SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 266

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 12, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 266 - Dec/12/23
Mr. Lloyd Longfield (Guelph, Lib.)
  • Dec/12/23 10:04:49 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(i), I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the eighth report of the Standing Committee on Science and Research, entitled “Government of Canada’s Graduate Scholarship and Post-Doctoral Fellowship Programs”. Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.
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Context: House Hansard - 266 - Dec/12/23
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)
  • Dec/12/23 11:27:54 a.m.
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We are not going to get into a debate on this. I will make sure this is the case in just a moment. Standing Order 18, on page 12, says, “No member may reflect upon any vote of the House, except for the purpose of moving that such vote be rescinded.” This is in the Standing Orders, and I would ask the hon. parliamentary secretary to retract.
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Context: House Hansard - 266 - Dec/12/23
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)
  • Dec/12/23 11:30:03 a.m.
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The hon. member was told that is not allowed by the Standing Orders. The hon. member for Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon.
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Context: House Hansard - 266 - Dec/12/23
Mr. Brad Vis
  • Dec/12/23 11:30:13 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, on that point of order, not only do I take great offence to the fact that he referred to the Conservative Party as far right, but I would also note that according to the Standing Orders, that is not the subject of the debate at hand today.
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Context: House Hansard - 266 - Dec/12/23
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)
  • Dec/12/23 11:32:48 a.m.
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The hon. parliamentary secretary knows that if another member feels something is disruptive or offensive, we have to act on it. The standing order does say that we do not reflect on votes, so I would ask the hon. parliamentary secretary to retract.
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Context: House Hansard - 266 - Dec/12/23
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)
  • Dec/12/23 11:34:01 a.m.
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While the hon. parliamentary secretary may be right in terms of traditions, I have to refer to the Standing Orders as they stand. The hon. member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman rose on a point of order, and there is a standing order reflecting that we cannot refer to votes, so I have to apply it. I ask the hon. parliamentary secretary to retract. The hon. parliamentary secretary.
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Context: House Hansard - 266 - Dec/12/23
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux
  • Dec/12/23 11:34:21 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I suspect that if we were to go through the Standing Orders today, we would find a number of Standing Orders that are somewhat redundant and do not necessarily have value. I would suggest this is one of those Standing Orders, and I would ask—
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Context: House Hansard - 266 - Dec/12/23
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)
  • Dec/12/23 11:34:37 a.m.
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I would agree with the hon. member, but it is not up to me. I am not the one to change Standing Orders as we go. We have a process for that. The hon. member for Kingston and the Islands.
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Context: House Hansard - 266 - Dec/12/23
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)
  • Dec/12/23 11:35:55 a.m.
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I think the hon. member was trying to see if tradition overrides the Standing Orders, if I understand correctly the point the hon. parliamentary secretary was making.
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Context: House Hansard - 266 - Dec/12/23
Mr. Brad Vis (Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, CPC)
  • Dec/12/23 11:36:55 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, Standing Order 11(b) says, “In the event of a member disregarding an order of the Chair made pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section, the Speaker shall order the removal of the member.” Not only did the member for Winnipeg North disregard your order, but he then went on to state that the Standing Orders were not relevant. The Standing Orders under the Parliament of Canada Act are the rules by which we govern democracy in Canada. They are relevant.
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Context: House Hansard - 266 - Dec/12/23
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)
  • Dec/12/23 11:37:55 a.m.
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Since we are taking his comments on the standing order under advisement, I will not be able to proceed with that, but I did invite the hon. member to retract his comments.
