Point of Order
November 19, 1996
Senate amendments to a government bill: procedural acceptability
Hon. Gilbert Parent
Speaker of the House
Ruling Text
The Speaker:
I thank the honourable member for St. Albert for bringing this specific point of order to the House. I listened with interest to what the parliamentary secretary had to say, both being put in juxtaposition.
We have here two amendments by the Senate for which concurrence of the House is sought. What the member is asking me to do is to rule on the procedural acceptability of changes made by the Senate. My view is that your Speaker cannot stand as a procedural judge on what is done by the Senate. What they do over there, they do over there.
I would refer members to a ruling made April 26, 1990, at page 10723 of the Commons Debates, where Mr. Speaker Fraser notes:
The Speaker of the House of Commons cannot unilaterally rule out of order amendments from the other place. I can comment, as I am doing, but the House as a whole must ultimately make the decision to·accept or reject amendments from the Senate, whether they be in order according to our rules or not.
It comes down to a decision of the House.
I am going to reach back just a little further to Erskine May, 20th edition, Parliamentary Practice. I am quoting from page 582. Subsection (2) states:
No objection can be taken to a Lords Amendment— —which means a Senate amendment for our purposes— —on the ground of order.
These amendments are sent to us from the Senate. Your Speaker cannot rule procedurally on what the Senate does. That is a matter for the House to decide. The House should rule on these amendments.
I thank both honourable members for their interventions and for bringing this to my attention.
P0504-e 35-2 1996-11-19
Edit Metadata
Holding
"The Speaker cannot rule on the procedural acceptability of amendments originating from the Senate; the decision to accept or reject such amendments rests with the House."
AI Summary
The Speaker ruled that he cannot judge the procedural acceptability of Senate amendments, as that decision belongs to the House of Commons itself.
AI Analysis
- Outcome
- Denied
- Tone
- Educational
- Procedural Stage
- Government Orders
- Significance
Low
High