Routine Proceedings / Petitions

Subject-matter beyond jurisdiction of Parliament

Journals pp. 361-2

Debates pp. 2921-2

Background

On June 6, Mr. Brewin (Greenwood) filed a petition on behalf of a particular individual who claimed that he had been denied credit for his work on a report published by the Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs attributed to someone else. The next day, after the Clerk of Petition's report indicated the petition met the requirements as to form, the Chair ruled.

Issue

Can a petition be presented in the form of a statement of grievances?

Decision

No. A petition presented in the form of a remonstrance or a statement of grievances may not be received by the House.

Reasons given by the Speaker

Although the right to petition the House of Commons is fundamental, there is a precedent to the effect that the House will not receive a petition dealing with a matter that falls within the jurisdiction assigned to another body. The petition filed by the Member is more in the nature of a remonstrance or a grievance than a petition, and should not replace other, probably more effective remedies. It also includes statements that are charges of a very strong character against a Minister and a senior departmental official, and for all these reasons, the document is not a petition that meets the requirements of the practices and usages of the House of Commons.

Sources cited

Journals, February 16, 1956, p. 163.

Beauchesne, 4th ed., p. 257, c. 333.

Dawson, W. F., Procedure in the Canadian House of Commons, (Toronto, 1962), p. 242.

References

Debates, June 6, 1972, p. 2879.