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March 30, 1984
The problem has been with the House since the bell-ringing incident of March 1982. The rules and practices of the House do not provide the Speaker with specific guidelines for the handling of...
The Speaker addresses the procedural gap regarding division bell duration, stemming from a 1982 incident, and recommends the House adopt a Standing Order to resolve it.
March 29, 1984
The practice of the House has been to recognize each Thursday a question relating to the business of the House. This is not a point of order. Therefore the Chair has "no alternative but to accept...
The Speaker confirmed that the weekly House business question is a standard practice, not a point of order, and the resulting motion must be accepted.
March 27, 1984
Amendments and Subamendments to Motions / Miscellaneous March 27, 1984 Debates pp. 2494-5 Background During debate on the Private Members' motion in the name of Miss Campbell (South West Nova)...
The input text is a title describing a procedural amendment to refer a motion's subject matter to a committee, not a Speaker's Ruling.
March 21, 1984
The Vote would: authorize a new program without the appropriate legislative authority. The rulings of the Chair since 1974 clearly emphasize that it is not procedurally correct to use an...
The Speaker ruled that a vote in an Appropriation Act is out of order if it seeks to create a new program without separate legislative authority.
March 20, 1984
In situations such as this, there are informal and imperfect channels of communication available to the Speaker, the House leaders and others involved. The Chair's decision to suspend the sitting...
The Speaker justified suspending a sitting based on information from the Opposition House Leader and its consistency with a 1983 precedent.
March 14, 1984
The granting of a pardon is a prerogative of the Crown and therefore requires Royal Consent. Erskine May's Twentieth Edition states that proceeding without this consent "would be courting waste of...
A Speaker's ruling clarifies that bills affecting the Crown's prerogative, such as granting pardons, require Royal Consent to be signified, typically at second reading.
March 5, 1984
Under Standing Order 30, the Speaker must consider the "probability of the matter being brought before the House within reasonable time by other means." There have been and will be various...
A request for an emergency debate on cruise missile testing was denied as the matter was not a sudden emergency and was considered sub judice.
February 23, 1984
Rules of Debate - Order and Decorum / Relevance February 23, 1984 Debates p. 1691 Background During debate on the Budget presented by Mr. Lalonde (Minister of Finance), at the end of the...
A ruling affirming that the questions and comments period following a speech must remain relevant to the content of that speech.
February 20, 1984
A threat to withhold information or co-operation would undoubtedly hinder that Member in fulfilling his duties and therefore constitute a breach of privilege. An action which amounts to...
The Speaker found a prima facie question of privilege after a Member alleged intimidation through threats to withhold information unless oral questions were pre-cleared with officials.
February 20, 1984
There is no evidence that the file created by the Prime Minister's Office contains anything other than public and readily available information about the Leader of the Opposition. There is no...
The Speaker denied a question of privilege, ruling that a PMO file on the Leader of the Opposition was not an impediment as it contained only public information.