Selected Decisions of Speaker Gilbert Parent 1994 - 2001
The Daily Program
Introduction
The conduct of parliamentary business on a given sitting day follows a pattern which, in general terms, is regulated by the Standing Orders and can be found printed on the daily Order Paper. The House opens its proceedings each day with prayers, and then pursuant to Standing Order, proceeds to a prescribed order of business.
While the precise time for the commencement of Statements by Members, of Oral Questions, and of the calling of items collectively known as Routine Proceedings may vary according to the day of the week, the number and order of items called under the Routine Proceedings normally does not. These items are: Tabling of Documents, Introduction of Government Bills, Statements by Ministers, Presenting Reports from Interparliamentary Delegations, Presenting Reports from Committees, Introduction of Private Members’ Bills, First Reading of Senate Public Bills, Motions, Presenting Petitions and Questions on the Order Paper.
Government Orders, which occupies the bulk of House time, includes any item of business proposed by a minister which the House has ordered for consideration. In addition, each day, one hour of House time is set aside for Private Members’ Business during which bills and motions sponsored by members who are not ministers are considered. The Standing Orders also provide for an adjournment debate, commonly known as the “Late Show”, which takes place Monday to Thursday.
The decisions in this chapter have been grouped into three themes: Routine Proceedings, Statements by Members and Oral Questions.
With respect to Routine Proceedings, Speaker Parent delivered rulings on Tabling of Documents, Motions, Presenting Petitions and Questions on the Order Paper.
Some of these rulings touch on questions of admissibility and, in the case of the rulings on petitions, have to do with voicing personal opinions about petitions as well as presenting petitions by electronic means.
The two decisions involving the rubric Questions on the Order Paper deal with the factual content, quality, accuracy and timeliness of answers.
Speaker Parent’s decisions on Statements by Members focus on the nature of statements, while on the subject of Oral Questions the rulings deal with the nature of questions.