Introduction

The Selected Decisions of Speaker Geoff Regan is the 10th in a series that brings together, in a comprehensive collection, the significant rulings of Speakers of the 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), John Bosley (1984–1986), John A. Fraser (1986–1994), Gilbert Parent (1994–2001), Peter Milliken (2001–2011) and Andrew Scheer (2011–2015). The present volume contains 109 decisions from 2015 to 2019, when Speaker Geoff Regan presided over the House.

Geoff Regan was first elected to Parliament in 1993 and was re-elected seven times between 2000 and 2019. His election to the Speakership of the 42nd Parliament in 2015 was notable for the fact that he was the first Speaker to be elected from Atlantic Canada in nearly a hundred years and the very first to be elected by single preferential ballot. During his career in the House prior to becoming Speaker, Mr. Regan served as a cabinet minister, parliamentary secretary, opposition critic, and vice-chair of several committees and subcommittees. As he stated in his speech to the House while seeking election as Speaker, “I have sat in all corners of this House.” Speaker Regan also has the distinction of being a third-generation parliamentarian; his father, Gerald Augustine Regan, served in the 26th and 32nd Parliaments, and his grandfather, John Hornby Harrison, served in the 21st, 22nd and 23rd Parliaments.

Speaker Regan’s conduct as Chair was characterized by his dedication to improving the tone of debate and maintaining proper order and decorum. His rulings were noted for their fairness and procedural competence, and colleagues appreciated his congeniality and sound judgment.

With respect to questions of privilege raised to assert the rights and immunities of the House and its Members, Speaker Regan found that only a few met the test of prima facie and earliest opportunity. A prima facie case was found when the contents of a bill were made public before its introduction in the House. He also ruled in cases affecting members’ right to unobstructed access to the Parliamentary Precinct.

Speaker Regan’s decisions formed the first body of jurisprudence guiding the application of the new Standing Order 69.1, which provides the Speaker with authority to divide the questions, on omnibus bills, for the purposes of voting on the motion for second reading and referral to a committee and the motion for third reading and passage of the bill. Speaker Regan explained how he would look to precedents involving the division of complicated motions to govern the application of the new power. By doing so, he offered guidance on when elements would be considered so distinct as to merit separate votes.

The Speaker’s tenure witnessed the highest number of independent members and members from unrecognized parties in the House of Commons in over a generation. In his rulings, he sought to balance the rights of independent members with the need to manage the business of the House effectively.

Speaker Regan’s decisions also respected the limits of the Chair’s authority. Asked to rule that a meeting of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association had been improperly held, he explained the limitations of his ability to adjudicate the proceedings of parliamentary associations, noting that such associations are not creatures of the House.

Though a guardian of rules, practices and traditions of the House, Speaker Regan also encouraged it to chart new procedural ground. In examining the authorities provided exclusively to ministers under Standing Order 68(4) to bring forth a bill, Speaker Regan acknowledged the limitations the Chair faced in interpreting the rules and encouraged the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs to study the matter.

He also presided over the final sitting in Centre Block before the chamber was temporarily closed for a long-term restoration project expected to last at least ten years. Likewise, Speaker Regan presided over the first sitting in the interim Chamber in the newly renovated West Block and oversaw the massive effort required to transfer operations seamlessly. As these changes were implemented, he ensured that parliamentary proceedings and the activities required to support them were uninterrupted.

Under Speaker Regan’s mandate, the House recognized the use of indigenous languages in the Chamber, in accordance with a process set out by the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. This new practice, since being implemented, has enhanced members’ ability to exercise their right to speak in the Chamber.

The purpose of this volume is to present highlights of Speaker Regan’s procedural legacy. Each of the selected decisions is presented in a format that includes a brief account of the background surrounding the issue, followed by a summary of its resolution, along with any necessary footnotes. The entire text of the decision as delivered by Speaker Regan or a fellow chair occupant is then presented. Each decision also has a descriptive header that indicates the primary procedural question being decided; in some cases, a postscript explaining a pertinent outcome or subsequent action is also included. The decisions are grouped into 10 chapters, each of which begins with a brief introduction. Within the chapters, decisions are grouped by subject matter and ordered according to date rendered. All standing orders of the House of Commons and sections of the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons referenced in the decisions have also been included as an appendix.

There are a number of search methods by which particular decisions can be found. At the back, the volume contains a chronological listing of all decisions, a detailed analytical index and a list of statements by chair occupants and members who raised the matter before the House. In addition, readers are encouraged to refer to the introductions to the various chapters and to scan the descriptive headers located at the top of decisions. It should be remembered that this volume, like others in the series, represents a selection of decisions. Speaker Regan and his fellow chair occupants were required to adjudicate on many more occasions than were included in this volume.

This book is the product of the dedicated professional excellence of many Procedural Services employees. I would like to express my sincere thanks to André Gagnon, former Deputy Clerk, Procedure, and Beverley Isles, former Clerk Assistant, House Proceedings, for their efforts in preparing this volume, as well as the Deputy Principal Clerks of the Table Research Branch, who led the team that worked on the project. I thank them all. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the important contributions of the Parliamentary Information and Publications Directorate, and Printing and Mailing Services, as well as the Information and Document Resource Service of the Library of Parliament and the Parliamentary Translation Directorate of the Translation Bureau, Government of Canada.

I would also like to express appreciation to Marc Bosc, for the role he played as the senior adviser to Speaker Regan while he was the Acting Clerk of the House of Commons (2014–2017).

It was a pleasure for all who had the privilege of working closely with Speaker Regan to observe first-hand his considerable knowledge of parliamentary procedure and unwavering dedication to his colleagues and to what he called “the people’s chamber”.

Ottawa, 2022

Clerk of the House

Charles Robert