Mr. Speaker, I like the idea of a hustings debate that would take place before the election of Speaker. We could perhaps hold it in the Reading Room or in the Railway Room, as opposed to the Brits, who hold it in Westminster Hall. It would be a better opportunity for members to ask more detailed questions of candidates for Speaker about what they are proposing to do.

It is necessary as well to have more debate on who would be the Speaker of this House, not in a formal setting of the House of Commons but maybe in one of the committee rooms that we have here on Parliament Hill. There in a more informal setting members could ask questions of prospective candidates for Speaker.

I believe that the role of Speaker is evolving. It is moving away from a more ceremonial role and is rapidly evolving in a House of Commons that is itself rapidly changing. There is increasing desire for reform of question period, reform of the way in which debates are conducted, and reform of the various daily proceedings of the House of Commons, so Speakers will increasingly need to state their positions and views on the evolution of our conventions in this House of Commons. Having a venue where members of Parliament can ask the candidates for Speaker where they stand on these various issues in greater detail is very important.

I would add that the Speaker's role needs to be strengthened. I for one believe that the Speaker should appoint the Clerk of the House of Commons. Currently, in effect, the Prime Minister appoints the Clerk of the House of Commons. I believe that is an undue intrusion of the executive branch of government into the legislature.

I also believe that the Speaker should be appointing the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons. Currently the Prime Minister in effect appoints the Sergeant-at-Arms, so clearly there are a number of other changes that we need to strengthen the division of powers between the executive and the legislative branches of government. I think many of these changes would require Speakers to state their position and the way forward for these types of reforms.

Some of them may be achieved through Standing Order changes and some of them may be achieved through a different reading of the Standing Orders. Some of them may be achieved through new conventions that are established by the members of this place in concert with the Speaker's ruling. Therefore, as we move to a future Parliament that I hope will renew and reform itself, I think it will become more and more important for members of this place to have a better understanding of where the various candidates stand on the issues.

Currently the way our system works with the exhaustive balloting system does not afford members of Parliament a great deal of opportunity to hear the various candidates speak on the various issues because there is often a limited amount of time for each candidate for Speaker to rise in this place and state his or her vision or view on where the House of Commons should go.

I will conclude by saying that what I hope we achieve in future Parliaments will be a series of first days of Parliament on which we have a series of discussions, not only on the floor of this House of Commons but also in party caucuses, about how we would govern ourselves for the life of that Parliament. I hope that eventually we will have a Parliament and a House of Commons where that debate takes place ahead of the first day of voting for the Speaker and where, in an informal session, members of Parliament can ask the various candidates for Speaker where they stand on the various issues. I hope it can take place here in the House when we first vote on a preferential ballot for Speaker and hopefully eventually vote for committee members.

If the reform act passes, I also hope those discussions will take place in the first meetings of party caucuses, where members of caucuses can come together and debate how caucuses are to be governed, how chairs of caucuses are to be elected, how members are to be expelled and readmitted, how party leaders are to be reviewed and removed, and how interim leaders are to be elected in the event of a sudden resignation, incapacity, death, or removal.

I thank my colleague for that question.

Michael Chong

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