Supplied by Sault Ste. Marie MP Terry Sheehan…

The Hon. Anthony Rota, Speaker of the House of Commons, and Terry Sheehan, Member of
Parliament for Sault Ste. Marie, would like to invite the people of the riding of Sault Ste. Marie to
a virtual conversation on what it’s like to be the Speaker of the House of Commons during the
era of Covid-19. This conversation will take place online on Thursday June 25th from 12pm-1pm.
Sault Ste. Marie is home to over 16,000 people who trace their ancestry to Italy, and the Sault’s
history is marked by the achievements and contributions of many successful Italian-Canadians.
One of these successful Italian-Canadians from Northern Ontario is the Hon. Anthony Rota,
Canada’s first-ever Italian Speaker of the House of Commons. Mr. Rota is excited to speak with
the people of Sault Ste. Marie (fluently in English, Italian, French, and Spanish!) about Canada’s
Italian heritage, and about his experience as the Speaker of the House of Commons. You can
learn more about Mr. Rota here.
The Speaker is a non-partisan role elected by all members of the House of Commons, and you
can learn more about his important part of our democratic system here.
Earlier this month, MP Terry Sheehan celebrated Italian Heritage Month with a speech to the
House of Commons. In this historic speech, Mr. Sheehan expressed his support for Italians in the
Sault who have been hit hard by the pandemic. See his full remarks here: