Nipissing-Timiskaming MP Anthony Rota says it is a great honour to be elected Speaker of the House of Commons.
“That morning we had all the instructions and we voted, and then I found out later that morning and it was a real thrill and honour,” Rota explained. “When you have people in your riding voting for you, it is very appreciative, but once you get to Ottawa and you have your own peers voting for you, it’s pretty nerve-wracking.”
The vote came from not just his own party, the Liberals, but all 338 MP’s elected to represent their ridings which he says feels like validation.
“I think I have always been known as someone who will work with people regardless of party, regardless of who they are,” Rota stated. “It’s about making things happen, so it does validate what I was thinking and how I believe things should be done.”
Rota isn’t just the first Speaker from the Nipissing-Timiskaming riding, but he is also the first Speaker of the House in Canada of Italian descent.
“It’s a real honour to be Speaker of the House since there have only been 37 since Confederation,” Rota said. “There’s only one per sitting so it is a real honour. To be the first one of Italian descent is an honour to my heritage, and a milestone that I find, is very emotional, knowing that you’re the first one there.”
Since being elected on December 5, Rota has been very busy meeting with the house leaders from all the parties.
“I’m making sure we are all on the same track and all working for Canadians, not necessarily our own parties,” Rota said. “It’s about making sure the House of Commons works well.”
Presiding over meetings in the House of Commons isn’t the only responsibility that is taken on by being elected Speaker, however.
“Two things that need to be done for the Speaker, one is the Speaker’s office is in charge of administering the premises and precinct of the whole of Parliament Hill,” Rota explained. “It’s a fairly large budget and we make sure everything runs smoothly, whether it is the guards, the kitchen, or administration or services to MP’s.”
“Another part of the Speaker’s responsibilities is when we have dignitaries who come to Ottawa, whether Heads of States, Prime Ministers, Presidents, from around the world, it is the Speaker’s job to greet them and have high-level discussions with them on what is going on between the two countries,” Rota continued. “I am looking forward to this and it will be very interesting in the coming year.”
A tradition for when one is elected as Speaker is they are “dragged” to the chair by the current Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition. For Rota, he was taken to the chair by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and outgoing Leader of the Opposition Andrew Scheer.
“We had fun with it,” Rota explained. “It was the Prime Minister on one side, the Leader of the Opposition on the other and one is six foot two, the other is six-three and I am not short but compared to them I was dwarfed, so I had no problem throwing myself back and giving an impression that I didn’t want to go up.”
So what does having an MP, who represents the Nipissing-Timisking riding, named Speaker of the House, mean for the area?
“It means they have the Speaker who represents them in Ottawa, which gives them some mystique,” Rota explains. “More importantly when the Speaker requests something, usually Ministers or Opposition members will listen and are very attentive, so there is a little bit of clout that goes with the Speaker position, so I think the people of Nipissing-Timiskaming will continue to be well served.
“Certainly I am the Member of Parliament for Nipissing-Timiskaming and I take that to heart and it is very important to me that the services be provided to the people of the riding,” he continued.
One struggle that MP Anthony Rota will face as the Speaker is his Liberals preside over a minority government after the October 22 election, but that doesn’t deter him from wanting to get to work.
“I have been in Ottawa for five terms, and four were minority governments,” Rota said. “I am very familiar with them and it is not easy, and we do have challenges ahead of us. There seems to be a certain air in the chamber where people want to work together, a certain mood of cooperation and I have a good feeling for what is coming.”