The Daily Program

Routine Proceedings

The items collectively known as “Routine Proceedings” comprise Tabling of Documents, Statements by Ministers, Presenting Reports from Inter-Parliamentary Delegations, Presenting Reports from Committees, Introduction of Government and Private Members’ Bills, First Reading of Senate Public Bills, Motions, Presenting Petitions, and Questions on the Order Paper.

Tabling of Documents

Many statutes and Standing Orders require that reports, returns or other documents be laid before the House. Certain Crown corporations and federal advisory boards, for example, must, according to statute, make annual reports through the appropriate Minister to the House. Pursuant to Standing Order, the Government may table responses to committee reports or to petitions presented by Members, Order-in-Council appointments or nominations, or any report or other paper dealing with its administrative responsibilities.

The Standing Orders determine, by distinguishing between the various types of documents being tabled and the authority under which they are tabled, whether the Minister or Parliamentary Secretary must table such documents in the House when the item “Tabling of Documents” is called or whether such documents can be deposited with the Clerk of the House, a practice known as “backdoor tabling”.

During his term, Speaker Fraser was called upon to rule on an alleged absence of information in a report which had been deposited with the Clerk of the House pursuant to an Act of Parliament. That ruling has been included in this section of Chapter 3. Other decisions pertaining to the tabling of documents can be found in the chapters dealing with “Parliamentary Privilege”, “The Rules of Debate” and “Committees”.

Statements by Ministers

When the item “Statements by Ministers” is called, a Minister may make a short factual statement on matters of Government policy. A representative of each opposition party may then comment on the Minister’s remarks. The Speaker may limit the length of the remarks and responses as he sees fit.

During Speaker Fraser’s mandate, few points of order or questions of privilege were raised during this portion of Routine Proceedings. Nevertheless, he was asked to clarify the application of, and the issue of respect for, the Standing Orders and traditions governing Ministers’ Statements. For example, he insisted on the importance of the advance notice given to opposition parties. He also delivered a ruling on the parties authorized to respond to a statement made by a Minister. Finally, he commented on announcements made by Ministers outside the House.

Presenting Reports from Inter-Parliamentary Delegations

The Standing Orders provide that within twenty sittings days of the return to Canada of an officially recognized inter-parliamentary delegation composed, in any part, of Members of the House, the head of the delegation (or a Member representing that person) is to present a report to the House on the activities of the delegation. The Member presenting the report is permitted to make a succinct oral presentation of the subject-matter of the report.

No major points of order or questions of privilege were raised on this matter during Speaker Fraser’s term, and thus no rulings are included under this rubric.

Presenting Reports from Committees

Standing, special and legislative committees make their views known to the House by means of a report. The Member presenting the report on behalf of the committee is permitted to give a succinct explanation of the subject-matter of the report. The Standing Orders do not provide for the tabling of a minority report.

However, since May 1991, committees are authorized, if they so wish and so agree, to print an appendix to any report containing supplementary or dissenting opinions or recommendations. Upon presentation of a report with such an appendix, a committee member of the Official Opposition, representing those who supported the opinions expressed in the appended material, may also rise to give a succinct explanation of these views.

During Speaker Fraser’s term, he was called upon to make a number of decisions concerning committees and committee reports. A decision, impacting directly on practice during “Routine Proceedings”, is included in this chapter. Other decisions on committee reports can be found in the chapters on “Committees” and “The Legislative Process”.

Introduction of Bills

At the beginning of Speaker Fraser’s term, the rubric in the Standing Orders was entitled “Introduction of Public Bills”. Following amendments to the Standing Orders in June 1987, however, the rubric was divided into two separate items: “Introduction of Government Bills” and “Introduction of Private Members’ Bills”.

The ruling in this section is concerned with the issue of whether a Cabinet Minister can give a short explanation of a Government Bill at the time of introduction.

Some additional rulings on procedural points concerning the introduction of bills are found in the chapters on “The Legislative Process”, “Financial Procedures”, and “Private Members’ Business”.

First Reading of Senate Public Bills

When the item “First Reading of Senate Public Bills” is called from the Chair under Routine Proceedings, the sponsoring Member or Cabinet Minister may move first reading of any bills then listed on the Order Paper under that rubric. Pursuant to Standing Order, the motion for first reading is now deemed carried, without debate, amendment or question put.

No major points of order or questions of privilege were raised on this matter during Speaker Fraser’s term, and thus no rulings are included under this rubric.

