Statement
March 30, 1984
Suspension of sitting
Hon. Lloyd Francis
Speaker of the House
Ruling Text
The problem has been with the House since the bell-ringing incident of March 1982. The rules and practices of the House do not provide the Speaker with specific guidelines for the handling of these situations. In the absence of any guidelines, certain initiative have been taken by the Chair, founded on what appears to be sensible, given the circumstances. These recent precedents will be followed until such time as the House makes its will known to the Chair. The Chair suggest that the House has three options open to it: that the bells be controlled by the Whips, by the Speaker or by Standing Order. The Chair favour the adoption of a Standing Order to limit the length of time the bells may ring.
Edit Metadata
Holding
"Pending a formal change by the House, the Chair will follow recent ad-hoc precedents for managing division bells but strongly recommends the House adopt a Standing Order to resolve the issue permanently."
AI Summary
The Speaker addresses the procedural gap regarding division bell duration, stemming from a 1982 incident, and recommends the House adopt a Standing Order to resolve it.
AI Analysis
- Outcome
- Other
- Tone
- Educational
- Procedural Stage
- Not specified
- Significance
Low
High