Adjournment Motions for Emergency Debates / Application not Accepted

Application not accepted

Debates p. 1351

Background

Mr. Turner (Leader of the Opposition) sought leave to move the adjournment of the House under the provisions of Standing Order 30 to debate statements by the Prime Minister (Mr. Mulroney) and the Minister of Finance (Mr. Wilson) concerning the universality of social programs.

Issue

Did the application meet the requirements of Standing Order 30?

Decision

No. The application was not accepted.

Reasons given by the Speaker

While the universality of social programs is an important issue, the guidelines provided by the Standing Orders require that subjects proposed for emergency debates must relate to genuine emergencies and require urgent consideration. In a 1979 ruling, Speaker Jerome interpreted "genuine emergency" to mean that the emergency itself was not a matter of argument. The issue of universality is, in the opinion of the Chair, a subject of continuing debate.

(A similar request was made on December19 (Debates, pp. 1366-7) and was refused on the grounds that the situation had not changed.)

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Sources cited

Standing Order 30(16).

Debates, December 10, 1979, pp. 2191-2.