The Decision-Making Process / Miscellaneous

June 15, 1995

Debates, p. 13927

Just before 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 15, 1995, during consideration of a government motion respecting Senate amendments to Bill C-69, An Act to provide for the establishment of electoral boundaries commissions and the readjustment of electoral boundaries, a recorded division was demanded on a subamendment moved by Diane Ablonczy (Calgary North). The acting opposition whip requested that the division be deferred to Monday, June 19, while Don Boudria (Chief Government Whip) urged the Chair to schedule the vote for 1:30 p.m. that day, Thursday, June 15. Michel Gauthier (Roberval ), House leader of the official opposition and Jim Silye (Calgary Centre), Reform Party whip, intervened to ask that the Chair defer the division according to the Standing Orders and practice, that is, in keeping with the first request received, which had been made by the acting opposition whip. The Acting Speaker (Shirley Maheu) took the matter under consideration and promised to return with a decision within a few minutes.^[1] The House then proceeded to the consideration of another government bill.

A few minutes before the time provided for Statements by Members, the Speaker called on the whips to try to reach a consensus on when the vote should take place, or at least to make a recommendation to the Chair. The Speaker noted that it was already past the 1:30 p.m. time suggested by the chief government whip and said that if the whips failed to reach a decision, he would decide the question at 4:00 p.m. that day.^[2]

At 4:00 p.m. that day, in the absence of an agreement between the whips, the Speaker returned to the House with his decision that the vote take place at 11:30 p.m. on Monday, June 19, 1995.

Decision of the Chair

The Speaker: My colleagues, I asked a little earlier if the whips would confer on the deferral of this vote. The Chair would always prefer that these decisions be made in harmony after consultation. To my knowledge no decision has been made by the whips of any of the parties.

I saw the video tapes earlier today of exactly what took place. I have satisfied myself that the acting whip of the Bloc Québécois proceeded in the normal and accepted fashion. I have reviewed what the government whip had to say with regard to this point and I have taken into consideration what the whip of the Reform Party said in the House.

I want to make one thing clear to all honourable members. It is the purview of the Speaker to make this decision. I will tell you how I am not making it. I am not making it on first past the post. It would be unseemly, in my view, to have the whips running up to the table and knocking each other down. This is, after all, the House of Commons and we should have some decorum. Because the decision has been placed on my plate, I have decided and I order that the vote on this particular amendment take place at 11:30 p.m., Monday, June 19.

P0401-e

35-1

1995-06-15