Opinion

TheReview

Wednesday, February 7, 1990 — A9

Nice guys like you
finish last, Senator Pelton

HONOLULU — I saw some of
Oahu’s large sugar cane planta-
tions on TV yesterday (seems
that’s the only way I'll get to see
them), which got me thinking
about Stephen Rogers, the new

Speaker designate of the B.C Leg-
islature.

Rogers has always complained
about being referred to as “heir to
the B.C. Sugar Fortune” and with
some justification. As he points

: out, he’s only one of a number of
heirs to said fortune. What Rogers
is definitely not complaining
about these days, however, is his
appointment as speaker, which
only awaits the official and pro-
forma sanction of the legislature.

Trying to determine how good a
job a new speaker will do is more
than idle speculation. The
speaker’s role in the British Parlia-
mentary system is a very important
one, so important, in fact, that in
the carly days of parliament in
Britain, the king had several
speakers beheaded. That’s why, to
this day, a newly appointed

- speaker offers mock resistance
when he is being dragged from his
regular seat to the speaker’s chair.

While the legislature sits, the
speaker has control over the legis-
lative precinct. No one may enter
the precinct without his permis-
sion. The speaker may evict mem-
bers from the legislature for a
variety of reasons, including
refusal to withdraw an unparlia-
“mentary remark.

— But more important, the speaker
largely determines the decorum of
the House. With an ineffective
speaker, the debate can easily end
in bedlam, but a good speaker will
keep control over tempers. And
that’s important in an atmosphere
of acrimony, for which the B.C.
Legislature is so well known.

I’m somewhat reluctant to pre-
dict what sort of speaker Rogers
will be, because I couldn't have

been more wrong last time around.

I expected very little if anything

from John Reynolds, and he deliv-
ered beyond anyone’s expecta-
tions. Reynolds was, by far, the
best speaker I have known since |
first covered the B.C. Legislature

— and that goes back about 17

years.

Then again, | never.misjudged
le Walter Davidson who served as
speaker before Reynolds. He was
one of the worst speakers. Not
only would Davidson be blatantly
biased in favor of the Socred side
of the House, but he also entered
political frays on several occa-
sions, an absolute no-no for a
speaker.
Reynolds, on the other hand,
was unbiased most of the time. He
@wouldn’t hesitate ruling the prem-
ier (who appointed him and to
whose party he belonged) out of
order. On one occasion, he even
threatened Bill Bennett with evic-
Bion from the Legislature if he
didn’t shut up.

Then, of course, there were such
forgettable speakers as Gordon
Dowding during the NDP adminis-
tration and Ed Smith under Bill
Bennett.

post of speaker only because he

” couldn’t find anyone else with a

three-cornered head. As for Ed

omith, I hardly remember what he
{ooked like.

. Rogers will probably be a good

peaker. During the times he filled

| ing that he appointed him to the

In as chairman, he did an excellent
job. He is even-handed and has a
good knowledge of the rules that
govern the legislative proceedings.

There’s just one thing that
bothers me about Rogers’ appoint-
ment, and that’s the thought of
Austin Pelton being left out in the
cold, once again.

Pelton, whose kind, well-bred

and statesmanlike bearing have

earned him the nickname ~“Sen-
ator,’ would have made an equally

PD

good, if not better speaker. He has
filled in for regular speakers more
often than Rogers and, like Rogers,
never had any problems. keeping
the House under control.

He should have been next in line

for speaker. Most insiders :

expected him to be the. next
speaker, but Premier Vander Zalm
had different ideas.

It wasn’t the first time the
member from Dewdney got the
shaft. You may remember that for
a while, he served as environment
minister.

I ran into Pelton on his way to a
caucus meeting, his first one after
being yanked out of his portfolio
and sent back to the minor league.
“Hubert,” he said. “This is one of
the most difficult things I have had
to do in my life. I don’t want to go
in there.”

I told him at the time that,
surely, the premier was keeping
him in mind for speaker, but then
Reynolds got the job. This time,
Rogers beat him to it, for whatever
reasons. Face it, Senator, nice guys
finish last.

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