44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 5, 2023 11:00AM
The Chair would like to comment on the points of order raised on Friday, June 2 by the members for Calgary Forest Lawn and Northumberland—Peterborough South, as well as rule on the question of privilege raised by the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan regarding proceedings on Bill C-47, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 28, 2023.
The various concerns raised touch upon the clause-by-clause consideration of the bill by the Standing Committee on Finance, and how it should inform the selection and grouping of report stage motions by the Speaker. The Chair would also like to address the events surrounding electronic voting during the recorded division held on Friday.
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The Chair will begin by addressing the concerns raised by the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, before turning to the question of selection and grouping of report stage motions.
In his intervention, the member claimed that his privileges were breached during the clause-by-clause consideration of the bill by the Standing Committee on Finance. His concerns centred on the contention that his right to vote, to move subamendments, to speak and raise points of order were unfairly limited by the committee chair. He argued that Standing Order 116(2)(a) had not been respected. Furthermore, the member alleged that the scheduling of the bill last Friday by the government had limited his ability to have report stage motions drafted and submitted in time for publication in the Notice Paper.
Standing Order 116(2)(a) makes clear that a committee can set time limits in relation to its own proceedings. The standing order reads:
Unless a time limit has been adopted by the committee or by the House, the Chair of a standing, special or legislative, committee may not bring a debate to an end while there are members present who still wish to participate.
This also applies during the consideration of legislation.
It is an established practice that a committee can adopt its own orders, set its own deadlines to submit amendments or limit debate during its clause-by-clause consideration of bills. This appears to be what occurred in this case, where the committee adopted a motion to restrict the time for considering Bill C-47. Given that the committee made such a decision, as the Standing Orders allow, I do not believe that the Speaker has any cause to invalidate its proceedings nor to consider them a breach of privilege.
As to the other matters raised by the member, Speakers generally will not address procedural concerns from committees without first having a report outlining what procedural irregularities may have occurred. This was stated by the Assistant Deputy Speaker on Friday and I too see no reason to deviate from this well-established practice in this case.
As to the contention that the scheduling of the bill for consideration in the House last Friday limited members’ ability to submit report stage amendments, I would refer members to Standing Order 76.1(1), and I quote:
The report stage of any bill reported by any standing, special or legislative committee after the bill has been read a second time shall not be taken into consideration prior to the second sitting day following the presentation of the said report, unless otherwise ordered by the House.
The report in question was presented on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. It could therefore be called for debate as early as Friday, June 2, 2023.
This two-sitting imperative, combined with the 24-hour notice requirement to submit report stage motions, is standard and usually provides enough time to have motions drafted and submitted.
As such, members who wish to receive support in the drafting of report stage motions should contact the capable staff in the Office of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel as soon as possible with clear drafting instructions. If members wait to see when the bill will be called, they run the risk of not having their motions drafted in time.
For all these reasons, the Chair fails to see how the rights and privileges of the member were breached.
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- Jun/5/23 11:16:42 a.m.
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Finally, the Chair would also like to revisit the technical issues raised during the taking of the recorded division held on Friday. This matter is of significant importance given that recorded divisions are scheduled regularly.
Casting one’s vote is an important part of our parliamentary system and is central to each member’s parliamentary duties. Members can exercise their vote in person, by rising in the House when their names are called or, since 2021, electronically through the voting application.
The process for electronic voting is spelled out in the order made on June 23, 2022. Subparagraph (o)(iv) of this order specifies that “any member unable to vote via the electronic voting system during the 10-minute period due to technical issues may connect to the virtual sitting to indicate to the Chair their voting intention by the House videoconferencing system.”
If a member is not successful in casting their vote using the app, they may indicate on the House’s Zoom feed how they wish to vote. They can simply connect to the feed, use the raised hand function, wait for the Speaker to recognize them and, when invited to do so, cast their vote, promptly—and I am emphasizing “promptly”—without getting into specifics or providing unnecessary details. This is especially important as there is generally no interpretation during this part of proceedings, as the Clerk announces the name of the member and their vote in English and French.
Last Friday, an unusually large number of members connected to the virtual sitting claiming technical difficulties. As Speaker, I was concerned and therefore mandated the House administration to conduct an assessment of the situation. I would like to commend our committed staff for having invested their time to do a fulsome analysis.
