Point of Order
July 24, 1969
Committee report; Standing Orders
Hon. Lucien Lamoureux
Speaker of the House
Ruling Text
It is acknowledged that "the report is not the report of the majority". At the same time, the parliamentary system does not recognize minority and majority reports, but only the report of a committee which is put before the House for adoption or rejection. The request seeks to have the Chair, under the provisions of the Standing Orders, substitute its judgment for the judgment of Members. The Chair questions if it can do this in accordance with parliamentary tradition. It is duty of the Chair, as the servant of the House, to rule on such matters in accordance with the rules, regulations, and Standing Orders. The Chair should not be placed in this kind of position and counts on Members on both sides to ensure that this does not happen again.
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Holding
"The Chair cannot substitute its judgment for that of a committee and will not intervene based on whether a report represents a majority or minority view within that committee."
AI Summary
The Chair ruled that parliamentary procedure only recognizes a single committee report, not majority or minority reports, and the Speaker cannot substitute their judgment for the committee's.
AI Analysis
- Outcome
- Denied
- Tone
- Stern
- Procedural Stage
- Routine Proceedings
- Significance
Low
High