The blows keep coming for Chatham-Kent-Leamington MPP Rick Nicholls.
On Tuesday he was ousted as Deputy House speaker at Queen’s Park.
He was dumped by the Premier Doug Ford and the Conservatives in August for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Now the independent member has been tossed out as Deputy Speaker as the new legislative session begins.
Nicholls issued a statement later in the afternoon.
“Serving the people and the Legislative Assembly as a deputy speaker, has been very rewarding and yes, even challenging at times too,” Nicholls says. “Knowing how to respond to tense situations takes a certain skill set to respectfully “calm the waters” and I was able to do that successfully.”
The riding’s representative since 2011, Nicholls insists he is not an anti-vaxxer but believes people should have choice.
He will not be running in the next provincial election.