Motions

The types of motions normally moved under this heading are those relating to the business of the House, usually moved by the Government, or those relating to the discussion of committee reports, usually moved by a private Member. The Standing Orders enumerate other types of motions that may be presented during Routine Proceedings: “such other motion, made upon Routine Proceedings, as may be required for the observance of the proprieties of the House, the maintenance of its authority, the appointment or conduct of its officers, the management of its business, the arrangement of its proceedings, the correctness of its records, the fixing of its sitting days or the times of its meeting or adjournment.” The motions listed in this Standing Order and motions for the concurrence in a report of a standing or special committee are debatable.

In April 1991, a new Standing Order (then numbered 56.1) was adopted by the House and impacted on the rubric “Motions”. In essence, the rule provided that if unanimous consent for a routine motion had previously been requested and denied, a Minister of the Crown could rise during Routine Proceedings to request that the motion in question again be put to the House. The question on the motion was then to be put forthwith without debate or amendment. If twenty-five or more Members rose against the motion, it was deemed withdrawn; otherwise, it would be deemed adopted.

This section of the chapter contains three rulings. When Speaker Fraser was first elected to the Chair, the ordinary way of proceeding when the item “Motions” was reached was to call the names of each of the Members who had motions listed under that rubric and to inquire whether the motion should “stand”. Less than a year later, the Speaker was asked to alter this method of proceeding. His decision in this regard is the first ruling concerning “Motions” in this section.

The Speaker was also called upon frequently to decide whether items were correctly placed on the Order Paper under the heading “Motions”, as opposed to “Government Notices of Motion” or “Private Members’ Business”. Two of his key rulings on the issue of proper placement are to be found in this section of the chapter.

Other rulings concerning the placement of motions on the Order Paper, and a ruling on the proposed new Standing Order (Standing Order 56.1) pertaining to certain routine motions put forward by a Cabinet Minister mentioned above, can be found in the chapter on “The Decision-Making Process”.

Presentation of Petitions

On each sitting day, Members may rise in the House to present petitions when the item “Presentation of Petitions” is called. Once recognized by the Chair, the Member may make a very brief statement on the content of the petition. The petition itself may not be read and no debate is permitted. Every petition has to be examined and certified correct as to form and content by the Clerk of Petitions before it can be presented. A Member may also file a certified petition with the Clerk of the House at any time during a sitting, and it will be so recorded in the official record of proceedings. The Government is to respond to every petition referred to it within forty-five days following presentation.

During Speaker Fraser’s term, the text of the Standing Order and the practices relating to petitions changed very little, with the exception that amendments to the Standing Orders adopted in April 1991 provided that the time to be taken up under the rubric “Presentation of Petitions” each day could not exceed fifteen minutes. Prior to that date, the time taken up under this rubric had been unlimited and was sometimes used as a tactic to delay other proceedings.

This section of the chapter contains six rulings addressing matters related to, among other issues, the content of and signatures on petitions; the authority for Members to present petitions endorsed by another Member; the appropriateness of certain statements made when presenting petitions and the right to be recognized a second time during presentation of petitions; the rules respecting the time-frame for the Government’s response; and the long-standing prohibition against directly seeking funds from Parliament. A further key ruling concerning the applicability of the Standing Order respecting petitions to a petition for a private Bill is located in the chapter on “Private Members’ Business”.

Questions on the Order Paper

Members may address questions on matters of urgency without notice to the Government during Oral Question Period. Members may also submit written questions, most of which require a long, detailed or technical answer for inclusion, following notice, on the Order Paper. No Member may have more than four such questions on the Order Paper at any time; when notice of the question is given, the Member may ask the Government to answer within a 45-day period. A Member may also request an oral response to a question on the Order Paper, by marking it with an asterisk. No Member may have more than three such “starred” questions on the Order Paper at any one time.

When the item “Questions on the Order Paper” is called under Routine Proceedings, a number of practices govern proceedings at this stage. For instance, the Minister or, more frequently, a Parliamentary Secretary rises to announce which questions the Government intends to answer on that particular day, whether by tabling the answers (which will then be published in the Debates); whether by providing an oral answer; or whether by making the question an “order for return”.

Members have used this point of the parliamentary proceedings to raise any major questions of privilege or points of order concerning Order Paper questions and the Government’s replies. During Speaker Fraser’s term, he was called upon frequently to rule on such matters. Three rulings are included in this chapter which concern, among other issues, the failure of the Government to reply within the specified forty-five day period; the appropriateness of the Government including additional information in the answer which had not been sought in the original question; and a request to transfer Order Paper questions into “Notices of Motions for the Production of Papers”.