Amendments to the Content of Bills / Report Stage

Motions in amendment, modifying parent Act; modifying more than one clause

Journals pp. 269-70

Debates pp. 2215-6, 2265-9

Background

On December 18, as the House was about to begin the report stage consideration of Bill C-14, an Act to amend the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1971, the Speaker made a statement on his assessment of the motions in amendment which had been filed. Of the 31 motions, the Speaker expressed doubts as to the procedural acceptability of five of them. After explaining his objections, the Speaker invited Members to prepare arguments to support the procedural regularity of the motions which he would consider before making a final decision.

Issue

Do these motions meet the criteria applicable in such cases?

Decision

The motions are not in order.

Reasons given by the Speaker

Of the five motions, three of them (Motions 11, 27 and 30) "clearly seek to amend the parent Act in a way that was not envisaged by the amending bill."

Another motion (No. 12) "is defective in that it proposes to amend more than one clause. It poses for the House the procedural impossibility of amending two clauses in a bill by one motion".

The fifth motion (No. 31) "is out of order on the ground that it does not make a date certain either by royal assent, proclamation or date fixed, for the Act to come into force".

Authorities and precedent cited

May, 19th ed., p. 521, para. (l)(d).

Standing Order 75(5).

Journals, June 20, 1969, p. 1218.