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January 28, 1988
The Speaker: I am now ready to rule on the question of privilege raised by the honourable member for Okanagan—Coquihalla on October 21, 1999, concerning delays in the release of information under...
The Speaker ruled that delays in responding to an Access to Information request do not constitute a breach of privilege as this activity is not considered a 'proceeding in Parliament'.
May 6, 1985
Anything tending to cause confusion regarding a Member's identity creates the possibility of an impediment to the fulfilment of the Member's functions and constitutes a breach of privilege. Since...
The Speaker found a prima facie case of privilege where a Member's identity was misrepresented, impeding their parliamentary functions.
December 11, 1984
The statements made by Mr. Robinson did not constitute a contempt of Parliament as defined in Halsbury's Laws of England (obstructing or impeding any Member or official of the House in the...
The Speaker ruled that a Member's reprehensible speech in debate is not a breach of privilege and must be challenged via a substantive motion.
June 8, 1978
The Speaker said that the comments of the judge could be interpreted two ways; either that he was speaking in defence of his court or that he was intending to intimidate the Member. If he had...
The Speaker ruled that a judge's comments did not constitute intimidation of a Member as no threat of contempt of court was made.
May 15, 1978
While the civil suit has caused the Member certain difficulties, it cannot be said to constitute obstruction or harassment in the narrow sense in which one must construe the privilege of freedom...
The Speaker ruled that a civil suit and radio show appearance do not breach parliamentary privilege as they are not extensions of proceedings in Parliament.
March 21, 1978
A Minister is not obliged to answer a question. It is futile for the Chair to attempt to determine the validity of the reasons why a Minister in any individual case might refuse to answer a question.
The Speaker rules that ministers are not obligated to answer questions and the Chair cannot compel them to do so.
February 14, 1978
The parliamentary buildings are not commercial premises. "Anything taking place in these buildings certainly ought to have a parliamentary connection and ought to be in keeping with a number of...
A ruling clarifying that parliamentary buildings are not commercial premises and all activities must respect the dignity of the institution.
December 5, 1977
On close technical grounds the motion can be ruled unacceptable because it is too general to qualify as a question of privilege. Members did not consider carefully enough that the judge's comments...
The Speaker denies a question of privilege concerning a judge's comments, ruling the motion too general and the comments outside the scope of parliamentary privilege.
June 23, 1977
Under the umbrella of privilege, a Member has raised a matter of grievance and expressed a personal statement. This is a practice which is allowed under certain circumstances even though it does...
The Speaker ruled that a Minister acting through a solicitor to address critical material does not constitute a breach of privilege but is a matter for debate.
May 26, 1975
There is a well-established practice that the Chair "ought not to sit as a court of appeal in respect to the proceedings in a standing committee". Regarding the issue raised by Mr. Kaplan, "the...
The Speaker's ruling affirms the principle that the Chair does not act as a court of appeal for the proceedings of standing committees.