Michael Malley
Encyclopedia
Michael "Tanker" Malley is a former politician
in the Canadian Province of New Brunswick
. He represented the riding of Miramichi-Bay du Vin in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
from 1999 to 2006 and served as Speaker of the Assembly
for part of 2006.
Malley, a former Miramichi
city council
lor and bus driver, was first elected to the legislature in the 1999 election
and was re-elected in 2003
.
The 2003 election returned his Progressive Conservatives
to a majority government
of just a one-seat margin. Malley was named whip
, a position of expanded importance in a legislature with such close numbers. He was widely called upon by leaders in his community to leave the government in 2004 if the Lord government did not back away from rumoured health care cuts in the region. In the end the cuts were not as severe as had been rumoured and Malley remained in caucus
.
On February 17, 2006, shortly after a cabinet shuffle
, Malley announced he would leave the Conservative caucus to sit as an independent
. He expressed disappointment in the government's overall direction and in his not being included in cabinet despite being the only representative of Miramichi in the Conservative caucus http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikisource/en/9/9c/Michael_malley_leaves_caucus.pdf He argued that whereas Miramichi is the province's fourth largest city and where the three larger cities have significant representation (Moncton with 4, Saint John
with 3 and Fredericton
with 3), Miramichi ought to have had a member in the cabinet. His argument here was somewhat flawed, in that the cities proper have 2, 1 and 1 respectively, the numbers above include surrounding areas; the Miramichi area, if viewed through the same lens, has one cabinet member in Rogersville-Kouchibouguac
MLA Rose-May Poirier
.
Premier
Bernard Lord
has alleged Malley had less savory motives for leaving Lord's governing Conservative party. Lord alleged at a news conference that Malley made five specific demands in exchange for staying with the Conservatives, including: more money for his constituency office, more help for the Miramichi's troubled paper mill and the appointment of a female friend as his special assistant
.http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/National/2006/02/20/1452196-sun.html Lord further alleged that Malley demanded he immediately appoint Fredericton lawyer Cleveland Allaby
, who Lord called a "good friend" of Mr. Malley's, as provincial court judge in the Miramichi. Allaby, however, denied this allegation and Lord admitted that he had no proof of any of the alleged demands.http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060219.wmalley0219/BNStory/National/home Malley has also denied these allegations. http://www.cbc.ca/nb/story/nb_tankerspotting20060221.html
Malley's floor crossing
was especially significant because it changed Lord's Progressive Conservative government from a majority to a minority
with the standings becoming: Progressive Conservatives 27, opposition Liberal Party
26 and two independents including Malley and former Liberal Frank Branch
. When Malley announced he was leaving the Conservatives, he stated that he would use his new position of influence to support legislation that helps the poor people of New Brunswick and residents of the Miramichi region.
On March 28, 2006, Malley was acclaimed as Speaker of the Legislature after Tony Huntjens
, the nominee of Bernard Lord, withdrew his name. Electing Malley as speaker, a position in which one only votes in the case of a tie, instead of a member of the government caucus, provides the government considerable more flexibility. Though still technically a minority government, by tradition, should there be a tie on a vote of confidence, the Speaker would vote in favour of the government.
On April 13, 2006, Malley announced he was rejoining the Progressive Conservative caucus, though as Speaker he would not attend caucus meetings and he would remain impartial. Liberal leader Shawn Graham
and New Democratic Party
leader Allison Brewer
(whose party is not currently represented in the legislature, but was from 1991 to 2005) criticized the decision. Graham said Malley was making the legislature the "laughing stock" of the Commonwealth
because of the unusual and unprecedented move of a, by definition, non-partisan Speaker announcing from his chair his change in partisan affiliation. Brewer said a mockery was being made of office of speaker. As Malley remains only able to vote in the case of a tie, the actual status of the legislature is unchanged with 27 ordinally voting members of the government, 27 members of the opposition and an impartial Speaker. The significance of this move, however, is a motion passed by the legislature in 2003 which requires the opposition withhold a vote on committees on which the government does not have a majority in order to "preserve the government majority". Premier Benard Lord argues he now has a majority again and the opposition should honour the terms of that motion while the Opposition has said that they do not recognize a change of affiliation from a speaker in the chair and will still operate as if the government were in a minority situation until such time as the Speaker resigns, sits among the Conservative caucus and re-offers for his office as a Conservative.
