OTTAWA – Peter Milliken, a man who seemed born to the job of Speaker of the House of Commons, is expected to announce Saturday that he won’t run in the next federal election.
Milliken, 63, has arranged to make the announcement after his annual picnic at his home in Kingston, Ont.
The MP for Kingston and the Islands has quietly been advising Liberal party officials of his plans over the past few weeks, Canwest News Service has learned. He will remain as MP and Speaker until the writ is dropped.
Elected to Parliament in 1988, the Liberal MP was first elected Speaker on Jan. 29, 2001, a position he has successfully been re-elected to since then.
The job comes with the perks of a country estate and an apartment in the Centre Block. But it is considered a taxing post, and Milliken has had to deal with many squabbles – large and small – during tenure, which has included three back-to-back minority governments.
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