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October 29, 1980
Certain interventions touching upon Members' privileges of freedom of speech and liable to influence Members in the exercise of their duties, such as editorials and other public comment, do not...
The Speaker ruled that a government advertising campaign did not constitute a breach of privilege as pressure from an outside body is not, in itself, interference with parliamentary proceedings.
October 17, 1980
The Member has the right to express his disagreement following the Minister's decision, and this very important question of principle certainly deserves to be debated. However, there is no...
The Speaker ruled that a Minister's non-disclosure of public opinion polls did not constitute a prima facie breach of privilege.
October 22, 1975
Although "the House guards the confidentiality of draft reports at this stage of a committee's proceedings and the publication of such a report would raise the strongest suggestion that some act...
The Speaker denied a motion for one committee to investigate a joint committee's leaked report, ruling it procedurally irregular and lacking a specific allegation of misconduct.
March 2, 1973
The actual words used in the newspaper article are "purveyor of hatred against the Government". This puts a somewhat different slant on the news story, and on the offending statement itself. It is...
The Speaker denied a question of privilege, ruling that a public servant's derogatory remarks about a Member were improper but not a prima facie breach.
March 16, 1972
A matter of this kind cannot be brought before the House byway of a breach of parliamentary privilege. It is doubtful that the Member can successfully claim that his parliamentary privileges have...
The Speaker denied a Member's question of privilege, ruling it was a substantive motion improperly framed as a breach of privilege.
December 30, 1971
There is nothing to suggest in the Member's charge that 'there has been a prima facie breach of the rights and immunities of Members of the House of Commons". The Chair, in effect, has been asked...
The Speaker denied a question of privilege, ruling that the complaint about government administrative actions was a legal issue, not a breach of members' rights.
February 3, 1971
While a supposed contempt of Parliament may be an element of a breach of privilege, it is not by itself a question of privilege. The complaint raised by the Member may be classified as (i) wilful...
The Speaker rules that a complaint of being misled or contempt is not a prima facie question of privilege and must be pursued through other procedural avenues.
October 24, 1966
In such an instance as this, it is not necessary for the Speaker to decide if a breach of privilege has been committed, but to decide if the complaint was raised at the earliest opportunity, and...
The Speaker ruled that a prima facie question of privilege regarding reflections on a Member was established and allowed the corresponding motion to proceed.
October 18, 1966
The Chair must rule on two points in the case. First, the motion goes beyond the scope of the limited question of privilege raised by Mr. Nugent and revives a point concerning the fact of the...
The Chair denied a question of privilege, ruling the motion was improperly substantive and the minister's words did not meet the prima facie threshold for a breach.
March 11, 1966
Despite the fact that the Chair has declared there is a prima facie case of privilege, none of the three motions is in order. "... the motions assume as a conclusion that an actual breach of...
The Speaker ruled that motions following a prima facie privilege finding must refer the matter to a committee and cannot be substantive motions that presume guilt.