Private Members’ Business

Introduction

Private Members’ Business consists of bills and motions presented by members of Parliament who are not ministers of the Crown. Private members’ hour is the one-hour period during each sitting of the House during which items of Private Members’ Business are considered.

Speaker Parent came to the Chair following a period of active reform and fundamental change in the Standing Orders governing Private Members’ Business, during which questions as to the application of the new rules and the institution of new practices occasionally required intervention by the Chair. This process of acclimatization to new rules and their occasional refinement and clarification continued during the tenure of Speaker Parent.

The decisions selected for this chapter illustrate the issues which faced Speaker Parent and the other Chair occupants during the 35th and 36th Parliaments.

Two rulings deal with the handling of a private member’s motion containing allegations of contempt by one member against another.

On two occasions the Speaker was called on to respond to concerns about the availability and confidentiality of the services provided to members by legislative counsel of the House of Commons.

In one ruling, the Speaker clarified the status of items standing on the order of precedence when a random draw is held to select additional items.

In another, the Speaker drew on his authority to ensure the orderly conduct of Private Members’ Business and rendered a decision pertaining to the rules providing for the exchange of items as it applied in the case of a particular private members’ bill.