Through much of May, the Government and Opposition began to negotiate to bring some order back to the legislature. With only two parties represented, the tight numbers make it difficult for the Government to pass some of its agenda through the House and they had proposed radical rule changes to increase their majority inside of legislative committees. The Liberals opposed this saying it would turn the legislature into little more than a rubber stamp. A counter proposal offered by the Liberals was to see Malley resign as speaker and, in exchange, the Liberals would allow one of their members to stand for the post therefore increasing the working majority of the government by 2 votes. In exchange for this, the Liberals wanted an early election in the fall of 2006. Though the Conservative Government rejected this offer, the Liberals and Conservatives began negotiations which included the possibility of removing Malley from office. On May 24, 2006, Government House Leader
Bev Harrison
, Malley's predecessor as Speaker, said the government would not force Malley from office but, were he still Speaker, he would resign to resolve the deadlock. Malley has refused to comment to the media on this situation.
A vote on May 30, 2006 to remove Malley from office was defeated 27 to 25. Later however fellow Progressive Conservative Peter Mesheau
announced his plans to resign from the legislature and rather than face another minority, Bernard Lord called an election
. Malley sought re-election against Bill Fraser, the man who led the protests against hospital cuts in Malley's region.
In the general provincial election of 18 September 2006, Malley lost his seat to Liberal challenger Bill Fraser. Malley was soundly defeated, trailing his opponent by better than 20 percent in the popular vote. http://www.cbc.ca/nbvotes2006/riding/011/
Following his defeat, Malley was expected to continue to receive a salary as Speaker, though not as MLA, until a new Speaker is elected on February 6, 2007. This attracted some controversy.
, "Tanker Jumps Back to Tories", Page A1/A5, April 14, 2006. New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal
, "Former Speaker says he would step aside to help end gridlock", Page A1/A8, May 25, 2006. Moncton Times & Transcript
, "Tanker loses job, keeps salary", Page A1, October 6, 2006.
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
in the Canadian Province of New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
. He represented the riding of Miramichi-Bay du Vin in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
The Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick is located in Fredericton. It was established de jure when the colony was created in 1784, but only came in to session in 1786 following the first elections in late 1785. Until 1891, it was the lower house in a bicameral legislature when its upper house...
from 1999 to 2006 and served as Speaker of the Assembly
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick is the presiding officer of the provincial legislature. Since 1994 the position has been elected by MLAs using a secret ballot. Previously, the Speaker had been appointed by motion of the house, in practice moved by the Premier of New...
for part of 2006.
Malley, a former Miramichi
Miramichi, New Brunswick
Miramichi is the largest city in northern New Brunswick, Canada. It is situated at the mouth of the Miramichi River where it enters Miramichi Bay...
city council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
lor and bus driver, was first elected to the legislature in the 1999 election
New Brunswick general election, 1999
The 34th New Brunswick general election was held on June 7, 1999, to elect 55 members to the 54th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It marked the debut of both Camille Thériault and Bernard Lord as leaders of the Liberals and...
and was re-elected in 2003
New Brunswick general election, 2003
The 35th New Brunswick general election was held on June 9, 2003, to elect 55 members to the 55th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada...
.
The 2003 election returned his Progressive Conservatives
Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick
The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick is a centre-right political party in New Brunswick, Canada. It has its origins in the pre-Canadian confederation Conservative Party that opposed the granting of responsible government to the colony...
to a majority government
Majority government
A majority government is when the governing party has an absolute majority of seats in the legislature or parliament in a parliamentary system. This is as opposed to a minority government, where even the largest party wins only a plurality of seats and thus must constantly bargain for support from...
of just a one-seat margin. Malley was named whip
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
, a position of expanded importance in a legislature with such close numbers. He was widely called upon by leaders in his community to leave the government in 2004 if the Lord government did not back away from rumoured health care cuts in the region. In the end the cuts were not as severe as had been rumoured and Malley remained in caucus
Caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...
.
On February 17, 2006, shortly after a cabinet shuffle
Cabinet shuffle
In the parliamentary system a cabinet shuffle or reshuffle is an informal term for an event that occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet....
, Malley announced he would leave the Conservative caucus to sit as an independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
. He expressed disappointment in the government's overall direction and in his not being included in cabinet despite being the only representative of Miramichi in the Conservative caucus http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikisource/en/9/9c/Michael_malley_leaves_caucus.pdf He argued that whereas Miramichi is the province's fourth largest city and where the three larger cities have significant representation (Moncton with 4, Saint John
Saint John, New Brunswick
City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
with 3 and Fredericton
Fredericton, New Brunswick
Fredericton is the capital of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, by virtue of the provincial parliament which sits there. An important cultural, artistic, and educational centre for the province, Fredericton is home to two universities and cultural institutions such as the Beaverbrook Art...
with 3), Miramichi ought to have had a member in the cabinet. His argument here was somewhat flawed, in that the cities proper have 2, 1 and 1 respectively, the numbers above include surrounding areas; the Miramichi area, if viewed through the same lens, has one cabinet member in Rogersville-Kouchibouguac
Rogersville-Kouchibouguac
Rogersville-Kouchibouguac is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, Canada.-MLAs:*Conrad Landry, Liberal *Ken Johnson, Liberal *Rose-May Poirier, Progressive Conservative...
