Point of Order
November 8, 2024
Statement concerning unparliamentary language when quoting from a document
Hon. Greg Fergus
Speaker of the House
Ruling Text
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes):
I am now going to read my decision on the point of order that was raised late during yesterday's sitting. A point of order was raised by the parliamentary secretary to the government House leader in relation to language used by the member for King—Vaughan when quoting from correspondence.
In quoting from the said document, the member for King—Vaughan had taken the appropriate step of replacing the name of the Prime Minister by his title; however, she did read into the record a relatively strong and offensive term in relation to that member. In his intervention, the parliamentary secretary argued that one should not do indirectly what cannot be done directly. As we were getting close to the Adjournment Proceedings, I undertook to take the matter under consideration and come back to the House if necessary.
First off, it is an acceptable practice for members to quote from correspondence they receive. As mentioned in the House of Commons Procedure and Practice, third edition, at page 614:
[Members] may quote from private correspondence as long as they identify the sender by name or take full responsibility for its contents It also says, on the same page, that:
There is no Standing Order which governs the citation of documents; the House is guided mainly by custom and precedent. Generally, the reading of articles from newspapers, books or other documents by a Member during debate has become an accepted practice and is not ruled out of order provided that such quotations do not...use language which would be out of order if spoken by a Member.
[Translation]
This principle has been confirmed by multiple rulings by Speakers. For example, in Speaker Milliken's ruling of November 8, 2006, on page 4895 of the Debates, he pointed out, and I quote:
Hon. members cannot do indirectly what they cannot do directly. Using language that is unparliamentary because they are quoting somebody is not satisfactory. We will not have these quotes read this way.
[English]
I would urge all members to stay away from such comments even when quoting from documents. Taking unparliamentary language from a quotation and then attributing it to another individual does not make it more acceptable.
I thank all members for their attention.
Edit Metadata
Holding
"Members cannot use unparliamentary language by quoting it from an external document, as one cannot do indirectly what is forbidden to be done directly."
AI Summary
The Speaker ruled that quoting unparliamentary language from a document is out of order, as members cannot do indirectly what they are forbidden from doing directly.
AI Analysis
- Outcome
- Sustained
- Tone
- Educational
- Procedural Stage
- Debate
- Significance
Low
High