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March 26, 1971
The duration of a committee sitting is to be determined by a majority of the members then present. While the Speaker is responsible for the officers and clerks of the House, their hours of...
The Speaker denied a member's complaint about long committee sittings, ruling that committees control their own schedules and the proper remedy is to amend the Standing Orders.
March 25, 1971
"... to a certain extent the form of the statement submitted to the Chair and the presentation of his motion to the House are out of order." By practice, Members should keep to a general statement...
The Speaker denied a request for an emergency debate, ruling that criticism of a Minister's conduct is a substantive matter requiring a separate censure motion.
January 26, 1971
The Government has followed a practice that has been accepted rightly or wrongly, in the past. The bill will be allowed to proceed despite the possible difficulties presented by omnibus...
The Speaker denied a point of order against an omnibus bill, ruling it procedurally acceptable despite legitimate grievances.
December 2, 1970
"The word 'emergency' used in relation to Standing Order 26 has always been interpreted to refer to a sudden occurrence, a newly arising situation." In this case, "the situation referred to in the...
A request for an emergency debate was denied because the issue was a long-standing matter, not a sudden occurrence as required by the rules.
October 7, 1970
The question of privilege seems to "have been raised prematurely in that the Standing Committee on Regional Development has not met for several months and will not meet again in this session. The...
The Speaker denied a question of privilege concerning a member's conduct, ruling it was premature and improperly framed as a general reflection rather than a specific charge.
June 22, 1970
"... the decisions taken by commissions while carrying out their normal functions should not constitute matters for urgent discussion." It must also be taken into account that the problem itself...
A request for an emergency debate was denied because the matter concerned a commission's normal functions and had been previously discussed.
June 8, 1970
Since government business has already been set aside to discuss a supply motion, it would be difficult to pre-empt consideration of the supply motion in favour of a motion for an emergency debate...
The Speaker denied a request for an emergency debate, ruling that it could not preempt a scheduled supply day and was substantively a non-confidence motion.
June 8, 1970
The intent of the proposed question is to confirm a deliberate deception by a Member or Members. In accordance with previous rulings, however, no Member should have to submit to an investigation...
The Speaker denied a question of privilege concerning deliberate deception because a specific charge is required for an investigation, and a mere dispute over facts is insufficient.
May 25, 1970
The right of Members to an unhindered access to the Parliament buildings is a time-honoured privilege. "This principle should be recognized even if there is some question as to the extension of...
The Speaker ruled that a momentary delay for security did not breach a Member's privilege of unhindered access to Parliament as no one was ultimately denied entry.
May 20, 1970
The Member questions the adequacy of current legislation with respect to abortion. It would be a questionable practice to initiate the consideration of amendments to statutes by way of debate...
The Speaker denied a request for an emergency debate on abortion, ruling that the matter was not urgent and the procedure was inappropriate for initiating legislative amendments.