"The Speaker is always treated with the greatest attention and respect by individual members "

Randy Weekes just proved unequivocally that the rules and principles that have governed the Saskatchewan Legislature for over a hundred years... have been snuffed out by the Sask Party.

Rare back-to-back post from me, but this Randy Weekes thing is blowing my mind.

“The Assembly’s presiding officer is chosen by all members and is considered to be above partisan politics…To maintain impartiality, the Speaker does not participate in any debate except to preserve order and decorum.

The Speaker is always treated with the greatest attention and respect by individual members because the office embodies the power, dignity and honour of the Assembly itself. The Speaker must be heard when he rises to his feet, and at that point, no member may speak or seek to be recognized to speak. As well, no member may criticize the Speaker or comment on the Speaker's character and actions.” - Legassembly.sk.ca, Administration of the Legislative Assembly

Well now, that’s out the window, isn’t it.

Before we continue, let’s look at a few facts on the role of Speaker in the Saskatchewan Legislature, taken from the Legislative Assembly’s website:

• the Speaker is “the person of highest authority in the House”

• “Speaker's traditional robes and court attire help to emphasize his or her neutrality”

• “it is essential that the Speaker be seen to be above party politics”

• “Speaker needs to be sympathetic, firm, fair and honest at all times, with the ability to remain above the fray”

So that right there should be enough to tell you that a Sask Party Speaker (and while it doesn’t have to be, it’ll always be a Sask Party Speaker as long as they’re in government, because majority) doesn’t have a chance.

For starters, the Sask Party believes it is the highest authority, at all times, including in the people’s house, the Saskatchewan Legislature.

It’s banana republic bullshit and Saskatchewan takes it with a smile.

As the tenureship of Sask Party MLA Randy Weekes as Speaker of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly mercifully draws to a close, on Monday the behaviour of those Weekes is responsible for keeping in check hit a new low.

I’m going to try to treat this subject matter with the gravity and seriousness it merits, despite that it played out in real life like an episode of the worst reality TV show you’ve ever seen.

No CBC Saskatchewan, it’s not Real Housewives.

If you haven’t heard, on Monday in the Legislature, Speaker Weekes humiliated both his fellow caucus members Donna Harpauer and Jeremy Harrison, with the latter storming out of the chamber in a rage.