The speakership in British Columbia, 1970-1979
Date
1981
Authors
Reser, Clarence Lloyd Wallace
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to gain some insight into the role of the Speaker within the contemporary legislative process in British Columbia.
The first objective of the thesis was to determine the nature of the Office of Speaker as it obtains in the British and Canadian House of Commons. The second objective of the thesis was to provide an overview of the legislative process in British Columbia for the three Parliaments that sat between 1970 and 1979. The third objective of the thesis was to systematically discuss the four principal components of the Speakership in British Columbia. The fourth objective of the thesis was to compare and contrast the evidence presented in the preliminary chapters with that presented in chapters four through seven in an effort to assess the extent to which the B.C. Speakership is a leadership role in the contemporary legislative process.
The thesis is a descriptive study. The background chapters are derived from secondary materials. The major portions of the work are based upon a wide range of primary materials. The basic strategy in the paper was to firstly define the formal and informal authority of the Speaker. Secondly, any changes to that authority in the period were duly noted. Thirdly, reference to primary sources were used to see to what extent Speakers have provided leadership in the exercise of this authority.
The paper concluded that the Speakership in British Columbia is a leadership role within the provincial legislative process. It was also concluded that the Speakership in British Columbia was less of a leadership role than that of the British or Canadian Speakerships. The constraints on the ability of the B.C. Speaker to serve as an unquestioned parliamentary leader are to be explained in terms of the idiosyncrasies and limitations existent in the political process in British Columbia.