CHAPTER XI

PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS

Notice

Notice of item by one Member.

86. (1)  Any one Member may give notice of an item of Private Members' Business.

Two weeks' notice required.

(2)  In the case of Private Members' Notices of Motions, at least two weeks' notice shall be given.

More than one seconder.

(3)  Notwithstanding the usual practices of the House, not more than twenty Members may jointly second an item under Private Members' Business and may indicate their desire to second any motion in conjunction with the Member in whose name it first appeared on the Notice Paper, by so indicating, in writing to the Clerk of the House, at any time prior to the item being proposed.

Appending seconders' names.

(4)  Any names received, pursuant to section (3) of this Standing Order, shall be appended to the notice or order as the case may be. Once proposed to the House, Members' names shall not be added to the list of those seconding the said motion or order.

Similar items. Speaker to decide.

(5)  The Speaker shall be responsible for determining whether two or more items are so similar as to be substantially the same, in which case he or she shall so inform the Member or Members whose items were received last and the same shall be returned to the Member or Members without having appeared on the Notice Paper.

Private Members’ Business to continue.

86.1 At the beginning of the second or a subsequent Session of a Parliament, all items of Private Members’ Business originating in the House of Commons that have been listed on the Order Paper during the previous Session shall be deemed to have been considered and approved at all stages completed at the time of prorogation and shall stand, if necessary, on the Order Paper or, as the case may be, referred to committee and the List for the Consideration of Private Members’ Business and the order of precedence established pursuant to Standing Order 87 shall continue from session to session.

Reinstatement of Senate public bills after prorogation.

86.2 (a) During the first sixty sitting days of the second or subsequent Session of a Parliament, whenever pursuant to Standing Order 69.(2) a bill is brought from the Senate, anda private Member proposing the first reading of the bill states that the said bill is in the same form as a Senate public bill that was before the Housein the previous Session and the Speaker is satisfied that the said bill is in the same form as at prorogation, notwithstanding Standing Order 71, the said bill shall be deemed to have been considered and approved at all stages completed at the time of prorogation and shall stand, if necessary, on the Order Paper pursuant to Standing Order 87 after those of the same class, at the same stage at which it stood at the time of prorogation or, as the case may be, referred to committee, and with the designation accorded to it pursuant to Standing Order 92(1) during the previous Session.

Member not to lose place on List.

(b) A Member shall not lose his or her place on the List for the Consideration of Private Members’ Business by virtue of sponsoring a Senate public bill, but no Member may sponsor more than one such bill during a Parliament.

Order of Precedence

Establishing List andorder of precedence at beginning of Session.

87. (1)(a)(i)  At the beginning of the first Session of a Parliament, the Clerk of the House, acting on behalf of the Speaker, shall, after notifying all Members of the time, date and place,conduct a random draw of the names of all Members of the House to establish the List for the Consideration of Private Members’ Business, and, on the twentieth sitting day following the draw, the first thirty eligible names on the List shall constitute the order of precedence.

Ineligible Members.

(ii) Following the draw referred to in subparagraph (i) of this section, the names of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries, who are ineligible by virtue of their offices, shall be dropped to the bottom of the List for the Consideration of Private Members’ Business, where they will remain as long as they hold those offices.

Members becoming eligible.

(iii) Members who become eligible during the course of a Parliament shall be added to the bottom of the eligible names on the List for the Consideration of Private Members’ Business, provided that their position shall be determined by adraw if more than one Member becomes eligible on a given day.

Member to specify item

(b)  Not later than the ordinary hour of daily adjournment on the second sitting day after the day on which the draw is conducted, each Member whose name is in the order of precedence, and who has given notice of more than one item, shall file with the Clerk an indication as to which item is to be placed in the order of precedence. If a Member does not file such an indication within the time specified, the first bill standing on the Order Paper in the name of that Member under Private Members' Business will be included in the order of precedence. Where there are no bills standing in the name of the Member, the first motion standing in the name of that Member will be selected or, if required, the first notice of motions (papers).

Eligibility for order of precedence.

(c) In order to be placed in the order of precedence pursuant to paragraph (a) of this Standing Order, a Member must have a notice of motion on the Order Paper or Notice Paper or a bill on the Order Paper set down for consideration at the second reading stage.

During a Session.

(2)(a) The Clerk of the House, acting on behalf of the Speaker, shall, when necessary during a Parliament, replenish the order of precedence with the names of the next fifteen Members on the List for the Consideration of Private Members’ Business.