I am happy to report that, besides very minor issues affecting only a few members, no generalized outage occurred that day. The voting application worked as it was meant to.
That being said, issues may arise from situations that are not related to a malfunction of the voting application. While giving the benefit of the doubt and taking members at their word, the Chair has found no evidence of difficulties some members claimed to have experienced.
In a statement made on March 7, 2023, I indicated that the effectiveness of remote participation is based in large part on the use of proper equipment. This ranges from an optimal Internet connection, the type of device used and to the need for adequate sound quality. This includes the use of proper headsets with an integrated microphone. I therefore encourage members to ensure they are properly equipped before participating remotely in a sitting, including when using the voting application.
The Chair has the utmost respect for the voting process. The success of the voting application depends on the good faith of members. All members are to treat their right to vote in this place with the sanctity and respect it deserves.
I want to thank all members for their attention.
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I will now turn to the points raised by the member for Calgary Forest Lawn.
The member indicated that the programming motion adopted by the committee for Bill C-47 had prevented the moving of amendments during the clause-by-clause study of the bill. For that reason, he asked that his motions now be selected at report stage. The member for Northumberland—Peterborough South echoed the same concerns, adding that rulings made by the chair of the committee had prevented members from moving new proposals to the bill.
As stated in House of Commons Procedure and Practice, third edition, at pages 787 and 788:
...the Speaker could, if he or she thinks fit, call upon any Member who has given notice of an amendment to explain it so as to enable the Speaker to form a judgment upon it, but in practice, Members would send a written submission to the Speaker if there were any doubt as to the selection of their amendments for debate.
I would like to stress the latter part of this sentence. This important practice was also mentioned by the Assistant Deputy Speaker when she addressed the point of order on Friday.
If members wish to assist the Speaker in his deliberations, they are strongly encouraged to bring their arguments for the selection of their report stage motions by way of a written submission when they place them on notice. They can nonetheless rest assured that all report stage motions are always carefully analyzed by the Speaker, even if they are not accompanied by written submissions. The Speaker makes his determination after a thorough analysis of the committee’s consideration of a bill, precedents and guidance provided by the Standing Orders. This includes considering whether or not motions could have been presented in committee.
As per usual practice, the Speaker’s rationale for the selection of motions for Bill C-47 will be provided to the House when it is called for consideration at report stage.
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- Jun/5/23 2:20:12 p.m.
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The hon. leader of the official opposition.
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- Jun/5/23 2:21:36 p.m.
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The hon. leader of the official opposition.
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- Jun/5/23 2:23:00 p.m.
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The hon. Leader of the Opposition.
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- Jun/5/23 2:31:23 p.m.
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The hon. member for Thornhill.
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- Jun/5/23 2:32:41 p.m.
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The hon. member for Calgary Forest Lawn.
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- Jun/5/23 2:35:17 p.m.
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The hon. member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles.
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- Jun/5/23 2:42:26 p.m.
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I want to remind hon. members, there is a little chattering and I am not pointing at either side here, that this chamber is much more technically advanced than our old chamber, and it picks up everything. If someone is speaking and someone next to the microphone, not even next to it but a couple of seats away, says something, it will be picked up.
I just want everyone to keep that in consideration while someone is speaking.
The hon. Minister of Families, please start over so that we could hear the whole thing. It will be nice and quiet.
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- Jun/5/23 2:46:17 p.m.
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The hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie.
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- Jun/5/23 2:49:17 p.m.
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- Jun/5/23 2:50:01 p.m.
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The hon. member for Hastings—Lennox and Addington.
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- Jun/5/23 2:58:26 p.m.
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The hon. member for Calgary Confederation.
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- Jun/5/23 3:10:03 p.m.
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That is all the time we have for question period today.
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- Jun/5/23 3:10:03 p.m.
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It being 3:10 p.m., pursuant to order made Thursday, June 23, 2022, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion of the member for Mégantic—L'Érable relating to the business of supply.
Call in the members.
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- Jun/5/23 3:40:17 p.m.
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I declare the motion defeated.
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- Jun/5/23 5:02:13 p.m.
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I declare the motion defeated.
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- Jun/5/23 5:02:49 p.m.
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It is my duty, pursuant to Standing Order 38, to inform the House that the questions to be raised tonight at the time of adjournment are as follows: the hon. member for Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, Housing; and the hon. member for Nunavut, Northern Affairs.
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