The Decision-Making Process

Introduction

Although the House of Commons is popularly known as a deliberative assembly, it is fundamentally a decision-making body. Its rules and practices are ultimately designed to allow its members to adopt or negate the proposals before it. The Speaker and the Chair occupants are, of course, responsible for maintaining order and decorum during the entire decision-making process, and for deciding all questions of order.

The decisions selected for this chapter have been grouped for convenience under two themes: first, those decisions relating to the procedural acceptability of motions and amendments during the notice and debate stages of the process, and second, those decisions relating to the rules and practices of the taking of divisions, the final step of the process.

During his term, Speaker Fraser handed down a number of key decisions on motions and amendments. For example, he ruled that a Government motion to suspend the provisions of the Standing Orders with regard to days and times of sitting may appear on the Notice Paper under “Motions”, as part of Routine Proceedings, or under “Government Notices of Motions”. He also found such motions in order if they apply for a limited time and pass with a simple majority vote of Members present. He ruled that a Government motion urging a provincial legislature to take a certain action is also in order; it does not constitute encroachment on an area of provincial jurisdiction. It was determined that the Speaker’s authority to modify a motion extends to complicated motions (i.e. motions containing two or more propositions, each capable of standing on its own). Finally, the Speaker made clear that a motion must be submitted within the deadline set down in the Standing Orders, and if it is submitted by fax, it must be followed by an original copy signed by the Member.

With respect to divisions, whether taken by voice vote or recorded division, many of the Speaker’s decisions involved the issue of proper decorum and, indeed, the Chair reminded the Members of the necessity of maintaining the authority and dignity of the House when voting, no matter how disputatious the measure being voted upon. The Chair clarified the rules and practices concerning the length of time for the ringing of bells calling Members to a vote. Two key rulings, one reflecting on the role of the Whips in the voting procedure and the other reflecting on the practices with respect to “pairing”, are also included in the chapter.

In addition, two selected decisions touch upon the issue of “unanimous consent”, also an element in the decision-making process. In one case, Speaker Fraser expressed concern about the measures agreed to by unanimous consent during debate on a Government motion, while in a second case, he was asked to rule on the procedural acceptability of a proposed new Standing Order (Standing Order 56.1) which to some Members appeared to by-pass the requirement for unanimous consent.