OTTAWA — Moments from Canada’s colourful — and sometimes dark — past came back into focus Monday as federal politicians and former prime ministers of all partisan stripes gathered in the House of Commons to mark the 150th anniversary of Canada’s first Parliament. House of Commons Speaker Geoff Regan encouraged current members of Parliament to imagine what it was like on Nov. 6, 1867, when the country’s first lawmakers gathered in Ottawa. “Imagine the enormity of the task before these first parliamentarians … facing the monumental challenge of governing a vast and sprawling country still in its infancy,” Regan told the Commons. “That we who have been entrusted with the governance of Canada have sometimes failed should not be surprising,” said Scheer. Earlier in the day, the four men sat together and shared a few memories with Regan and former Commons speakers as they celebrated the moment.

Source: National Post November 06, 2017 20:37 UTC