Introduction

The Selected Decisions of Speaker John A. Fraser is the sixth in a series of volumes which will bring together in a comprehensive collection all of the significant modern rulings of the Speakers of the Canadian House of Commons. Earlier volumes contained the decisions of Speakers Lucien Lamoureux (1966-1974), James Jerome (1974-1979), Jeanne Sauvé (1980-1984),  Lloyd Francis (1984), and  John  Bosley  (1984-1986).  The  present  volume  contains 193 decisions, covering the period from 1986 to 1993 when John Fraser presided over the House.

Mr. Fraser was first elected to Parliament in 1972 and was re-elected in 1974, 1979, 1980, 1984, and 1988. He served in two federal Cabinets, in 1979 and 1984-1985, under two Prime Ministers. He became Speaker following the resignation of Speaker John Bosley at the beginning of the Second Session of the Thirty-Third Parliament and presided over the entire Thirty-Fourth Parliament. He was the first Speaker to be elected, and then re-elected, by secret ballot of his peers in the House of Commons.

Following the major changes to the Standing Orders in 1968, Speaker Lamoureux presided over a time when procedure and practice was largely redefined. Similarly, during his tenure, Speaker Fraser made a number of significant and procedurally complex rulings and statements which continue to influence the evolution of our practice. He presided over a House which, at the beginning of his term, had recently revisited many of its fundamental rules and practices (this through the McGrath Committee reforms, some of which were adopted in 1987) and which would, in the subsequent years of his term, undertake even more in-depth studies and contemplate, experiment with and adopt further amendments to the Standing Orders. A number of his decisions thus formed the basic interpretation of new rules, thereby establishing precedents, or placed a new interpretation on the rules and practice, thus refining or re-defining the appropriate practice.

When delivering his rulings, many of which impacted on the progress of highly contentious legislative proposals, Speaker Fraser took especial care to situate the decision within the current political and procedural context, and manifested a particular interest in enlightening the viewing public. Among other considerations, this tendency led the editors of this volume to consider an alternative format for the presentation and publication of the rulings during his term.

Each of the selected decisions is presented in a uniform format. This format includes first a brief account of the procedural or political background which led to the issue being actually raised in the House of Commons. The text of the decision as delivered in the House by Speaker Fraser or one of his fellow presiding officers is then presented, along with any necessary footnote references. Each decision within a given chapter has a descriptive header which indicates the primary procedural issue being decided; in some cases, a postscript explaining a pertinent outcome or subsequent action is also included . The decisions are grouped within ten chapters each of which begins with a brief introductory passage. In certain chapters, the sequence of decisions was governed strictly by order of date delivered, while in other chapters the sequence of the selected decisions was determined by the grouping of like subject-matter headings, without regard to the date and order in which they were delivered. The number of decisions selected necessitated their publication in separate English and French volumes.

There are a number of methods by which any particular decision can be located. First, the volume contains a chronological listing of all decisions. As well, there is a detailed analytical index. Both the index and chronological listing are to be found at the back of the volume. In addition, readers are encouraged to scan the descriptive headers located at the top of each decision, in order to determine if the subject-matter of the decision or even a particular aspect of that subject-ma tter would encourage them to view the entire decision, and to refer to the introductions to the various chapters. It should be remembered that this volume, like others in the series, represents a selection of key decisions. In all, Speaker Fraser and his fellow presiding officers were required to adjudicate on more than 900 occasions during the period under consideration in this volume.

I have had the privilege of serving the House in various capacities during the tenure of all six Speakers in the series of "Selected Decisions". However, for almost all of his two terms, it was as Clerk of the House that I served under John Fraser. As such, I had the opportunity to witness and to appreciate the intellectual rigour he brought to preparing and reviewing his decisions. His sense of history was surpassed only by his passion for Parliament; his devotion to the parliamentary process was matched by his steadfastness in its defense . I learned a great deal working with him. The Deputy Clerk at the time, Mary Anne Griffith, and I agree that we owe him a debt of gratitude for his guidance, his support and his inspiration.

Many people have contributed to the completion of these volumes. I would like to acknowledge their contribution and thank them for their professionalism and their tireless efforts in pursuit of excellence in this series. My thanks goes to the Table Officers involved; the staff of House Proceedings who worked so assiduously to prepare the manuscript; the staff of Parliamentary Publications who crafted the indexes and published the text; the House of Commons Printing Services who printed these volumes; and the Parliamentary Translation Services who ensured a felicitous version of the work in both official languages.

Ottawa, 1999

Robert Madeau

Clerk of the House of Commons