Search thousands of Speaker's rulings with AI-powered precision.
May 19, 1970
The Member is seeking an inquiry by the committee into an alleged threat to the freedom of the press. If such a far-reaching question were to be investigated by the House, it should be done by way...
The Speaker denied a question of privilege regarding a newspaper article, clarifying that it did not meet the high threshold for a breach and that the matter should be raised via a substantive motion.
October 30, 1969
"Privilege has been defined as the sum of the fundamental rights enjoyed by each House of Parliament collectively and by Members of each House individually, without which they could not discharge...
The Speaker ruled that there is no breach of privilege when a Minister makes a statement to the public before making it in the House.
June 9, 1969
In matters of privilege involving newspaper comments two conflicting interests must be taken into account: the privilege of Members to exercise their duties and the freedom of the press to report...
A question of privilege concerning a newspaper article was denied due to not being raised at the earliest opportunity and an improperly worded motion.
February 22, 1968
The claim that the words "manufactured crisis" or "trickery" are in themselves libellous or slanderous cannot be accepted. "The fact that a statement is untrue does not necessarily form the basis...
The Speaker ruled that the terms 'manufactured crisis' and 'trickery' were not a prima facie breach of privilege as they were used generally and not as a personal attack.
November 28, 1967
"If there really was a question of privilege it should be followed by a motion", but none was moved. In addition, "a question of privilege must be raised at the first opportunity. That does not...
A question of privilege was denied for not being raised at the first opportunity and for lacking a required motion.
October 18, 1967
In the first case, there is obviously a divergence of opinion "and the matter should be allowed to rest there for the time being". With respect to the second case, the alleged comments made about...
The Speaker denies a question of privilege, ruling that a disagreement and alleged comments were not libellous.
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.
May 10, 1966
In order to constitute a breach of privilege, the libel must be based on matters arising from the actual transaction of the business of the House. Since this is not the case in this situation,...
The Speaker denied a question of privilege because the alleged libel did not relate to House business and was not raised at the earliest opportunity.
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.