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Speaker of the House of Commons Peter Milliken delivers his ruling on the Harper government's refusal to hand over documents on Afghan detainees in the House of Commons on April 27, 2010.Adrian Wyld

Peter Milliken is hanging up his Hansard.

The longest-serving Speaker of the House of Commons has been reading the official record of parliamentary proceedings since he was a teen.

Mr. Milliken announced Saturday that after 22 years as the Liberal MP for Kingston - nine of them as referee in the fractious Commons - he's had enough.



He won't seek re-election.

"I'm tired and I think it's time to move on and get some more time at home," Mr. Milliken said in a phone interview shortly after informing his supporters of his decision during a barbecue in his riding.

He'll continue as Speaker and MP for Kingston and the Islands until the next election, whenever that is.

"It's my duty. I was elected for that term. I'll do it."

Mr. Milliken acknowledged there may not be an election until 2012. But he said he wanted to give Liberals in his riding time to choose a successor, just in case the minority Tory government should be defeated this fall.

"I just thought, Why would I leave this to the last minute?" he said.

"If I waited until fall and an election gets called and then I announce it, that leaves (local Liberals) in a pickle and I didn't want to do that to anybody."

Word of Mr. Milliken's retirement announcement leaked Friday, sparking a flurry of speculation that he might be preparing to take on the job of governor-general.

Some reports - since denied by a senior government source - have suggested Prime Minister Stephen Harper will name a successor to Michaëlle Jean next week, during the Queen's visit to Canada. The timing of Mr. Milliken's announcement appeared to fit with that timetable.

But Mr. Milliken said he's received no offer to become the Queen's representative in Canada and doesn't expect one.

"I'd be shocked if it did (happen) and I'm not sure that that's something that would be of particular interest to me."

Mr. Milliken said being Speaker has been the highlight of his 22 years in Parliament. And he said his most memorable moment as Commons referee - at least so far - was last month's historic ruling on sensitive Afghan detainee documents.

The Speaker ruled that MPs' right to scrutinize all documents trumped the government's right to protect secrets, even in cases of national security. He averted a parliamentary showdown on the issue, however, by giving all parties time to reach a compromise, which they eventually did.

A lifelong student of parliamentary procedure, Mr. Milliken won't necessarily quit cold turkey when he retires.

"You can still read Hansard and all that stuff and you can do it online now," he noted with a chuckle.

"You can keep up with what's going on if you're really that keen. Whether I would be or not, I don't know. I'll see, I guess, when I'm out."

The 63-year-old lawyer is highly respected by MPs, who have elected him as Speaker three times and acclaimed him once.

There have been only 10 tie-breaking votes cast by the 34 Speakers who have presided over the Commons since Confederation. Mr. Milliken has cast half of them.

His decision to stave off the defeat of Paul Martin's minority Liberal government in 2005 was the only time a Speaker has decided a confidence vote in Canada.

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