Rules of Debate - Order and Decorum / Miscellaneous

Quoting documents, Members must identify the source of the document clearly

Debates pp. 1361-3; 1389-90

Background

On an allotted day, Mr. Hawkes (Calgary West) quoted from the minutes of a meeting of a group charged with the responsibility of implementing a particular government program. The Acting Speaker (Mr. Guilbault) interrupted the Member to ask that he clarify and describe the source of the document. Mr. Hawkes was reluctant to divulge the identity of the author, but offered to table the document if unanimous consent was given by the House. It was not given. Mr. Hawkes would not reveal the author and therefore the Acting Speaker ruled that he would be unable to quote from it. Later in the sitting Mr. Hawkes rose on a point of order and asked Mr. Dubois (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment and Immigration) to identify the document he was reading. The Deputy Speaker ruled immediately.

Issue

Must a Member quoting from a document clearly identify the author or source of the document?

Decision

Yes. It is incumbent upon Members who quote from documents to indicate the author or source of the quotation.

Reasons given by the Chair Occupants

The description of the document as the minutes of a meeting of a group charged with the implementation of a program is not acceptable. "If the Hon. Member is to quote any more documents, he has to describe these documents in a recognizable fashion, not calling them 'committees' or 'groups' or 'confidential.' "Beauchesne's Fifth Edition, Citation 329(4) states: "When quoting a letter in the House, a Member must be willing either to give the name of the author or to take full responsibility for the contents himself."

Sources cited

Beauchesne, 5th ed., p. 116, c. 329(4).