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November 22, 1983
Precedence and Sequence of Business / Business of the House November 22, 1983 Debates p. 29061 Background As the House was about to proceed to the consideration of the business of supply under the...
A procedural ruling concerning the selection and priority of motions for debate on an allotted day of Supply.
October 27, 1983
According to one authority, it is usual to give priority to members of the Government who wish to speak. Moreover, the parliamentary spirit allows that courtesies are afforded to certain Members...
The Speaker affirms their absolute discretion to select which Member speaks, balancing customary priority for Ministers with the equal rights of all Members.
June 28, 1983
The Member's statement, of course, does not constitute debate, for the very fact that during that period there was no motion before the House. The practice in the House is that the names of the...
The Speaker clarifies that the rule against using the names of the Royal Family or Governor General in debate should also be applied with discretion during Members' statements.
May 26, 1983
The Acting Speaker gave a ruling as to the substance of the problem and his ruling was entirely correct and reflects the rules and practices in that whenever a specific length of time is provided...
A ruling clarifying that time for points of order does not reduce total debate time, but the Chair has discretion to extend an individual's speaking time.
April 7, 1982
Under the Standing Orders, the Chair has no discretionary power to have petitions read, except in cases where a petition claimed some present personal grievance requiring an immediate remedy; then...
The Speaker ruled that a petition cannot be read aloud by order of the Chair unless it addresses an urgent personal grievance or receives unanimous consent.
November 9, 1981
The microphones are activated upon instructions from the Chair and only when the Chair gives the floor to a Member by identifying him by the name of his constituency. This is the only way to be...
The Speaker rules that only formal recognition by the Chair, not an activated microphone, grants a Member the right to speak.
March 31, 1981
Only the House can decide whether to discontinue or not to initiate a debate. Whatever the practice followed, the sub judice convention does not apply when studying bills, that is while the House...
The Speaker ruled that the sub judice convention does not prevent the House from debating legislative matters, including constitutional resolutions, even if the subject is before the courts.