Rule of Debate / Order and Decorum

Use of props in the chamber; budget bill

November 29, 2018

Debates, p. 24232

On November 29, 2018, during debate at third reading of Bill C-86, a second act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on February 27, 2018 and other measures, Luc Berthold (Mégantic—l’Érable) noted the omission in the bill of any provisions related to agriculture or agri-food. To emphasize his point, Mr. Berthold proceeded to deliberately flip through the bill one page at a time in silence. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons) rose on a point of order questioning the use of the budget document as a prop. Peter Julian (New Westminster—Burnaby) and Christine Moore (Abitibi—Témiscamingue) also reaffirmed that specific references to agriculture were neglected in the bill but found the turning of pages for six minutes an impediment to ensuring that as many members as possible would have time to participate in debate on the bill.^[1]

Resolution

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Anthony Rota) ruled immediately, stating that members have the right to consult the budget bill during their speech but that he hoped Mr. Berthold would find quickly what he was looking for during the time remaining for his speech.

Decision of the Chair

The Assistant Deputy Speaker: On that point of order, I can give the hon. member my interpretation.

Hon. members, when giving a speech, have the right to consult the budget bill. As the Speaker, I cannot really determine their ability to find what they are looking for. I would have to leave it to the individual.

The hon. member does have, from what I can gather, about six minutes and 37 seconds left. I am hoping he will find what he is looking for quickly and be able to give us the information he is trying to find.

I will let the hon. member continue with his speech.