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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 275

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 5, 2024 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 275 - Feb/5/24
The Speaker
  • Feb/5/24 11:56:55 a.m.
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The time has come for the member's right of reply. The hon. member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith has the floor.
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Context: House Hansard - 275 - Feb/5/24
The Speaker
  • Feb/5/24 2:24:40 p.m.
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Before we continue with question period, I would like to remind members that all comments go through the Chair. I would remind the hon. minister that all comments come through the Chair as opposed to directly to another member of Parliament. The hon. member for La Prairie.
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Context: House Hansard - 275 - Feb/5/24
The Speaker
  • Feb/5/24 2:34:13 p.m.
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I am having a little trouble hearing the hon. member. I would ask all members to please quiet down. The hon. Minister of Employment and Workforce Development.
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Context: House Hansard - 275 - Feb/5/24
The Speaker
  • Feb/5/24 2:42:57 p.m.
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I know there are many things I must regret; I am hoping this is not one of them. I would invite ministers to please make sure that the answers are directed through the Chair. The hon. member for Battlefords—Lloydminster.
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Context: House Hansard - 275 - Feb/5/24
The Speaker
  • Feb/5/24 2:45:26 p.m.
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Order. The hon. member from Wellington—Halton Hills is an experienced member and a very respected member. He knows full well that he should wait his turn before he is able to address the House. The hon. member for Edmonton Griesbach.
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Context: House Hansard - 275 - Feb/5/24
The Speaker
  • Feb/5/24 2:48:07 p.m.
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I hate to interrupt the hon. member, but, colleagues, sometimes we can clearly hear the question and sometimes we cannot. This is one of the opportunities where the Chair cannot hear the question. I ask all members to please keep their conversations private so that I can hear the hon. member. Could the hon. member for Winnipeg Centre start her question again from the top?
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Context: House Hansard - 275 - Feb/5/24
The Speaker
  • Feb/5/24 3:02:33 p.m.
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Order, please. Colleagues, it is in everyone's interest that the Speaker be able to hear the questions and the answers that are being put forward in the House. I ask members to please restrain themselves, so I can do so. The hon. government House leader has the floor.
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Context: House Hansard - 275 - Feb/5/24
The Speaker
  • Feb/5/24 3:14:41 p.m.
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It being 3:13 p.m., the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion of the member for Carleton relating to the business of supply. Call in the members.
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Context: House Hansard - 275 - Feb/5/24
The Speaker
  • Feb/5/24 3:28:27 p.m.
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I declare the motion lost.
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Context: House Hansard - 275 - Feb/5/24
The Speaker
  • Feb/5/24 3:31:06 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-57 
The House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the amendment of the member for Dufferin—Caledon to the motion at third reading of Bill C‑57.
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Context: House Hansard - 275 - Feb/5/24
The Speaker
  • Feb/5/24 3:39:52 p.m.
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I declare the amendment lost. I wish to inform the House that because of the deferred recorded divisions, Government Orders will be extended by 24 minutes.
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Context: House Hansard - 275 - Feb/5/24
The Speaker
  • Feb/5/24 3:40:30 p.m.
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Pursuant to Standing Order 97.1(3)(a), a motion to concur in the report is deemed moved, the question deemed put and a recorded division deemed demanded and deferred until Wednesday, February 7, at the expiry of the time provided for Oral Questions.
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Context: House Hansard - 275 - Feb/5/24
The Speaker
  • Feb/5/24 3:52:05 p.m.
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As the hon. member knows, the Chair has made a ruling on what is permissible for presenting petitions. I will ask the hon. member to withdraw those comments and give a brief summary of the petition.
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Context: House Hansard - 275 - Feb/5/24
The Speaker
  • Feb/5/24 3:59:48 p.m.
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Is that agreed? Some hon. members: Agreed.
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Context: House Hansard - 275 - Feb/5/24
The Speaker
  • Feb/5/24 4:00:02 p.m.
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I wish to inform the House that I have notice of a request for an emergency debate. I invite the hon. member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot to make a short statement.
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Context: House Hansard - 275 - Feb/5/24
The Speaker
  • Feb/5/24 4:02:20 p.m.
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I thank the hon. member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot for his remarks, but I do not find that the request meets the requirements of the Standing Orders.
