Content of Bills / Estimates

Estimates

Journals p. 1368

Debates pp. 14794-5

Background

When Mr. Chretien (President of the Treasury Board) moved concurrence for a specific vote (L27a) in the supplementary estimates, Mr. Mazankowski (Vegreville) raised a point of order to challenge the proceeding. According to Mr. Mazankowski, the vote dealt with the establishment of Loto Canada and consequently was more than an estimate; it was a legislative measure.

Issue

ls this item a legislative measure which has no legislative authority and therefore unacceptable as an item in the estimates?

Decision

The item is acceptable as other legislative authority exists.

Reasons given by the Speaker

The legislative authority which allows the government to establish a corporation such as Loto Canada already exists and is separate from the item in the estimates. Consequently, the government is only coming to Parliament for the money to fund it.

Addressing the matter of desirability in proceeding this way when a question of principle is involved, it is preferable to bring the matter before the House in the form of a bill. But the issue of desirability does not provide sufficient grounds to reject the motion of the government.

References

Debates, June 22, 1976, pp. 14790-4.