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December 4, 1973
"It is well-established practice that committee proceedings cannot be brought into consideration or debate in the House except by way of a report from the committee." It is also well established...
The Speaker ruled that committee proceedings and member conduct cannot be raised in the House via a question of privilege and must be presented through a formal committee report.
July 20, 1973
The purpose of the bill is to provide for the reinstatement of the law relating to capital punishment. The effect of these motions, however, is to remove those provisions from the bill. "In other...
The Speaker reluctantly allows a bill to proceed from committee even though its amendments negate the bill's original principle.
January 12, 1971
Committee proceedings are the responsibility of the members of the committee and it is irregular to refer to such proceedings or to the evidence taken in a committee until a report is before the...
The Speaker affirmed that committees are autonomous in their proceedings, including witness selection, and that such internal matters must be resolved by the committee itself, not the House.
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.
May 20, 1970
The nature of the question is out of order. Only questions relating to procedural matters (if and when a committee will be convened or will meet) may be directed to committee chairmen. Questions...
The Speaker ruled that questions to committee chairs are only in order if they relate strictly to procedural matters like meeting schedules.
December 4, 1969
It has been generally understood for many years that the power to call a meeting for the purpose of electing a chairman and a vice-chairman rest customarily with the Government Whip, not...
The Speaker ruled that the custom of the Government Whip calling a committee's organizational meeting does not constitute a prima facie question of privilege.
May 3, 1967
"Generally speaking... it is irregular to refer to the proceedings or the evidence taken in a committee." It might well be that the procedure followed in the committee was not exactly in...
The Speaker ruled that procedural issues arising in a committee must be resolved within that committee and cannot be appealed to the House.
April 21, 1967
The interpretation of provisional Standing Order 15A is confused, ambiguous and uncertain; the main difficulty stems from the obvious conflict between it and Standing Order 16 concerning...
The Speaker upheld a Chairman's decision regarding a conflict between Standing Orders on the suspension of Private Members' Hour.
January 17, 1967
The Chairman of the Committee of the Whole has heard the arguments for both sides of this issue. In his view, the amendment proposed is beyond the purport of the clause and also of the bill. In...
The Chair upholds a ruling from the Committee of the Whole that an amendment was out of order because it was beyond the scope of the clause and the bill.
May 30, 1966
The initial objections to the amendment made by the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole are sound. The amendment "goes beyond the scope of the clause", and, "adds substantially to what is being...
The Chair ruled an amendment inadmissible because it went beyond the scope of the clause under consideration in the Committee of the Whole.