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Context: House Hansard - 266 - Dec/12/23
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)
  • Dec/12/23 11:38:07 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, if at any point it was interpreted that I was challenging the ruling of the Chair, I apologize for that. I am glad the Speaker has recognized the very serious nature of what the Conservatives are suggesting by implementing that standing order because it will have a very profound effect on many speeches, not only today but well into the future. I suspect it will be referred to well into the future until the rule is changed. I suggest it is a dated rule and one taken out of context only because members opposite are against the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement, which is not a reflection on the vote. It is very clear that the Conservatives do not support the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement. We remember the voting marathon and voting line by line. We also remember the leader of the Conservative Party saying last week that Conservatives were going to keep the government working until Christmas, that they were going to fight the government over the price on pollution and keep Liberals voting endlessly. There were 30-plus hours of voting. That was the energy of the leader of the Conservative Party. What ended up happening? When midnight approached, a good portion of Conservatives decided to have a nap and did not necessarily participate in the proceedings. Some caused a great deal of concern. When we voted line by line, we saw the true colours of the Conservative Party on a couple of motions. One was on funding to reinforce Canada's support for Ukraine, better known as Operation Unifier. Canadians would have been shocked to see the manner in which the Conservatives dealt with that particular issue. People would be shocked—
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Context: House Hansard - 266 - Dec/12/23
Mr. Brad Vis
  • Dec/12/23 11:44:03 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, under Standing Order 18, I would consider that to be disrespectful and offensive language. I am not MAGA. I do not refer to myself—
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Context: House Hansard - 266 - Dec/12/23
Mr. Garnett Genuis
  • Dec/12/23 11:50:21 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, you have very clearly made a ruling with respect to a standing order on reflecting on a vote. This is not a matter of what individual members want or prefer, it is simply a matter of enforcement of the ruling you made. This member is continuing to show disrespect for the Chair, which is against another standing order, by doing everything he can to make a point that the Speaker has said he cannot make. It is not for me to say what the standing order should or should not be or what the Chair should or should not have ruled, but this member is showing profound disrespect to—
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Context: House Hansard - 266 - Dec/12/23
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)
  • Dec/12/23 11:50:54 a.m.
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I will refer to our book, the Bosc and Gagnon book on procedure. On page 590, chapter 12. It reads: It is not in order for Members to “reflect” upon (i.e., to reconsider or comment upon) votes of the House, and when this has occurred, the Chair has been quick to call attention to it. Members have also occasionally called attention to the rule. I will remind the hon. parliamentary secretary that it is not only a standing order but has also been addressed in House of Commons Procedure and Practice.
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Context: House Hansard - 266 - Dec/12/23
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)
  • Dec/12/23 11:52:13 a.m.
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I agree with the hon. member. There have been many examples of references to votes but today, the standing order was invoked. That is what we are dealing with. Until such time as the Chair comes back with a decision, I think we have to abide by it.
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Context: House Hansard - 266 - Dec/12/23
Mr. Tom Kmiec
  • Dec/12/23 12:35:47 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, on the same point of order, on what the parliamentary secretary just said, a member is allowed to reflect on their own votes. I do not believe the Standing Orders in the House of Commons directly affect how committees vote. I do not believe it has ever been part of the rules directly. Votes cannot be referred to in the House that are taken here. Part of the ruling that is made should also include whether we can refer to votes taken at committee, especially a member's own vote, which a member is allowed to reflect on because it is part of the public record. It should be public and they can refer to it when speaking to constituents and speaking in the House on it. That is what the member for Dufferin—Caledon was doing. If not for the interruption by the parliamentary secretary, I am sure he would have finished by now.
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Context: House Hansard - 266 - Dec/12/23
Mr. Garnett Genuis
  • Dec/12/23 12:36:31 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I rise on the same point of order. I will read very specifically from the standing order I think the member is trying to refer to. This is Standing Order 18, the second half of it, which reads: No member may reflect upon any vote of the House, except for the purpose of moving that such vote be rescinded. That makes fairly clear that reflecting on a vote of committee is not covered by the standing order.
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Context: House Hansard - 266 - Dec/12/23
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)
  • Dec/12/23 5:14:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. There have been discussions among the parties and if you seek it, I think you will find unanimous consent to adopt the following motion: That the motion standing on the Order Paper in the name of the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons related to the appointment of Marie-Chantal Girard as President of the Public Service Commission, pursuant to Standing Order 111.1, be deemed adopted.
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