In a sign of changing times in the new minority Parliament, a veteran British Columbia opposition MP has been named to the second-most pivotal job in the House of Commons.
Conservative Chuck Strahl has been appointed deputy speaker with the job of trying to mediate in a sometimes unruly Commons when speaker Peter Milliken is not there.
As deputy speaker, he also will preside as chair of the committee-of-the-whole when the Commons sits as a committee to consider legislation clause-by-clause.
Traditionally, the deputy speaker has been a government member but in their weakened minority position, the Liberals accepted opposition demands that the speaker name his own deputy. Milliken did so after talking to opposition leaders.
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It could be a delicate and difficult job because the Liberals do not have the votes to ensure their legislation passes. Tie votes will have to be broken by the chair, either Milliken or Strahl. The minority Parliament will likely be more rowdy than usual and keeping order will be a tall order.
Strahl, a former construction company executive in Chilliwack, B.C., was elected in 1993 as a Reform MP. He has been re-elected three times as a Canadian Alliance and now a Conservative MP.
MPs from all parties unanimously ratified the appointment.
“Chuck has long earned the respect and admiration of his colleagues in all parties for his knowledge of Parliament, his balanced approach and his good humour,” Conservative leader Stephen Harper said.
“This will serve him well in the speaker’s chair.”
Strahl’s appointment will reduce his Commons role as a partisan critic of the government.
During his 11 years as an opposition MP, he developed a reputation as one of the most articulate critics of the government. The avian flu crisis in B.C. hit Strahl’s riding hard and he regularly condemned both the actions of the government and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