MLA Rose-May Poirier
Rose-May Poirier
Rose-May Poirier is a Canadian politician from New Brunswick. She has been a member of the Senate of Canada since February 28, 2010. Previously, she served as member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick for Rogersville-Kouchibouguac from 1999 to 2010. She is renowned for having pulled...
.
Premier
Premier of New Brunswick
The Premier of New Brunswick is the first minister for the Canadian province of New Brunswick. They are the province's head of government and de facto chief executive....
Bernard Lord
Bernard Lord
Bernard Lord, ONB, QC, is a Canadian politician and lobbyist. Lord served as the 30th Premier of New Brunswick from 1999 to 2006.-Early life:...
has alleged Malley had less savory motives for leaving Lord's governing Conservative party. Lord alleged at a news conference that Malley made five specific demands in exchange for staying with the Conservatives, including: more money for his constituency office, more help for the Miramichi's troubled paper mill and the appointment of a female friend as his special assistant
.http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/National/2006/02/20/1452196-sun.html Lord further alleged that Malley demanded he immediately appoint Fredericton lawyer Cleveland Allaby
Cleveland Allaby
Cleveland Allaby is a Canadian lawyer and politician.He ran for the Canadian House of Commons in the riding of Fredericton as a Progressive Conservative in the 1997 election losing to incumbent Andy Scott by a margin of 34% to 30% in part due to vote splitting between the Progressive Conservatives...
, who Lord called a "good friend" of Mr. Malley's, as provincial court judge in the Miramichi. Allaby, however, denied this allegation and Lord admitted that he had no proof of any of the alleged demands.http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060219.wmalley0219/BNStory/National/home Malley has also denied these allegations. http://www.cbc.ca/nb/story/nb_tankerspotting20060221.html
Malley's floor crossing
Crossing the floor
In politics, crossing the floor has two meanings referring to a change of allegiance in a Westminster system parliament.The term originates from the British House of Commons, which is configured with the Government and Opposition facing each other on rows of benches...
was especially significant because it changed Lord's Progressive Conservative government from a majority to a minority
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
with the standings becoming: Progressive Conservatives 27, opposition Liberal Party
New Brunswick Liberal Association
The New Brunswick Liberal Association , more popularly known as the New Brunswick Liberal Party or Liberal Party of New Brunswick, is one of the two major political parties in the Canadian province of New Brunswick...
26 and two independents including Malley and former Liberal Frank Branch
Frank Branch
Frank Richard Branch is a former Canadian politician.A Liberal, he was first elected to the New Brunswick Legislature to the multi-member riding for Gloucester County in the 1970 provincial election. He was re-elected to the legislature for the single member riding of Nepisiguit-Chaleur in 1974,...
. When Malley announced he was leaving the Conservatives, he stated that he would use his new position of influence to support legislation that helps the poor people of New Brunswick and residents of the Miramichi region.
On March 28, 2006, Malley was acclaimed as Speaker of the Legislature after Tony Huntjens
Tony Huntjens
Antoon J. "Tony" Huntjens is a former teacher and New Brunswick politician. A resident of St. Stephen, New Brunswick, where he taught High School for thirty-three years, he is currently a member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick for the riding of Western Charlotte.In the fall of 1961,...
, the nominee of Bernard Lord, withdrew his name. Electing Malley as speaker, a position in which one only votes in the case of a tie, instead of a member of the government caucus, provides the government considerable more flexibility. Though still technically a minority government, by tradition, should there be a tie on a vote of confidence, the Speaker would vote in favour of the government.
On April 13, 2006, Malley announced he was rejoining the Progressive Conservative caucus, though as Speaker he would not attend caucus meetings and he would remain impartial. Liberal leader Shawn Graham
Shawn Graham
Shawn Michael Graham, MLA is a New Brunswick politician, who served as the 31st Premier of New Brunswick. He received a Bachelor of Physical Education Degree in 1991 and a Bachelor of Education Degree in 1993, he worked for New Brunswick's civil service before being elected to the Legislative...
and New Democratic Party
New Brunswick New Democratic Party
The New Brunswick New Democratic Party is a social-democratic provincial political party in New Brunswick, Canada linked with the federal New Democratic Party .-Origins and early history:...
leader Allison Brewer
Allison Brewer
Allison Brewer is a Canadian social activist and politician, and the former leader of the New Brunswick New Democratic Party. She has been particularly active in areas of lesbian and gay rights and access to abortion.-Biography:...