Designation as non-votable.

(b) Not later than the ordinary hour of daily adjournment on the second sitting day after the day on which the order of precedence is established or replenished, a Member whose name has been placed in the order of precedence may indicate that he or she wishes to have his or her item designated as non-votable by informing the Clerk in writing.

Establishing new List.

(3) If during the course of a Parliament, there are fewer thanfifteen eligible names remaining on the List for theConsideration of Private Members’ Business, the Clerk, acting on behalf of the Speaker shall, after notifying all Members of the time, date and place, conduct a random draw of the names of all Members of the House to establish a new List for the Consideration of Private Members’ Business.

Notice of other items.

(4)  The establishment of an order of precedence for Private Members' Business shall not be construed so as to prevent Members from giving notice of items of Private Members' Business.

Only Order of precedence items to be considered.

(5)  The House shall not consider any order for the second reading and reference to a standing, special or legislative committee or for reference to a Committee of the Whole House of any bill, nor any Notices of Motions or Notices of Motions (Papers) unless the said item has been placed in the order of precedence.

Two week period.

88.  Subject to Standing Order 71, at least two weeks shall elapse between first and second reading of Private Members' Public Bills.

Order of bills on precedence list.

89.  The order for the first consideration of any subsequent stages of a bill already considered during Private Members' Business, of second reading of a private bill and of second reading of a private Member's public bill originating in the Senate shall be placed at the bottom of the order of precedence.

On adjournment or interruption.

90.  Except as provided pursuant to Standing Order 96, after any bill or other order standing in the name of a private Member has been considered in the House or in any Committee of the Whole and any proceeding thereon has been adjourned or interrupted, the said bill or order shall be placed on the Order Paper for the next sitting at the bottom of the order of precedence under the respective heading for such bills or orders.

Suspension of Private Members' Business until order of precedence established.

91.  Notwithstanding Standing Order 30(6), the consideration of Private Members' Business shall be suspended and the House shall continue to consider any business before it at the time otherwise provided for the consideration of Private Members' Business until an order of precedence is established pursuant to Standing Order 87(1) and the period provided for in Standing Orders 86(2) and 88 has elapsed.

Sub-Committee on Private Members’ Business

91.(1) At the beginning of the first Session of a Parliament, and thereafter as required, the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs shall name one Member from each of the opposition parties, two Members from thegovernment party and a Chair from the government party to constitute the Sub-Committee on Private Members’ Business, which shall be empowered to meet forthwith after the establishment or replenishment of the order of precedence to determine whether the items placed in the order of precedence are non-votable according to the criteria adopted by the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.

Substitutions

(2) Substitutions in the membership of the Sub-Committee on Private Members’ Business shall be made in conformity with Standing Order 114.

Report of Sub-Committee

92.(1) When the Sub-Committee agrees that an item of Private Members’ Business originating in the House of Commons, or a Senate public bill which is similar to a bill voted on by the House in the same Parliament, should be designated as non-votable, it shall forthwith deposit a report of its decision with the clerk of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.

Appearance of sponsor.

(2) Within five sitting days of the deposit of a report referred to in section (1) of this Standing Order, the sponsor of an item that is the object of the report shall have the opportunity to appear before the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs and to provide a written submission to the Committee to explain why the item should be votable.

Report to House

(3) Where the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, following proceedings pursuant to section (2) of this Standing Order, concurs in the report of the Sub-Committee on Private Members’ Business, it shall report that decision to the House forthwith, and, notwithstanding Standing Order 54, no notice of a motion to concur in the Committee’s report shall be receivable.

Filing of appeal.

(4)(a) Where a report pursuant to section (3) of this Standing Order has been presented to the House, the sponsor of the item which is the object of the report may appeal the decision of the Committee by filing with the Speaker within five sitting days of the presentation of the said report, a motion to that effect signed by the sponsor and five other Members of the House representing at least four of the parties in the House, and, if no appeal is filed with the Speaker during the period provided for in this paragraph, the report is deemed adopted.

Secret ballot on appeal.

(b) Where the Speaker is satisfied that a motion in appeal filed pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section is in conformity with the Standing Orders, he or she shall inform the House to that effect and shall cause a vote on the appeal to be held by secret ballot during the hours of sitting of the House on the next two sitting days, during which time Members may deposit their completed ballot papers in the ballot box placed on the Table for that purpose.

