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April 1, 2010
The Speaker: I am now prepared to rule on the point of order raised on March 24, 2010, by the hon. Member for Joliette, concerning comments made on the social networking site Twitter by the hon....
The Speaker ruled that while he cannot police Members' social media use outside the Chamber, commenting on the presence or absence of other Members online is improper and should be avoided.
March 14, 2008
The Speaker: I am now prepared to rule on the point of order raised by the hon. Member for Mississauga South on March 3, 2008, concerning the proceedings in the Standing Committee on Access to...
The Speaker deferred ruling on a committee's alleged mandate overreach, instead issuing a stern warning about widespread procedural dysfunction in committees during a minority parliament.
November 13, 2007
The Speaker: Order, please. The Chair obviously was aware this argument might take place, because correspondence had been sent outlining the arguments of the two parties that have made submissions...
The Speaker rules on the apportionment of supply days after prorogation by applying the parties' original proportional formula to the reduced total.
December 14, 1995
The Speaker: Before we proceed to the consideration of the speech of His Excellency the Governor General of Canada, I wish to address the matter of the designation of the official opposition....
The Speaker ruled that in a mid-parliamentary tie for the second-most seats, the incumbent party retains the status of official opposition.
December 15, 1988
The Speaker: Honourable Members will recall that yesterday afternoon I entertained extensive argument with respect to the motion standing under Government Order No. 1 for today. There were two...
The Speaker rules that a government motion to suspend Standing Orders is procedurally in order, as the House has the authority to alter its own rules by a majority vote.
June 8, 1988
The Speaker: I am now ready to rule on the arguments given some days ago with respect to Bill C-130. In my view, they were excellent arguments. I wish to advise honourable Members that the Chair...
The Speaker ruled that the omnibus free trade implementation bill (C-130) was procedurally acceptable because its many amendments were unified by the single purpose of enacting an international treaty.
December 9, 1987
Mr. Speaker: On Wednesday, November 25, 1987, the honourable Member for Broadview-Greenwood raised in the House the manner in which her Private Members' Bill C-204 is being dealt with in the...
The Speaker ruled that allegations of obstruction within a committee are not a question of privilege and must be addressed by the committee itself before being brought to the House.
September 15, 1987
The Speaker: On September 1, 1987, the honourable Member for Kamloops—Shuswap raised a point of order relating to the circumstances surrounding the taking of a deferred division at six o'clock...
The Speaker rules that while the Whips' convention provides flexibility for division bells, a 30-minute ringing for a 15-minute bell is an unacceptable violation of the Standing Orders that will not be permitted to recur.
October 11, 1979
The Speaker: On June 1, 1994, the honourable member for Winnipeg—Transcona raised a point of order concerning the designation of party status for members of the New Democratic Party. I would like...
The Speaker ruled that the House, not the Chair, must decide on granting official party status, but used his discretion to seat the NDP caucus together on the seating plan.
April 10, 1973
It is a fundamental principle of the parliamentary system that financial initiative belongs to the Crown. A long-established practice of this House is that committee recommendations requiring...
The Speaker rules that committee reports cannot directly mandate government spending and must use specific wording to respect the financial initiative of the Crown.