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.
June 8, 1978
The Speaker said that the comments of the judge could be interpreted two ways; either that he was speaking in defence of his court or that he was intending to intimidate the Member. If he had...
The Speaker ruled that a judge's comments did not constitute intimidation of a Member as no threat of contempt of court was made.
May 15, 1978
While the civil suit has caused the Member certain difficulties, it cannot be said to constitute obstruction or harassment in the narrow sense in which one must construe the privilege of freedom...
The Speaker ruled that a civil suit and radio show appearance do not breach parliamentary privilege as they are not extensions of proceedings in Parliament.
May 15, 1978
It is not possible to see "how privilege as defined can be extended beyond the physical precincts and, indeed, beyond the life of a Parliament to cover, not Members but candidates, not in respect...
A ruling clarifying that parliamentary privilege does not apply to candidates during an election period when Parliament is dissolved.
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.
March 21, 1978
While there are no previous precedents in any of the earlier practices of this House or of Westminster, and although this case involves an incident which took place beyond the precincts of...
The Speaker rules that electronic surveillance of a Member, even off-precinct, could constitute a contempt of the House by way of intimidation or obstruction.
February 14, 1978
The parliamentary buildings are not commercial premises. "Anything taking place in these buildings certainly ought to have a parliamentary connection and ought to be in keeping with a number of...
A ruling clarifying that parliamentary buildings are not commercial premises and all activities must respect the dignity of the institution.
December 5, 1977
On close technical grounds the motion can be ruled unacceptable because it is too general to qualify as a question of privilege. Members did not consider carefully enough that the judge's comments...
The Speaker denies a question of privilege concerning a judge's comments, ruling the motion too general and the comments outside the scope of parliamentary privilege.
June 23, 1977
Under the umbrella of privilege, a Member has raised a matter of grievance and expressed a personal statement. This is a practice which is allowed under certain circumstances even though it does...
The Speaker ruled that a Minister acting through a solicitor to address critical material does not constitute a breach of privilege but is a matter for debate.
June 23, 1977
In these situations, the practice of resorting to a question of privilege has become customary. It permits a Member to make what is essentially a personal statement under the umbrella of privilege...
The Speaker rules that personal attacks do not meet the threshold for a question of privilege unless they obstruct a Member's parliamentary duties.