The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, when shall this report be taken into consideration?

(On motion of Senator Klyne, report placed on the Orders of the Day for consideration at the next sitting of the Senate.)

The Hon. the Speaker: Excuse me, Senator Housakos. I will let you finish, but I saw a couple of senators rising. I will remind senators that no points of order can be raised during Question Period.

The Hon. the Speaker: Senator Patterson, did you wish to speak?

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I will take the point of order matter under advisement.

[Translation]

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Beth Bechdol, Deputy Director General, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. She is the guest of the Honourable Senator Black.

On behalf of all honourable senators, I welcome you to the Senate of Canada.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Marwa Haroon. She is the guest of the Honourable Senator Smith.

On behalf of all honourable senators, I welcome you to the Senate of Canada.

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, when shall this bill be read the second time?

(On motion of Senator Gagné, bill placed on the Orders of the Day for second reading two days hence.)

[English]

The Hon. the Speaker: Is leave granted, honourable senators?

The Hon. the Speaker: Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, on Thursday, June 2, Senator Plett rose on a point of order concerning various aspects of Question Period. I wish to thank him for having raised his concerns and seeking clarification. I have myself noted various concerns on this point.

The first issue raised pertained to the practice of asking questions to committee chairs. Rule 4-8(1)(c) states that questions can be asked of “a committee chair, on a matter relating to the activities of the committee”. While there is considerable flexibility in questions, those asked of chairs must in some way relate to the committee’s “activities”. We can seek guidance in a ruling of November 13, 1980, which noted that committee activities include “the specific things that are done by the committee, such as the holding of meetings, the election of a chairman, the calling of witnesses, the hiring of staff, advertising, and any other matter relating to the manner in which the committee conducts its proceedings.” This was reiterated in a ruling of March 20, 2007, where the Speaker added that “[g]eneral issues about planning and upcoming work are [also] included in the broad category of committee activities.”

On this matter, I would also remind honourable senators that questions cannot be asked of chairs of subcommittees. As explained in a ruling of September 29, 2010, this is “because the subcommittee reports to this house through the chair of the committee.” Any question pertaining to a subcommittee should therefore be directed to the chair of the committee in question.

The second issue raised pertained to the length of questions and answers. On this point, I would like to remind the Senate that rule 4-8(2) states that there shall be “no debate during Question Period, and only brief comments or explanatory remarks shall be allowed.” As explained on May 10, 2006:

The rationale for prohibiting debate during Question Period and for creating Delayed Answers is due, in part, to the limited time given to Question Period. The thirty minutes allotted for questions and answers is to promote the immediate exchange of information about the policies of the [g]overnment or the work of a committee.

In the interest of fairness, senators should thus keep their questions and answers brief. This will allow responses to be brief and will allow as many colleagues as possible to participate.

Senators have also taken to sometimes asking two, three, or even four questions at once. This practice circumvents the whole purpose of having a list of senators to participate in Question Period and leads to long and complex answers. I encourage colleagues to ask brief, focused and clear questions, and for answers to be similarly concise.

Before concluding, I would also repeat previous cautions about supplementary questions. These should relate to the main question. They are meant as an opportunity to request clarification, not to ask a completely different, unrelated question. If a senator wishes to ask a different question, their name should go back on the list for a new question.

Question Period in the Senate has traditionally been characterized by the respectful and useful exchange of information. I would encourage all senators to reflect on this and to continue to conduct themselves in a manner that serves all colleagues and the institution.

[English]

The Hon. the Speaker: Honourable senators, I wish to draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of a former partner of mine, Mr. Gerald O’Brien, Q.C. He is accompanied by his wife, author and historian Patricia O’Brien.

On behalf of all honourable senators, welcome to the Senate of Canada.