Ottawa: Canada’s Liberal member of parliament, Greg Fergus, was elected the 38th Speaker of the country’s House of Commons.
Fergus, who represents the Quebec riding of Hull-Aylmer near Ottawa, is the first Black Canadian to become Speaker of the House of Commons in Canada, Xinhua news agency reported.
Elected by fellow members of parliament through a secret ballot, the Speaker oversees the sittings and proceedings of the House, maintaining order and decorum in the chamber, providing impartial interpretation of its rules, and defending the rights and privileges of its members.
The Speaker also oversees the House of Commons administration, serves as its spokesperson in its relations with the Senate, the Crown, and other bodies outside the Parliament, and fulfills various ceremonial and diplomatic duties.
The new Speaker’s first task will be to help the Parliament turn the page on the Nazi veteran affair, according to local media reports.
The former speaker, Anthony Rota, stepped down from the post last Tuesday amid controversies over his invitation to a veteran who fought for a Nazi military unit during the Second World War.
Fergus, born in May 1969, was first elected a member of parliament in 2015.
–IANS