ARE TANKER MALLEY DAYS AS SPEAKER NUMBERED?????

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NB Telegraph-Journal | Politics
As published on page A1/A8 on May 12, 2006

Liberals, Tories call temporary truce in legislature
Two government House leaders agree to continue negotiations next week

By Carl Davies
Telegraph-Journal

FREDERICTON - A truce of sorts has been reached between the Tories and the Liberals in the ongoing battle over how the legislature should operate.

After discussions late Wednesday, the two government House leaders agreed to back off, at least temporarily. Negotiations on breaking the deadlock that has left the provincial budget in limbo will continue next week.

Both sides say everything is on the table in the negotiations, calling into question the future of Speaker Michael (Tanker) Malley and raising the possibility of a change in the premier's planned Oct. 15, 2007, election date.

The Tories have agreed to put off, at least for now, controversial rule changes that would move budget debate into smaller committees and limit hours of debate on certain items of House business.

The procedures committee was scheduled to vote on the rule changes Thursday but the meeting was cancelled.

The Opposition agreed to postpone its non-confidence motion against Mr. Malley until the legislature returns from a scheduled 10-day break, which begins when the House adjourns today.

The motion against Mr. Malley was to be debated Thursday.

The Liberals have questioned Mr. Malley's neutrality as speaker after he announced that he was returning to the Tories after quitting the party in February. His sudden resignation threw the government into a minority position.

In March, he was elected speaker as an Independent MLA.

Tory House leader Bev Harrison said Thursday that Mr. Malley's status will very much be part of the discussions in the coming week.

"There is a moratorium on (today's) debate and we will have further discussions," he said Thursday.

When it was pointed out the premier has voiced support for Mr. Malley, Mr. Harrison replied, "We're not talking about the premier. This is (Liberal House leader) Kelly Lamrock and I having a discussion."

Asked if he supported Mr. Malley as speaker, Mr. Harrison, who held the position from 1999 until he was named to cabinet this February, replied, "I support the office of the speaker and I support the status quo and if we can make that situation work, that's ideal for the House."

Mr. Harrison said if there was a discussion to have the speaker step down, Mr. Malley would have to be involved in the talks, but he has not yet been approached.

Mr. Malley, who has not spoken to the media in Fredericton since returning to the Tory fold, refused comment Thursday.

Other than the delay on the non-confidence motion and the rule changes, Mr. Lamrock was vague about what might be part of the negotiations over the next week.

He said preliminary discussions "touched on all the concerns for both parties, and I don't want to get into talking about details of the negotiations and what's where.

"Everything is on the table."

A Liberal offer to end the deadlock in the House earlier this session included replacing Mr. Malley with a Liberal speaker in return for a provincial election this September.

Mr. Harrison agreed with Mr. Lamrock that everything was open for discussion, but an Oct. 15, 2007, election is "still the aim and goal" for his party.

The budget will also likely be on the agenda. The Liberals have suggested amendments to it to address some of their priorities.

Mr. Harrison said changing the budget would be difficult but there could be room for some compromise.

"Figures can't be altered in a budget easily without putting in a supplementary budget," Mr. Harrison said.

But he said agreements could be reached to accelerate some programs the Liberals are pushing, such as decreasing surgical wait times and addressing problems in the education system.

Mr. Harrison said he's willing to "discuss ways of moving that in some direction."

Mr. Lamrock would not say what was his top priority. "I'm not an obsessive list-maker. They are all important."

Neither side would say what sparked the sudden co-operation.

"Deep down we're really reasonable people," Premier Bernard Lord said with a smile. "Sometimes it takes a while to get there."

The premier stressed that there was still work to be done.

"Hopefully next week we can resolve this in a way that will enable us to work for the people of New Brunswick, get our budget through and keep working toward an election on Oct. 15, 2007.

"We're willing to find a compromise, to find a middle ground, as long as it doesn't compromise our budget, it doesn't compromise our majority. We're willing to find ways to make the House work and respect the will of the opposition."

Liberal MLA Eric Allaby, one of the elder statesmen of the legislature whose name has been put forward by his party as a replacement for Mr. Malley, has steered clear of most of the name-calling this session.

He was pleased to see a change in tone among his co-workers Thursday. "Whenever you can restore some civility to the House it's always welcome."