading things other than parliamentary precedent.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 get to read that many books, unfortunately. I鈥檝e got a great stack of them 鈥� and I mean BIG stack 鈥� of unread books, because I just don鈥檛 get time to read them. I read a lot of magazines. Policy Options, The Economist, The Walrus, Foreign Affairs. That鈥檚 how I try and keep up with the news, but just getting through those is difficult. In the summer I鈥檒l get a book or two read, and usually at Christmas time too. But it鈥檚 not easy.鈥�
At the end of our conversation, I asked him whether he鈥檇 thought about his future after being Speaker; he told me it was a bridge he hadn鈥檛 crossed yet. In hindsight, though, I could almost see his gaze turning away from the stoic halls of power on Parliament Hill and towards that pile of books on his desk at home in Kingston.
A political retirement well-earned, he鈥檚 got a lot of reading to do.