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February 16, 1972
The Chair has the power to order the withdrawal at this point of strangers from the Chamber; that is, all people in the galleries, including those behind the Chair. This would be done, of course,...
The Speaker rules that the tradition of admitting the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod for a summons from the Senate overrides the Chair's power to clear the galleries.
October 23, 1970
This case is somewhat different in that the events or circumstances in question did not take place in the House. Nonetheless, the language used by the Member is contrary to the customs, traditions...
The Speaker rules that unparliamentary language used by a Member outside the House is still contrary to the customs and traditions of the Commons.
February 25, 1970
The return presented is obviously not in the conventional or traditional form. If a return is to be of any value to a Member it should be presented in a form that will convey to the Member the...
The Speaker ruled that tabling documents on microfilm is improper as returns must be presented in a form that is immediately interpretable without a mechanical device.
July 24, 1969
It is acknowledged that "the report is not the report of the majority". At the same time, the parliamentary system does not recognize minority and majority reports, but only the report of a...
The Chair ruled that parliamentary procedure only recognizes a single committee report, not majority or minority reports, and the Speaker cannot substitute their judgment for the committee's.
October 21, 1968
The proposed amendment does not oppose the principle of the bill but merely postpones consideration of the bill until a certain condition is met. Further, there is a substantial difference between...
This ruling clarifies that an amendment is procedurally acceptable if it postpones a bill's consideration based on a condition, rather than opposing its core principle.
December 6, 1967
The traditional practice restricting the introduction of amendments similar to others already decided by the House during the same session, if they are to apply to the Budget debate, does not take...
The Speaker allows an amendment to a second budget in the same session, ruling that the traditional prohibition on repetitive motions does not apply due to the novel circumstance.