Questions Related to Content of Bills / Estimates

Legislative item

Journals pp. 395-7

Debates pp. 4125-7

Background

On March 8, Mr. MacEachen (President of the Privy Council) moved that the appropriate items in the Supplementary Estimates (C) be referred to the Standing Committee on Miscellaneous Estimates or to the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs. Mr. Knowles (Winnipeg North Centre) then rose on a point of order to argue that the dollar items in two of the votes in the Supplementary Estimates (Votes 10c and 35c, Veterans Affairs) had been included to effect amendments to existing statutes. In view of the new House rules, he argued that items of a legislative nature ought not to be restricted by the same time limits on debate as items of Supply because Members would otherwise be denied the right guaranteed under existing rules to debate proposed legislative amendments fully. The items in question should be removed from the Supplementary Estimates and be made the subject of separate bills. After allowing further discussion on the point of order, the Speaker reserved his ruling.

Issue

Under the new rules of the House, which restrict the time for consideration of Supply, should items of a legislative character be included in the Supplementary Estimates?

Decision

No. "In view of the situation created by the new rules, these items are not before the House in proper form." [At the Speaker's suggestion, a new motion excluding Votes 10c and 35c was moved.]

Reasons given by the Speaker

Previous rules allowed unlimited consideration of the Supplementary Estimates. Present rules restrict such consideration to a degree substantial enough to warrant the exclusion of items of a legislative nature from what is strictly Supply. "Until now, the House has not had the opportunity to reaffirm the proposition that such proposals, when they are clearly intended to amend existing legislation, should come to the House by way of an amending bill rather than as an item in the supplementary estimates."

Sources cited

Standing Order 58.

References

Debates, March 31, 1952, p. 969; March 27, 1961, p. 3368; April 1, 1964, p. 1680 [cited by the Speaker as previous occasions when Members had raised similar issues; no rulings given.]; March 8, 1971, pp. 4022-6.