Ruling
February 2, 1984
Correspondence from Member prior to election
Hon. Lloyd Francis
Speaker of the House
Ruling Text
A letter, even though written as a private letter, becomes a public document when it becomes part of a record of a department, and therefore must be tabled on request if a Minister has quoted from it. Unanimous consent is not required pursuant to Standing Order 46(2). Speaker Jerome's ruling regarding a requirement for unanimous consent related to a request to print a document as an Appendix to Hansard and therefore does not apply in this case. The rule which does not allow correspondence between a Minister and a Member to be tabled does not apply to correspondence that predates the election of a Member to the House of Commons. Ministers may table documents voluntarily and not only when, having quoted from a document, they are request ed to do so. As regards the ethics of a Minister's actions in releasing private correspondence, the Speaker's responsibility does not include ruling on questions of propriety..
Sources cited Privacy Act, Sections 4, 38-40.
Standing Orders 15(1), 39, 46.
Debates, February 22, 1972, p. 115; January 8, 1974, p. 9135; June 1, 1978, pp. 5951 - 62; January 24, 1984, pp. 700-2.
Beauchesne, 4th ed., p. 126, c. 145; p. 128, c. 150.
Beauchesne, 5th ed., p. 116, c. 327(7); p. 135, c. 379(1) and (2).
References Debates, January 24, 1984, pp. 692-4; January 27, 1984, pp. 809-10; January 30, 1984, pp. 866 - 81.
Edit Metadata
Holding
"A Minister who quotes from a private letter must table it upon request, as it becomes a public document, and this action does not require unanimous consent; rules prohibiting the tabling of correspondence between a Minister and a Member do not apply to correspondence that predates the Member's election."
AI Summary
The Speaker ruled that a Minister must table a private letter if they quote from it in the House, as it then becomes a public document.
AI Analysis
- Outcome
- Denied
- Tone
- Educational
- Procedural Stage
- Oral Questions
- Significance
Low
High