Ruling
December 16, 1981
Referral to committee
Hon. Jeanne Sauvé
Speaker of the House
Ruling Text
Parliamentary practice holds that a petition may only be read with the unanimous consent of the House. If the House declines to give unanimous consent to the reading of a petition, it is hard to see how it can be asked to give unanimous consent to referral to committee, or to dealing with it in some other fashion. The only way a Member can have his or her petition considered is to present it to the House and have it registered and recorded in the Debates.
Edit Metadata
Holding
"When unanimous consent to read a petition is denied, a Member cannot then seek unanimous consent to refer that petition to a committee; the only recourse is to have it presented and recorded in the Debates."
AI Summary
The Speaker clarifies that if unanimous consent to read a petition is denied, consent cannot then be sought to refer it to a committee.
AI Analysis
- Outcome
- Other
- Tone
- Educational
- Procedural Stage
- Routine Proceedings
- Significance
Low
High