HALIFAX - A day before the start of the Nova Scotia legislature鈥檚 fall sitting, Premier Tim Houston refused to say Wednesday whether his government would attempt to replace the Speaker.
Keith Bain鈥檚 future is uncertain 鈥 Progressive Conservative government members and Houston鈥檚 office confirmed last week that there had been discussions around 鈥渟uccession planning鈥 in regards to the Speaker.
News website first reported that the Tories were trying to convince Bain to step down.
However, following a health-care announcement Wednesday, Houston accused reporters of trying to manufacture a story about alleged plans to oust Bain, although the premier didn鈥檛 elaborate.
As the premier left the news conference, he was followed by reporters who attempted to press him further. In response, he would only say that there is plenty of time to discuss many issues once the legislature convenes on Thursday, and he added that Bain is a 鈥渨onderful person and great caucus colleague.鈥
In a Facebook post to his constituents last week, Bain confirmed that he had decided 鈥渘ot to resign as requested.鈥
鈥淚 feel it is my duty as Speaker to continue until such time as the House declares I shouldn鈥檛,鈥 Bain wrote.
A majority vote is needed in the legislature to remove Bain, a veteran member of the Progressive Conservative caucus who was elected Speaker shortly after the Tories came to power in August 2021.
The Speaker is the presiding officer of Nova Scotia's House of Assembly; among the Speaker鈥檚 responsibilities are to maintain order and decorum, and to ensure all viewpoints are heard.
Both the Opposition Liberals and the NDP have voiced support for Bain, describing him as fair and highly respected.
Lori Turnbull, a political scientist at Dalhousie University, says she is puzzled why the government is creating an issue about a Speaker who hasn鈥檛 been tainted by scandal or a major gaffe. 鈥淚t seems an unforced error for Houston,鈥 Turnbull said. 鈥淲hy start the fall sitting with something like this?鈥
She said if a vote to oust Bain moves ahead in the legislature, it would draw negative attention to the government at a time when people are dealing with the rising cost of living, housing shortages and the widespread damage caused by post-tropical storm Fiona.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 going to be a bad look for the government to the extent that they are spending time on an internal management issue with respect to the Speaker, as opposed to things that people really want to talk about,鈥 Turnbull said.
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill said Wednesday his party is urging the premier to 鈥渟tand down鈥 when it comes to Bain.
鈥淭hat position (Speaker) should not be politicized in a partisan way,鈥 Churchill said. 鈥淚t is meant to be impartial. We support him (Bain) in the role; he鈥檚 been very good.鈥
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said any attempt to remove the Speaker would be 鈥減ractically unprecedented鈥 and dangerous from a democratic point of view.
鈥淚t is the only role in the legislative assembly that is by definition neutral,鈥 Chender said. 鈥淢any Speakers 鈥 and Keith Bain is no exception 鈥 have really done their best to uphold the responsibilities of that office.鈥
Under the previous Liberal government, Speaker Kevin Murphy served for eight years from 2013 to 2021.
The only time a Speaker of the Nova Scotia legislature was forced to resign was in 1875.
This report by 香港六合彩挂牌资料 was first published Oct. 12, 2022.
