Duties
The Speaker of the House of Commons has important responsibilities of a procedural, administrative, and ceremonial nature. He or she is elected by secret ballot by the whole House in a process overseen by the Dean of the House (the Member with the longest consecutive service who is not a Minister or Officer of the House). The Speaker must carry out his responsibilities in a non-partisan manner and with strict impartiality and can not vote on any motions unless there is a tie vote.
As the chief presiding officer, he or she must maintain order in the Chamber and is responsible for procedural activities. The Speaker is also the Chairman of the Board of Internal Economy which is responsible for the administration of the 1500 House of Commons employees and its annual budget which exceeds $200 million. Moreover, the Speaker is the representative of the House of Commons in its relations with the Crown, the Senate, and authorities outside Parliament. In this capacity, he welcomes many visiting dignitaries and delegations and represents the House at national events and during visits abroad. In addition, the Speaker continues to carry out his or her responsibilities as a Member of Parliament for the their own riding constituents.
The Honourable Peter Milliken
The Honourable Peter Milliken was elected Speaker of the House of Commons on January 29th, 2001. He is the third Speaker in history to be chosen by a secret ballot cast by his fellow Members of the House of Commons.
Mr. Milliken was born and raised in Kingston, Ontario. He was educated at Queen’s, Oxford, and Dalhousie Universities. In 1973, he was called to the bar of Ontario and enrolled as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Ontario. Mr. Milliken was a partner in a Kingston law firm from 1973 until 1988 before his election to Parliament.
Mr. Milliken was first elected to the House of Commons in 1988 as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Kingston and the Islands and was re-elected in 1993, 1997, 2000, and 2004. He held several positions including, in opposition, Party Critic for Election Reform and Associate Critic for Seniors, Assistant Party House Leader (House Business), Vice-Chairman of the Special Committee on Electoral Reform and Member of the Standing Committee on House Management. In government, Mr. Milliken served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Government House Leader, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs and Co-Chair of the Special Joint Committee on a Code of Conduct. In 1996, he was named Deputy Chairman of Committees of the Whole House. In 1997, Mr. Milliken was appointed Deputy Speaker of the House and Chairman of the Committees of the Whole House. On January 29th, 2001, he was elected 34th Speaker of the House of Commons and was re-elected as Speaker for the 38th and 39th Parliaments.
SOURCES: The Speaker of the House of Commons and the Library of Parliament.
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