Speaker's Baton - the Invention of a Tradition.
By Canadian Parliamentary Review
- Release Date: 2002-09-22
- Genre: Law
Description
The Speaker's Baton is a short green stick surmounted by a lion in silver with its right forepaw resting on a crown adorned with maple leafs and twelve rubies. The baton first appeared in the personal coat of arms granted to John Fraser as Speaker of the House of Commons by the Chief Herald for Canada in December 1992. In an article published in the winter 2001-02 issue of this Review Bruce Hicks contended that the baton should be recognized as a symbol of the Speaker of the House. This rejoinder takes issue with many of the arguments Mr. Hicks used in coming to that conclusion. Speaker Fraser was so taken with the design that he had a silversmith craft a baton which he donated to the office of the Speaker of the House of Commons as a legacy gift marking the 125th anniversary of Confederation. The intention of Mr. Fraser was to have future Speakers carry the baton in the parade that precedes each sitting of the House of Commons and, during the sitting, to place it before the Speaker's Chair. This has yet to happen. Neither of the two Speakers who have succeeded Mr. Fraser, Speaker Parent and Speaker Milliken, have ever carried the baton publicly.
