May 18, 1989
Hon. John Fraser
Questions on the Order Paper: compliance with 45-day time limit for government response; authority of the Speaker in this regard
The Speaker: This is not the first time that this matter has been brought to the attention of the Chair. I said some time ago that whatever the rule may be—and I will refer to the rule in a...
The Speaker ruled that the Chair lacks the authority to enforce the 45-day response time for written questions as it is a 'request' under the Standing Orders, not a mandatory requirement.