A Tale of Two Speakers

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Greg Fergus from Quebec, the newly minted Speaker of the House of Commons
 in Ottawa. Photo Credit: online pic.

Canada and the U.S. are cousins. They once sang God Save The King. America got rid of the monarchy completely and became a republic, while Canada still clings to Buckingham Palace. That’s why Queen Elizabeth was Canada’s head of state, a chore passed on to her son, King Charles.

However, Americans and Canadians retained England’s system of government: lower house and upper house. The lower house is called the House of Representatives in the U.S., the House of Commons in Canada. Both have Speakers. This month, October should be declared the Month of Speakers because of what is happening in both countries.

Canada

Greg Fergus was elected speaker of the House of Commons, by the Liberal Party on 3 October. On 18 October, he was heckled by the opposition party about how things are done in parliament, his role as speaker and time allocated to certain procedures. He must not take it to heart. Heckling is part of the British parliamentary system rooted in the class system, where earls and barons carried over the fun they had in elite boarding schools, into parliament. POINT OF ORDER, is the favourite cricket bat.

United States

America also has a speaker crisis, which we can call lost in translation, because currently, there is no official speaker. Patrick McHenry is just a temp. It began with the majority Republican Party firing Kevin McCarthy the Speaker. Steve Scalise was nominated to be the next man for the job, but could not garner enough votes. Next in line was Jim Jordan, the unabashed Trump disciple. Same outcome, not enough votes to be speaker.

Question

What would America like for Christmas? A Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Nonqaba waka Msimang

Executive Blogger

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