House of Commons.

AuthorBond, Stephanie
PositionLegislative Reports

The First Session of the Forty-Second Parliament opened on December 3, 2015, adjourning for the winter break on December 11, 2015. The House resumed sitting on January 25, 2016. The information below covers the period from November 1, 2015, to February 2, 2016.

General Election and Party Leadership

As a result of a federal general election on October 19,2015, a majority Liberal Government was formed. On November 4, 2015, the new Ministry was sworn in at Rideau Hall, including 30 Ministers and Justin Trudeau (Papineau) as Canada's 23rd Prime Minister.

Rona Ambrose (Sturgeon River--Parkland) was elected as Interim Conservative Party Leader and therefore interim Leader of the Official Opposition following the resignation of Stephen Harper (Calgary Heritage) as Leader of the Conservative Party. After failing to win his own seat in Laurier Sainte-Marie, Gilles Duceppe resigned as leader of the Bloc Quebecois and on October 22, 2015, Rheal Fortin (Riviere-du-Nord) was named interim leader.

Opening of Parliament: Election of a New Speaker and Speech from the Throne

The First Session of the 42nd Parliament opened on December 3, 2015. Its first order of business, pursuant to Standing Order 2, was to elect a new Speaker. Louis Plamondon (Bas-Richelieu--Nicolet--Becancour), the Member with the longest period of unbroken service in the House, presided accordingly over the election of the Speaker, which was accomplished, for the first time, by means of a preferential ballot. After the counting of ballots, it was announced that Geoff Regan (Halifax West) had been elected as the 36th Speaker of the House of Commons, the first Atlantic Canadian to be elected to the position in nearly 100 years.

Over the course of the next few sitting days, the other three presiding officers were appointed, including Bruce Stanton (Simcoe North) as Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees of the Whole, Carol Hughes (Algoma--Manitoulin--Kapuskasing) as Assistant Deputy Speaker and Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole, and Anthony Rota (Nipissing--Timiskaming) as Assistant Deputy Speaker and Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole.

On December 4, 2015, Governor General David Johnston delivered the Speech from the Throne in the Senate Chamber to open the 42nd Parliament and outline the Government's agenda. The Standing Orders provide for six additional days of debate on the motion and on any amendments proposed thereto. On December 11, 2015, the third of six days of...

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