Ruling
July 13, 1981
Adding a preamble; new headings
Hon. Jeanne Sauvé
Speaker of the House
Ruling Text
Where a bill, as introduced, does not contain a preamble, it is not competent for a committee to introduce one. The same rules apply at report stage. As for the headings of the various parts of a bill, they are the responsibility of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel and since they do not constitute an integral part of the bill, they are not therefore open to amendment.
Edit Metadata
Holding
"Committees and the House at report stage cannot add a preamble to a bill that was introduced without one, nor can they amend the headings of a bill's parts."
AI Summary
This ruling establishes that committees cannot add a preamble to a bill if one was not present at introduction, nor can they amend bill headings.
AI Analysis
- Outcome
- Other
- Tone
- Educational
- Procedural Stage
- Government Orders
- Significance
Low
High