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February 11, 1982
It is the responsibility of the Government and not of the Chair to decide in what order Government business shall be called and considered. The allotted day scheduled for Friday has not been...
The Speaker confirms the government's authority to control the order of its business, including postponing a scheduled allotted day.
February 8, 1982
The provision in our Standing Orders that deals with statements by Ministers is permissive, not mandatory. It says very clearly that a Minister may make a statement on a matter of policy or any...
The Speaker ruled that Standing Orders are permissive, not mandatory, regarding ministerial statements, and thus cannot compel a minister to make an announcement in the House.
January 26, 1982
Amendments and Subamendments to Motions / Relevance January 26, 1982 Debates p. 14342 Background During consideration of a non-confidence motion moved by Mr. Clark (Leader of the Opposition)...
The Speaker ruled a subamendment out of order for being beyond the scope of the main amendment.
November 17, 1981
A Minister may be expected to answer to the House for the acts of his officials, but the Government is not responsible for the acts or statements of a Royal Commission. Furthermore, even though...
The Speaker ruled that the government is not responsible for the statements of a Royal Commission, even if it finds a government answer was false, provided there was no malicious intent.
November 4, 1981
There can be no doubt, as numerous precedents indicate, that questions to chairmen of committees are in order when such questions relate to procedural matters, for example, the time and place of...
The Speaker denied a point of order, ruling that a minister may answer a question addressed to a committee chair if it touches on general House business.
October 23, 1981
As indicated in a precedent, "it is not envisaged that (Standing Order 26] ought to be used to bring what are considered crises from individual constituencies or industries before the House"; "the...
A request for an emergency debate on an economic issue was denied because it lacked urgency and other opportunities for debate were available.
July 16, 1981
According to one authority, there are three essential and clearly defined stages in obtaining a decision of the House: first, the moving of a motion; then, the proposing of a question by the...
This ruling affirms the practice of allowing a Member to interrupt the voting process on a motion to raise a point of order or ask a question, protecting their right to speak.
April 7, 1981
Amendments to the Content of Bills / Report Stage April 7, 1981 Journals p. 1671 Debates p. 9052 Background During report stage consideration of Bill C-42, An Act to establish the Canada Post...
This is not a ruling but a description of the constitutional principle that reserves the right to initiate financial legislation to the Crown (the government).
April 1, 1981
Not only is the personal situation of each Member not governed by the Standing Orders, but it would be violating the principle of equality of all Members in the House if a difference were to be...
The Speaker rules that the Chair cannot determine the legality of a measure and must treat all Members as equals, regardless of their professional background.
March 27, 1981
Mr. Broadbent (Oshawa) having explained to the House that the information had been obtained from the Office of Federal-Provincial Relations, the argument that all Members did not have equal access...
The Speaker denied a point of order regarding the alleged use of public funds for a political document, stating the Chair does not judge the propriety of government actions.