Carter was elected as the Speaker of the Assembly in 1986 during the 21st Alberta Legislature, and served through the 22nd Alberta Legislature until his retirement in 1993.[1] As a clergyman, Carter was known for his strict rules as Speaker, going so far as to distribute a list of 172 words which were banned from the Legislature as unparliamentary language.[9]Liberal Party of Alberta leader Nicholas Taylor was often critical of Carter as speaker, called out Carter in 1991 following a resolution to congratulate Baltej Singh Dhillon, the first RCMP officer to wear a turban, was defeated. Taylor yelled "shame" at the government and called Speaker Carter "one of the crappiest speakers [I've] ever seen". Taylor apologized the next day.[10] Carter had previously ordered injured workers arrested for shouting from the public gallery in the Legislature, and controversially attended the Progressive Conservative convention as a speaker. Carter made light of his "iron-fisted" reputation by dawning a Bicorne and posing with Hand-in-waistcoat manner to elicit a comparison to Napoleon, afterwards calling it a "fashion statement", with the official record noting "The speaker adopted a Napoleonic pose".[11]
Carter infamously banned the use of French in the Alberta Legislature in 1987, and refused to allow MLA Léo Piquette ask questions in French about French language schooling in Alberta.[12] The Alberta Legislature responded after the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in R. v. Mercure, [1988] 1 S.C.R. 234 in February 1988 which was addressing whether Section 110 of the Northwest Territories Act allowed French to be spoken in courts and legislatures. Carter allowing members to speak in French, but only if they provided the Speaker with a written translation of their comments, in advance. Carter continued his rivalry with Piquette in the years following, in his book Our Fragile Democracy: In Defence of Parliament Carter calls Piquette "the less than honourable member", and Piquette has countered by calling Carter "the dishonourable Speaker".[4]
In April 1992, Carter came under scrutiny for expenses he accrued as speaker. Carter ordered the cameras in the Legislature to be shut off when a reporter asked why he had billed $22,300 in living expenses from 1990 to 1991, when the speaker was provided an apartment in the Legislature free of charge. Carter had billed a total of $83,000 for living expenses since being elected speaker, and $171,853 in travel expenses.[13] Following the question, Carter pushed Stuart Serediuk, a CFCN cameraman against a pillar in the Legislature and pinned him there in front of several reporters.[14] There was significant public backlash from Albertans and other, including the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, which released a statement saying it "finds the assault on Mr. Serediuk deplorable", meanwhile Carter distributed a letter to all MLAs denying he made physical contact with Serediuk.[15] Despite video evidence, CFCN and Stuart Serediuk declined to press charges, as the litigation would have limited the ability for the organization to report on expense abuses by MLAs.[16]
Later life
Cartier filed a lawsuit against the Government of Alberta in 2001 demanding the province cover the $792,064 cost for Stockwell Day's defense in the defamation lawsuit which was settled in 2000 in favour of the plaintiff Lorne Goddard.[17][18]
Carter has published seventeen books with topics ranging from poetry, short stories, western Canadian history-photography and World Wars I & II.
Books by Dr Carter
Behind Canadian Barbed Wire
Prairie Wings
Inspector F.J. Dickens of the North-West Mounted Police
