Question of Privilege
May 27, 1998
Questions on the Order Paper: unsatisfactory answers
Hon. Gilbert Parent
Speaker of the House
Ruling Text
The Speaker:
Of course I want to listen to any question of privilege and I do listen attentively. From what I heard today this is a dispute of the facts.
We have an honourable member saying he put a question in and he received an answer. The answer he received does not coincide with the facts that he believes he has.
We have the honourable government House leader, standing up and saying that to the best knowledge of whoever prepared this and to his best knowledge these are the facts as they are stated. You put the Speaker in a position where he becomes an ombudsman for a fact determination.
You mentioned a ruling that I made in 1994. I ruled also as reported at page 9426 of Hansard on February 9, 1995, when I said:
This is not the first time there have been disputes over replies to Order Paper questions or over the content of documents tabled by a minister. For example, I refer honourable members to three rulings, the first on February 28, 1983 at pages 23278 [and 23279] of the Debates; the second on February 21, 1990 at page 8618; the third on May 15, 1991 at page 100. I must point out, however, that in none of these cases was the matter found to be prima facie.
Speaker Fraser noted on May 15, 1991, in his ruling:
The honourable member has raised an issue which is not an unusual kind of issue to raise. The honourable member is not satisfied with the response given. The difficulty that is always with the Chair in these cases is that there are often very great differences of interpretation on answers given. It is not a question of privilege. It is a question of disagreement over certain facts and answers that were given.
The honourable member will know that I did listen to his arguments. I listened to the opposition whip and I listened to the government House leader. In my view this is surely a dispute over the facts but it is not a question of privilege.
P0304-e 36-1 1998-05-27
Edit Metadata
Holding
"A dispute over the factual accuracy of a government response to an Order Paper question is a matter for debate, not a prima facie question of privilege."
AI Summary
The Speaker ruled that a dispute over the factual content of an answer to an Order Paper question is not a prima facie question of privilege.
AI Analysis
- Outcome
- Denied
- Tone
- Educational
- Procedural Stage
- Routine Proceedings
- Significance
Low
High