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Context: House Hansard - 275 - Feb/5/24
The Speaker
  • Feb/5/24 4:03:15 p.m.
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The Chair wishes to rule on a question of privilege. This is about a question of privilege raised on December 4, 2023, by the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan concerning proceedings in the Standing Committee on Natural Resources and the application of Standing Order 116(2).
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Context: House Hansard - 275 - Feb/5/24
The Speaker
  • Feb/5/24 4:03:15 p.m.
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In his intervention, the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan referenced several events that had occurred during meeting no. 80 of the committee, which began on October 30, 2023. While the meeting was suspended on several occasions, it adjourned only on December 13, 2023. The first concern raised by the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan was in relation to events surrounding the member for Peace River—Westlock who had sought to participate in the proceedings, though he is not a member of the committee. Secondly, he indicated that instead of giving him back the floor after giving a ruling, the chair of the committee had recognized another member to speak even though he was the one who had the floor prior to the Chair’s ruling. The member argued that both incidents had limited debate on the matter before the committee. Therefore, in his view, the chair of the committee violated Standing Order 116(2) and the Speaker should order that all subsequent proceedings to this be nullified. The Standing Order states: (a) 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. A decision of the Chair in this regard may not be subject to an appeal to the committee. (b) A violation of paragraph (a) of this section may be brought to the attention of the Speaker by any Member and the Speaker shall have the power to rule on the matter. If, in the opinion of the Speaker, such a violation has occurred, the Speaker may order that all subsequent proceedings in relation to the said violation be nullified. The first element I would like to address relates to process. The member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan elected to raise his concerns through a question of privilege, but he was in fact raising a point of order, in that he was asking the Chair to enforce a specific standing order. As such, I can already determine that it is not, in fact, a prima facie case of privilege. Turning to the points raised by the member, I will attempt to deal with them separately, beginning with the matter that relates to the Chair’s role in applying the provisions of Standing Order 116(2). In a ruling from April 1, 2019, Speaker Regan explained the purpose of Standing Order 116(2), at page 26496 of the Debates, stating: Essentially, it seems to the Chair that this new rule is intended to safeguard debate in committee from a procedural hijacking, so to speak, that would permanently end debate on a motion. To answer whether the matter now before the House is one which Standing Order 116(2) intended to address, the Chair has scrutinized the blues from the proceedings of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources. It is the Chair’s understanding that when the matter was raised in the House, the debate on the motion the member wished to speak to was still ongoing and that he did subsequently participate in debate on the same motion. Given that debate on the motion had not yet concluded when the member brought the issue forward and that members could still participate, the Chair can only conclude that no violation of the Standing Order has occurred. As for the member’s contention that the member for Peace River—Westlock was not allowed to speak during the proceedings, I would draw the attention of all members to Standing Order 119, which reads: Any member of the House who is not a member of a standing, special or legislative committee, may, unless the House or the committee concerned otherwise orders, take part in the public proceedings of the committee, but may not vote or move any motion, nor be part of any quorum. Members need not be substituted to participate in the proceedings of a committee, unless the committee has adopted a motion to limit participation as is its right. I understand from the review of the situation that the committee chair’s decision was challenged and was sustained by the majority in this instance. The Chair can therefore confirm that this element does not relate to the conditions outlined in Standing Order 116(2) under which the Speaker would normally intervene. As outlined by former Speakers on many occasions, the Speaker's authority does not normally extend into committee matters, unless the committee sees fit to report the matter to the House. House of Commons Procedure and Practice, third edition, at pages 152 and 153 states: Speakers have consistently ruled that, except in the most extreme situations, they will hear questions of privilege arising from committee proceedings only upon presentation of a report from the committee which deals directly with the matter and not as a question of privilege raised by an individual Member. On March 23, 2015, one of my predecessors added, at page 12,180 of the Debates: This is not to suggest that the chair is left without any discretion to intervene in committee matters but, rather, it acknowledges that such intervention is exceedingly rare and justifiable only in highly exceptional procedural as opposed to political circumstances. Despite the concerns raised by the member, in the absence of a report from the committee on these issues, it is not for the Speaker to intervene in this matter as it remains within the committee’s authority to manage. I thank all members for their attention.
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