Rota re-elected speaker as new Parliament kicks off with friction over vaccine mandate
CTV
Friction over the new mandatory vaccination policy already was front and centre on Monday, with Parliamentarians back to work in Ottawa, making it one of the first issues re-elected House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota will likely soon be weighing in on. Rota was elected as the first and main order of business Monday, in a secret and ranked ballot election. It'll now be their role to oversee the goings-on in the Chamber and act as the impartial adjudicator over all House business.
Liberal MP Rota was elected as the first and main order of business Monday, in a secret and ranked ballot election. It’ll once again be his role to oversee the goings-on in the Chamber and act as the impartial adjudicator over all House business.
“Thank you again for the confidence that you have placed in me as Speaker for a second term. I am very honoured to be up here… I guess one of the good things of being Speaker is, I have probably upset both sides equally so I appreciate you,” the Nipissing-Timiskaming, Ont. MP said to laughter and applause, after beating out six other contenders for the role, which comes with a with a nearly $89,000 salary top-up.
The first day of the 44th Parliament saw a mix of new and re-elected MPs return to the House of Commons for the first time in five months, and two months after the 2021 federal election.
The energy was decidedly that of a first day at school, with colleagues excitedly greeting one another, some for the first time, and others potentially for the first time in-person in more than a year.
