Former Speaker David J Carter ( Photo by Colton McKee)

By Hayley Ferguson

David J Carter

Former conservative Speaker concerned over Bill 22 and the removal of Notley

Nov 20, 2019 | 5:56 PM

Medicine Hat, AB – In Edmonton, there are talks that Rachel Notley is going to have to apologize before she is allowed back in the Legislative Assembly.

Former conservative MLA David J. Carter was Speaker of the House for seven years between 1986 and 1993.

Carter is firm that the rules do not require an apology for Notley to be welcomed back to the assembly though.

“The Speaker just removed her from the legislature for the balance of that day. She does not have to come back and apologize. If perhaps some of the government or the office of the speaker say’s she now has to apologize. I’m sorry, that’s all gone,” he said.

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The Cypress Hills resident also feels that when Notley was asked to leave by current Speaker Nathan Cooper, he showed bias.

While Cooper was elected as a conservative, as Speaker, he is required to be nonpartisan.

“This present Speaker chooses to call the member to order. That’s fair enough. Expect right then he should have just said ‘Honourable Member, I’m calling to order. Please reconsider.,’” Carter explained. “You don’t go on to discussing the member, which he did three times, which was a serious misstep. And I’m being polite.”

That wasn’t the only mistake Cooper made according to Carter.

“When you call a member, you don’t give the name. That’s wrong. I call them to order because as the member for your riding. I do not call you Rachel Notley. Rachel Notley does not exist in the Legislative Assembly. You are there as an MLA for a specific riding in this province,” he said. “The speaker can not get himself into debate. This speaker did.”

While Carter says he has been nonpartisan since he was first named Speaker, he is extremely worried about Bill 22.

The bill that caused Notley to be kicked out, is “draconian” according to Carter.

“Now we have a Speaker who is supposed to defend these legislative officers. But never the less, the bill before the house seriously attacks without any kind of conscious, is attacking a member of the legislature,” he said. “A number of sacred principals in parliamentary democracy are seriously being violated.”