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November 9, 1978
The complaint was raised at the earliest opportunity. The letter from the Solicitor General to Mr. Lawrence can be considered a proceeding in Parliament for the purpose of privilege. A contempt...
The Speaker found a prima facie case of contempt, ruling that a minister's letter is a proceeding in Parliament and the sub judice convention does not apply to a Royal Commission.
April 17, 1978
The Minister of Finance denied the possibility of a leak of budget information respecting the sales tax and, of course, the House must accept his word. The Chair has serious doubts as to whether...
The Speaker denied a question of privilege concerning an alleged budget leak, ruling that the matter did not meet the criteria for privilege and the motion was too general.
October 31, 1977
A key concept in considering a motion moved under Standing Order 26 is that of emergency which can apply to a sudden occurrence or an unexpected event. It can apply also to "the sudden and...
The Speaker rules that the sub judice convention does not apply to an investigatory commission, thus permitting an emergency debate on the matter.
January 28, 1975
The subject matter of the motion can hardly be described as an emergency. As the Member himself put it, the court's decision has aggravated a situation which has already existed for a long time....
The Speaker denied a request for an emergency debate, citing the long-standing nature of the issue and the sub judice convention.
October 4, 1971
Too narrow an interpretation of the authorities cited by Members would place Parliament in an intolerable situation where "the whole legislative process might be stopped simply by the initiation...
The Speaker ruled that the sub judice convention does not apply to bills, preventing legal proceedings from halting the legislative process.
February 25, 1970
The return presented is obviously not in the conventional or traditional form. If a return is to be of any value to a Member it should be presented in a form that will convey to the Member the...
The Speaker ruled that tabling documents on microfilm is improper as returns must be presented in a form that is immediately interpretable without a mechanical device.
November 24, 1967
The difficulty in this case is that an application for an injunction had been made and, consequently, the matter "is now in a way, and up to a certain point, before the courts". Nonetheless, a...
The Speaker permitted an urgent debate on a matter despite a related court injunction, ruling that the sub judice convention did not apply to the broader issue.