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Business in a Committee of the Whole is considered less formal than business in the House and, while certain specific rules apply to this forum, its Chairs are normally more flexible in enforcing them.[81] Proceedings in a Committee of the Whole are governed by the Standing Orders as far as may be applicable, except for four major differences relating to the seconding of motions, permission to speak more than once, the length of speeches and the place from which Members may speak. First, the rules and practices that apply to motions in the House generally apply in a Committee of the Whole, except that motions do not require a seconder.[82] However, once moved, motions may be withdrawn only by the mover and only with the unanimous consent of the Committee.[83] Second, contrary to the current Standing Orders in the House stipulating that a Member may not speak more than once in a given debate, a Member participating in a debate in Committee of the Whole is not limited in the number of times he or she may speak to a question.[84] As in any parliamentary committee, the previous question cannot be moved in a Committee of the Whole, because one of the primary functions of the Committee is to deliberate.[85] Third, speeches in a Committee of the Whole are not subject to the many rules respecting the length of speeches for the various types of debate in the House. Committees of the Whole have special time limit rules that vary according to the type of study being conducted.[86] Contrary to the normal practice in the House, however, Members may not share their speaking time.[87] Fourth, because they are meeting as a committee, it is not necessary for Members to be in their place in order to speak.[88] Members must, however, wait to be recognized by the Chair before speaking or moving a motion. In addition, as in the House, where all remarks are addressed to the Speaker, Members must address all remarks to the Chair.[89] It has occurred however, that Members address one another, ask questions and receive answers directly.[90] In these exchanges, Members should nevertheless always refer to one another by the names of their ridings as is done in the House.[91] The relevancy rule stipulates that debate in a Committee of the Whole must be strictly relevant to the item, clause or amendment under consideration.[92] If a Member’s speech is not relevant to the debate, the Chair is empowered to call the Member to order.[93] An exception which has developed to the rule of relevance is the wide‑ranging debate permitted on Clause 1 of a bill (or Clause 2 if Clause 1 only contains the short title of a bill).[94] Certain limits have nonetheless been established for consideration of Clause 1, including proscriptions against any repetition of second-reading debate and against anticipation of the clause‑by‑clause debate.[95] Moreover, debate must be confined to the contents of the bill.[96] A further limitation applies when an amendment has been proposed to Clause 1: remarks must be restricted to the amendment until it has been disposed of.[97] If a Member persists in irrelevance or repetition, refuses to withdraw unparliamentary remarks or to resume his or her seat when so requested, or if the proceedings become disorderly and the Chair is unable to restore order and decorum in the Committee, the Chair may rise and report the incident to the Speaker without seeking leave of the Committee. The Speaker takes the Chair, receives the report of the Chair of the Committee, deals with the matter as if the incident had happened in the House and may subsequently name the Member if necessary.[98] In the case of unparliamentary language, the Speaker may simply ask the Member to withdraw the remarks. In extreme cases of disorder in a Committee of the Whole, the Speaker has taken the Chair without waiting for the Chair of the Committee to report.[99] In all cases, after the matter has been dealt with, the Committee can resume its deliberations without a motion to that effect.
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