(whose party is not currently represented in the legislature, but was from 1991 to 2005) criticized the decision. Graham said Malley was making the legislature the "laughing stock" of the Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
because of the unusual and unprecedented move of a, by definition, non-partisan Speaker announcing from his chair his change in partisan affiliation. Brewer said a mockery was being made of office of speaker. As Malley remains only able to vote in the case of a tie, the actual status of the legislature is unchanged with 27 ordinally voting members of the government, 27 members of the opposition and an impartial Speaker. The significance of this move, however, is a motion passed by the legislature in 2003 which requires the opposition withhold a vote on committees on which the government does not have a majority in order to "preserve the government majority". Premier Benard Lord argues he now has a majority again and the opposition should honour the terms of that motion while the Opposition has said that they do not recognize a change of affiliation from a speaker in the chair and will still operate as if the government were in a minority situation until such time as the Speaker resigns, sits among the Conservative caucus and re-offers for his office as a Conservative.
Through much of May, the Government and Opposition began to negotiate to bring some order back to the legislature. With only two parties represented, the tight numbers make it difficult for the Government to pass some of its agenda through the House and they had proposed radical rule changes to increase their majority inside of legislative committees. The Liberals opposed this saying it would turn the legislature into little more than a rubber stamp. A counter proposal offered by the Liberals was to see Malley resign as speaker and, in exchange, the Liberals would allow one of their members to stand for the post therefore increasing the working majority of the government by 2 votes. In exchange for this, the Liberals wanted an early election in the fall of 2006. Though the Conservative Government rejected this offer, the Liberals and Conservatives began negotiations which included the possibility of removing Malley from office. On May 24, 2006, Government House Leader
Government House Leader (New Brunswick)
The Government House Leader for the Province of New Brunswick, Canada is the provincial cabinet minister responsible for planning and managing the government's legislative program in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick...
Bev Harrison
Bev Harrison
Beverly John "Bev" Harrison, is a former teacher and New Brunswick politician.-Early life:The son of William and Jean Harrison, Harrison received bachelor degrees in Arts and Education from the University of New Brunswick....
, Malley's predecessor as Speaker, said the government would not force Malley from office but, were he still Speaker, he would resign to resolve the deadlock. Malley has refused to comment to the media on this situation.
A vote on May 30, 2006 to remove Malley from office was defeated 27 to 25. Later however fellow Progressive Conservative Peter Mesheau
Peter Mesheau
Peter Mesheau is a politician in New Brunswick, Canada. He represented the electoral district of Tantramar in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1997 to 2006....
announced his plans to resign from the legislature and rather than face another minority, Bernard Lord called an election
New Brunswick general election, 2006
The 36th New Brunswick general election was held on September 18, 2006, to elect 55 members to the 56th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada....
. Malley sought re-election against Bill Fraser, the man who led the protests against hospital cuts in Malley's region.
In the general provincial election of 18 September 2006, Malley lost his seat to Liberal challenger Bill Fraser. Malley was soundly defeated, trailing his opponent by better than 20 percent in the popular vote. http://www.cbc.ca/nbvotes2006/riding/011/
Following his defeat, Malley was expected to continue to receive a salary as Speaker, though not as MLA, until a new Speaker is elected on February 6, 2007. This attracted some controversy.
Sources
Moncton Times & TranscriptTimes & Transcript
The “Times & Transcript” is New Brunswick's largest newspaper circulation daily newspaper with an average paid daily circulation of approximately 40,000, and readership of approximately 110,000. It serves Metro Moncton and eastern New Brunswick. Its offices and printing facilities are located on...
, "Tanker Jumps Back to Tories", Page A1/A5, April 14, 2006. New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal
Telegraph-Journal
The Telegraph-Journal is a daily newspaper published in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. It publishes a hybrid newspaper, serving as a provincial daily while catering to the Saint John audience in its City and Sports sections. The newspaper is published by Brunswick News, owned by J. K. Irving...
, "Former Speaker says he would step aside to help end gridlock", Page A1/A8, May 25, 2006. Moncton Times & Transcript
Times & Transcript
The “Times & Transcript” is New Brunswick's largest newspaper circulation daily newspaper with an average paid daily circulation of approximately 40,000, and readership of approximately 110,000. It serves Metro Moncton and eastern New Brunswick. Its offices and printing facilities are located on...
, "Tanker loses job, keeps salary", Page A1, October 6, 2006.