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May 7, 1986
The Standing Orders specify only that a Minister of the Crown, or a Parliamentary Secretary speaking on behalf of a Minister, may speak in reply to questions during the Adjournment Proceedings....
The Speaker ruled that questions cannot be directed to committee chairs during Adjournment Proceedings as the Standing Orders only permit questions to Ministers or Parliamentary Secretaries.
March 18, 1986
Simultaneous translation is provided in the House so that Members can follow the proceedings as they take place, no matter in which language they occur. The issue of translation aside, however,...
This ruling clarifies that challenges to unparliamentary language must be made immediately, as the key test is the disorder caused at the time of speaking, not later.
January 31, 1986
After Question Period the Speaker presented the report of the Clerk of Petitions and then heard a question of privilege. There was no proceeding before the House until the Chair called some matter...
The Speaker clarifies that a point of order is the correct procedural tool to use when no substantive business is currently before the House.
January 21, 1986
The guidelines agreed to in 1977 did not deal with the coverage of special events. A review of the tapes of the last seven joint addresses demonstrates that all have been televised in the same...
The Speaker ruled that broadcasting guidelines for special events are ambiguous and urged a committee to establish clear rules for the future.
December 16, 1985
There is no choice but for the Chair to interrupt the bells and advise the House that the two hours provided for consideration of the time allocation motion have expired.
The Speaker interrupted division bells to announce the mandatory expiry of the two-hour debate on a time allocation motion.
May 17, 1985
Although there has been no ruling on the subject, a review of the proceedings of the House since 1980 shows clearly that petitions have always been presented immediately before introduction of...
The Speaker clarified that while petitions are historically presented before bills, they can also be filed directly with the Clerk at any time during a sitting.
May 16, 1985
The only object of Standing Order 36 is to define which motions are debatable; it does not dictate their placement on the Order Paper. The Standing Orders are silent about how a motion for time...
This ruling clarifies that the government has the discretion to place time allocation motions under 'Government Notices of Motions' as the Standing Orders do not specify their placement.
April 22, 1985
If the traditional criteria are rigidly applied, premature disclosure of committee reports and proceedings undoubtedly encroaches upon parliamentary privilege. The Speaker stated, however, that...
The Speaker ruled that while the premature disclosure of a committee report is a breach of privilege, no action would be taken due to the Canadian tradition of upholding freedom of the press.
December 14, 1984
A committee may only consider those matters which have been referred to it by the House, and must report to the House in order to seek a broadening of its order of reference. It is certain that...
A ruling confirming that parliamentary committees are strictly bound by their orders of reference from the House and cannot self-task or direct other committees.