Party whips are responsible for assigning seats in the House of Commons, in consultation, of course, with their party’s leadership. Their work is completed, now, and, as a result, the seating plan for the 39th Parliament was released yesterday.
Sitting in the Commons’ press gallery (the press gallery in both the HoC and the Senate is right behind the Speaker), it was strange to look down and see Conservatives on the right and the Liberals on the left. The NDP have remained in their place from the last Parliament — they are on the government side but far away from the Speaker. The Bloc Quebecois, too, is in the spot it had for the 38th Parliament – on the Opposition side, away from the Speaker.
The lone independent MP Andre Arthur is seated in the back row on the Opposition side at the Spesaker’s end.
Some other random notes:
- Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl and Immigration Minister Monte Solberg are roommates and good friends. They are also seatmates, four seats away from the PM in the front row.
- Rod Bruinooge, the Conservative who felled Liberal stalwart Reg Alcock, appears, based on his seating assignment to be Most Favoured Tory Rookie who is not a cabinet member or parliamentary secretary. Bruinooge is in the second row midway between Speaker and PM. That’s a lot better than, for example, putative Harper favourite James Rajotte who find himself in the two rows behind Bruinooge and one seat further away from the PM.
- Lawrence Cannnon is the Prime Minister’s seatmate, visual confirmation of his status as Harper’s number two. Lucienne Robillard rides shotgun for Opposition Leader Bill Graham. Jack Layton and Libby Davies are the NDP’s lead seatmates and Gilles Duceppe is next to his House Leader Michel Gauthier.
- Garth Turner is hidden away underneath the Press Gallery overhang, next to the Speaker.
- There are two Conservatives on the Opposition side. Mike Wallace and Chris Warkentin are to the Speaker’s left and are surrounded by Liberals Andy Scott, Tom Wappel, John McKay and independent Andre Arthur.
- Michael Ignatieff is way in the back — sitting in the fourth row where it will be difficult for him to be seen in just about any television shot unless he’s the one actually speaking. His seatmate is Tina Keeper.
- Stephen Harper could reach out and touch: (clockwise from Harper’s right) Cannon, Jay Hill, Rob Nicholson, Josee Verner, Jim Prentice.
- The Four Corners: The members holding down the corners of their respective party’s seating blocks are, for the Tories: Jim Abbott, Deepak Obhrai, Dave Van Kesteren, and Jeff Watson. Liberals: Paul Martin, Geoff Regan, Blair Watson, Yasmin Ratansi. BQ: Real Menard, Mario Laframboise, Robert Carrier, Claude Debellefeuille. NDP: Bill Blaikie, Pat Martin, Paul Dewar, Denise Savoie.