JAKARTA- Canada announced the appointment of Greg Fergus as the new Speaker of the House of Representatives, making him the first Black Canadian to hold the position.
Liberal Party MP Fergus will replace Anthony Rota, who resigned last week after inviting the former Nazi MP to the Canadian Parliament during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s speech on September 22.
Rota said he did not know of Varoslav Hunka’s ties to the Nazis, but when Hunka’s past became known, Rota’s misdeeds made international headlines. This is a huge embarrassment for Parliament and for all Canadians.
Fergus is one of seven deputies running for the presidency of the DPR. The speaker of parliament is the person responsible for monitoring the behavior of parliamentarians, setting the parliamentary agenda and making decisions on how debates take place.
Canadian parliamentarians frequently engage in heated and unproductive debates, often accompanied by actions such as interrupting the speaker with taunts, insults, and other negative comments.
Fergus said he hoped to restore order and respect in Parliament.
“Respect and courtesy – I will work hard on this and I need your help to achieve this,” Fergus said in his speech to MPs after being elected in a secret ballot, as reported by Anadolu’s ANTARA, Wednesday October 4.
“Respect is a fundamental part of what we do here,” he said.
“We must ensure that we treat each other with respect and set that example for Canadian society. There can be no dialogue without a shared understanding of respect.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wished Fergus every success in his efforts.
“We elected you to help us be respectful in our debates, to remind us that we are all here for the same reason, to serve Canadians,” Trudeau said.
Although he is a member of a political party, Fergus’ role as DPR chairman is non-partisan or neutral and does not take sides in the exercise of his duties.
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