The Daily Program

Introduction

The daily program of the House follows a predetermined sequence outlined in the Standing Orders. The daily activities of the House are generally grouped into five categories: Daily Proceedings, Routine Proceedings, Government Orders, Private Members’ Business, and Adjournment Proceedings.

All items of business that the House can deal with in a given sitting are listed on the Order Paper, which is the complete and official agenda of the House.

Daily Proceedings includes three events in the daily schedule: the Prayer—which is followed by the national anthem on Wednesdays—Statements by Members, and Oral Questions. The daily routine of business is a time in the daily schedule when business of a basic nature is considered, providing members with an opportunity to bring a variety of matters to the attention of the House, generally without debate. Government Orders includes any matter proposed by a minister that the House has ordered for consideration. Each sitting, one hour of House time is set aside for Private Members’ Business, during which bills and motions sponsored by members who are not ministers or parliamentary secretaries are considered. Lastly, Fridays excepted, Adjournment Proceedings is the final category of business considered on a sitting day. During this time, members may seek further information from the government on questions raised during Oral Questions. Speaker Regan made a number of rulings on several items of business, including Presenting Petitions and Oral Questions, during Daily Proceedings.

Speaker Regan delivered a ruling on the eligibility of paper petitions, following a point of order, on October 29, 2018. A member said that a paper petition was rejected by the Clerk of Petitions because it was printed on a sheet of paper that was larger than that prescribed by the Standing Orders, thereby precluding signatories with a visual impairment from submitting an eligible petition to their member for presentation in the House. This point of order led to an amendment to Standing Order 36(1.1)(c), which now allows petitions to be presented on a larger-size sheet of paper.

On October 23, 2018, Speaker Regan delivered a ruling on a question of privilege raised by a member regarding the number of oral questions allotted to independent members during Oral Questions. The member claimed that there is an unacceptable inequity between the allotment to independent members and that to members from recognized parties. The Speaker ruled that the number of questions allotted to independent members struck a balance between the rights of members and the management of House business. In addition, he said that the Chair had found no evidence that the rights of independent members had been breached or that these members had been prevented from fulfilling their parliamentary duties.