REGINA - Todd Goudy has officially been elected the new Speaker of the Saskatchewan Legislature.
Goudy, the MLA for Melfort, was elected by acclamation Monday morning in the first order of the business for the Legislature on the first day of the session.
As is customary, Goudy was dragged from his seat, escorted by Premier Scott Moe and Opposition Leader Carla Beck to the speaker’s chair.
As well, Lumsden-Morse MLA Blaine McLeod is set to be the new Deputy Speaker, also by acclamation. Both Goudy and McLeod were the only candidates to submit their names by a 5 p.m. deadline on Nov. 20.
In his initial remarks in the Speaker's chair, Goudy spoke of one issue that came to the fore in the last House -- that of the decline in decorum in the legislature. He recounted a time a number of years earlier when he noticed things get out of hand.
"I did notice that it was getting a little out of control at times, and I was kind of upset. At both sides, to a degree. And so I went to two people that are very independent. And I asked them, I said, you know, I think things are getting a little bit kind of out of control in there. And I said, any advice? And these two individuals, who know the history of the place very well, told me, they said, 'You know what, we’ve been noticing the same thing. And we would say that the government side hardly has any members that have ever served on the opposition side, and they don’t know what it’s like to be the opposition. And they don’t understand the difficulties and the frustrations of being in the opposition seats. And the opposition doesn’t have anyone, that had served in the past on the government side, currently sitting, and they don’t understand the frustrations and the difficulties of being in the government.'
"And so I would say that we need to extend grace from both sides. We need to have healthy debate and do your jobs, and I’m looking forward to that. I love wit as much as the next guy, you know, to hear some comments and things at times. But let’s remember that we don’t understand what the other people go through. We don’t understand what’s going on in our homes, in our private lives. And so let’s respect one another and honour one another and be kind to one another."
Goudy takes over as Speaker from Randy Weekes, who departed the Legislature after the previous term.