Time limit on items. Dropping of item to bottom of precedence list.

93. (1) Except as provided for in Standing Order 96.(1), unless previously disposed of, bills at the second reading stage or motions shall receive not more than two hours of consideration and, unless previously disposed of, an item having been once considered, shall be dropped to the bottom of the order of precedence and again considered only when it reaches the top of the said order.

Voting and deferral of recorded divisions.

Provided that, unless otherwise disposed of, at the end of the time provided for the consideration of the said item, any proceedings then before the House shall be interrupted and every question necessary to dispose of the selected motion or of the selected bill at the second reading stage, shall be put forthwith and successively without further debate or amendment. If requested, a recorded division shall be deemed deferred to an appointed time on the next Wednesday, no later than the beginning of Private Members’ Business.

10 sitting days to elapse.

(2) At least ten sitting days shall elapse between the first and second hour of debate on items referred to in section (1) of this Standing Order.

Amendments by consent.

(3) Amendments to motions and to the motion for the second reading of a bill may only be moved with the consent of the sponsor of the item.

Speaker's responsibility.

94. (1)(a) The Speaker shall make all arrangements necessary to ensure the orderly conduct of Private Members' Business including:

Notice of items to be considered.

(i) ensuring that all Members have not less than twenty-four hours' notice of items to be considered during "Private Members' Hour"; and

Publication of notice.

(ii) ensuring that the notice required by subparagraph (i) of this paragraph is published in the Notice Paper.

Private Members' Hour suspended when notice not published.

(b)  In the event of it not being possible to provide the twenty-four hours' notice required by subparagraph (i) of this section, "Private Members' Hour" shall be suspended for that day and the House shall continue with or revert to the business before it prior to "Private Members' Hour" until the ordinary hour of daily adjournment.

Forty-eight hours' notice required when Member unable to move his or her item. Speaker to arrange an exchange.

(2)(a)  When a Member has given at least forty-eight hours' written notice that he or she is unable to be present to move his or her motion under Private Members' Business on the date required by the order of precedence, the Speaker, with permission of the Members involved, may arrange for an exchange of positions in the order of precedence with a Member whose motion or bill has been placed in the order of precedence, provided that, with respect to the Member accepting the exchange, all of the requirements of Standing Order 92 necessary for the Member’s item to be called for debate have been complied with.

When no arrangement can be made, business before House to continue.

(b) In the event that the Speaker has been unable to arrange an exchange, the House shall continue with the business before it prior to "Private Members' Hour".

Limitation on exchanges.

(c)When an item is placed at the bottom of the order of precedence pursuant to Standing Order 42(2) or 94(2)(b), that shall be indicated on the Order Paper by marking the item with an asterisk and

(i) the sponsor shall be prohibited from requesting an exchange pursuant to Standing Order 94(2)(a); and

(ii) notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order 42(2), if the item is not proceeded with when next called, it shall be dropped from the Order Paper.

Time limit on speeches. Votable item.

95.(1)  When an item of Private Members' Business that is votable is under consideration, the Member moving the item shall speak for not more than fifteen minutes followed by a five minute period for questions and comments. Thereafter, no Member shall speak for more than ten minutes. The Member moving the said item shall, if he or she chooses, speak again for not more than five minutes at the conclusion of the second hour of debate, or earlier if no other Member rises in debate.

Time limit on speeches. Non-votable item.

(2) When an item of Private Members' Business that is not votable is proposed, the Member moving the item shall speak for not more than fifteen minutes. Thereafter, no Member shall speak for more than ten minutes for a period not exceeding forty minutes. After forty minutes, or earlier if no other Member rises in debate, the Member moving the said item shall, if he or she chooses, speak again for not more than five minutes and thereby conclude the debate.

No dilatory motions.

(3) Notwithstanding Standing Order 29(3), no dilatory motions shall be allowed during Private Members’ Business.

Dropped orders

96.(1)  The proceedings on any item of Private Members' Business which has been designated a non-votable item pursuant to Standing Orders 87.(1)(c), 92(3) or 92(4)(b) shall expire when debate thereon has been concluded or at the end of the time provided for the consideration of such business on that day and that item shall be dropped from the Order Paper.

Not to be considered as a decision of the House.

(2) The dropping of an item pursuant to section (1) of this Standing Order shall not be considered a decision of the House.

Not to apply in certain cases.

