The 41st Parliament has been elected and on June 2nd a new session will begin.  I am deeply grateful to the people of Yorkton—Melville for once again placing their trust in me to represent their views in Ottawa.

While I’ve experienced the opening of Parliament on several occasions, many Canadians still remain unfamiliar with this historic parliamentary tradition that dates back to 1376.  With that in mind, I thought it might be interesting to give an indication of what you can expect over the coming days.

While the excitement of the general election is fading, some Members of Parliament are beginning another campaign - a campaign to become Speaker of the House of Commons.

To ensure that Parliament runs smoothly, the House of Commons observes parliamentary rules and traditions. It is the Speaker's duty to interpret these rules impartially, to maintain order, and to defend the rights and privileges of Members, including the right to freedom of speech.

The first item on the agenda when Parliament resumes will be to elect a Speaker of the House of Commons. The previous speaker, the Honourable Peter Milliken, who has the distinction of being Canada’s longest serving speaker, has retired. This election of the Speaker will be interesting as there are many contenders and no clear front-runner.

Canada's constitution requires the election of the Speaker at the beginning of each Parliament.  The Speech from the Throne will not be read until the Speaker has been elected and no other business can come before the House until that election has taken place and the Speaker has taken the Chair.

The election of Speaker takes place by secret ballot. The rules provide for a series of ballots among all eligible candidates for Speaker, until one candidate receives the majority of the votes cast.

When a winner has been declared, the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition will then escort the new Speaker to the Chair. He drags his heels as they do so, in a touch of humour dating back to the time when British Speakers feared for their heads if it was necessary to deliver unpleasant news to their King.

Once elected, the Speaker will take the Chair, thank the Members for electing him or her and then adjourn the House until the next day when the Governor General will read the Speech from the Throne.

Currently, Andrew Scheer (Conservative from Regina-Qu’Appelle), Barry Devolin (Conservative from Haliburton-Kwartha Lakes-Brock), Bruce Stanton (Conservative from Simcoe-North), Merv Tweed (Conservative from Brandon-Souris), and Denise Savoie (New Democratic Party from Victoria) are contending for the job.  Others who are interested may yet put their name forward.

With a majority government, I am looking forward to the Speech from the Throne which will outline the government's agenda for the upcoming parliamentary session.  We will continue with our plan to create jobs and growth without increasing taxes, to provide help for families and seniors and to eliminate the deficit while maintaining health-care transfers to the provinces and territories.

If you are interested in learning more about Canada’s Parliamentary traditions, I would encourage you to visit the Parliamentary website at www.parl.gc.ca.

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The audio version of Garry's May 30, 2011 op-ed column can be heard by clicking here