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February 22, 1972
The rule governing tabling is clear. If a document is quoted in debate it has to be tabled. If a letter, even though it might have been written originally as a private document, becomes part of...
The Speaker rules that Ministers must table official documents, including formerly private letters that have become part of a departmental record, if they are quoted during debate.
November 16, 1971
The rule respecting tabling of documents has "to be interpreted rather strictly.... If a document has been actually cited or quoted in debate by a Minister of the Crown, it has to be tabled. If...
The Speaker clarifies that ministers must table documents they directly quote or cite in debate, but not those they merely reference.
April 19, 1971
The cause of the Chair's reservations is a previous ruling that "under our Standing Orders there is no authority for seeking from the Government the tabling and the submission of such documents......
The Speaker warns that allowing the government to table documents not explicitly covered by the Standing Orders creates a binding precedent for all Members.
May 15, 1969
The requested document appears to have been tabled in the House as a return to a notice of motion for the production of papers. The problem seems to involve the description of the document. "It is...
The Speaker ruled that a dispute over the adequacy of a document tabled in response to a motion for production of papers is a matter for debate, not a point of order for the Chair to decide.
February 3, 1969
''According to the Standing Orders, a question put during the daily Oral Questions may be answered either by an oral answer, by an order for return or by a ministerial statement on motions." The...
The Speaker ruled that tabling a document is not a valid new procedure for answering an Oral Question, but a minister may table a document under the separate rule for government papers.
January 23, 1969
"... the mere fact [that] a public document has been mentioned does not require... that it be tabled." Only when it is quoted from or cited, rather than merely referred to, must it be tabled.
This ruling clarifies that a public document must be tabled only when quoted or cited, not when merely mentioned during proceedings.
April 3, 1967
The amendments are now before the House in two forms: the report which was tabled and which is now officially before the House, and the amended bill which has been distributed. Distribution might...
The Speaker rules that the late distribution of an amended bill is a matter of convenience, not a valid point of order.