(3) This Standing Order shall not apply to the consideration of Notices of Motions for the Production of Papers or of Notices of Motions (Papers).

Production of papers. When debate desired.

97. (1) Notices of motions for the production of papers shall be placed on the Order Paper under the heading "Notices of Motions for the Production of Papers". All such notices, when called, shall be forthwith disposed of; but if on any such motion a debate be desired by the Member proposing it or by a Minister of the Crown, the motion will be transferred by the Clerk to the order of "Notices of Motions (Papers)".

Time limits on speeches and debate.

(2)  When debate on a motion for the production of papers, under the order "Notices of Motions (Papers)", has taken place for a total time of one hour and thirty minutes, the Speaker shall at that point interrupt the debate, whereupon a Minister of the Crown, whether or not such Minister has already spoken, may speak for not more than five minutes, following which the mover of the motion may close the debate by speaking for not more than five minutes. Unless the motion is withdrawn, as provided by Standing Order 64, the Speaker shall forthwith put the question.

Committee Report.

97.1  A standing, special or legislative committee to which a Private Member's public bill has been referred shall in every case, within sixty sitting days from the date of the bill's reference to the committee, either report the bill to the House with or without amendment or present to the House a report containing a recommendation not to proceed further with the bill and giving the reasons therefor or requesting a single extension of thirty sitting days to consider the bill, and giving the reasons therefor. If no bill or report is presented by the end of the sixty sitting days where no extension has been approved by the House, or the thirty sitting day extension if approved by the House, the bill shall be deemed to have been reported without amendment.

Bill to be placed at bottom of precedence list after committee stage.

98. (1)  When a Private Member's bill is reported from a standing, special or legislative committee or a Committee of the Whole House, or is deemed to have been reported pursuant to Standing Orders 86.1 and 97.1, the order for consideration of the report stage shall be placed at the bottom of the order of precedence notwithstanding Standing Order 87(4).

Two-day debate at certain stages of a bill.

(2)  The report and third reading stages of a Private Member's bill shall be taken up on two sitting days, unless previously disposed of, provided that once consideration has been interrupted on the first such day the order for the remaining stage or stages shall be placed at the bottom of the order of precedence, notwithstanding Standing Order 96 and shall be again considered when the said bill reaches the top of the said order.

Extension of sitting hours. Limited to five hours.

(3) When the report or third reading stages of the said bill are before the House on the first of the sitting days provided pursuant to section (2) of this Standing Order, and if the said bill has not been disposed of prior to the end of the first thirty minutes of consideration, during any time then remaining, any one Member may propose a motion to extend the time for the consideration of any remaining stages on the second of the said sitting days during a period not exceeding five consecutive hours, which shall begin at the end of the time provided for Private Members’ Business, except on a Monday when the period shall begin at the ordinary hour of daily adjournment, on the second sitting day, provided that:

Support of twenty Members.

(a)  the motion shall be put forthwith without debate or amendment and shall be deemed withdrawn if fewer than twenty members rise in support thereof; and

No subsequent motion unless intervening proceeding.

(b) a subsequent such motion shall not be put unless there has been an intervening proceeding.

When question put.

(4) On the second sitting day provided pursuant to section (2) of this Standing Order, unless previously disposed of, at the end of the time provided for the consideration thereof, any proceedings then before the House shall be interrupted and every question necessary to dispose of the then remaining stage or stages of the said bill shall be put forthwith and successively without further debate or amendment.If requested, a recorded division shall be deemed deferred to an appointed time on the next Wednesday, no later than the beginning of Private Members’ Business.

Suspension of adjournment hour in certain cases.

(5) If consideration has been extended pursuant to section (3) of this Standing Order, the Standing Orders relating to the ordinary hour of daily adjournment shall be suspended until all questions necessary to dispose of the said bill have been put.

Suspension

Suspension of Private Members' Business in provided cases.

99. (1) The proceedings on Private Members' Business shall not be suspended except as provided for in Standing Orders 2(3), 30(4), 52(14), 83(2), 91 and 94(1)(b) or as otherwise specified by Special Order of this House. No Private Members' Business shall be taken up on days appointed for the consideration of business pursuant to Standing Order 53 nor on days, other than Mondays, appointed for the consideration of business pursuant to Standing Order 81(18).

Suspension on a Monday.

Whenever Private Members' Business is suspended or not taken up on a Monday, the House shall meet from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon for the consideration of Government Orders.