If the private member is to count for
anything, there must be a relationship between what the private member and the
institution of Parliament can do and what the electorate thinks or expects can
be done.
Third Report of the Special Committee on the Reform of the House
(McGrath Committee), June 1985, p. 2
P
rivate Members” are generally
defined as Members of the House of Commons who are not part of the
Ministry. [1]
While
there is no rule specifically excluding Parliamentary Secretaries from this
designation, the practice is for them to abstain from sponsoring items under
Private Members’
Business. [2]
In
general, Presiding Officers of the House have also abstained from sponsoring or
pursuing private Members’ bills or
motions. [3]
Each sitting day, one hour is set aside for
Private Members’ Business, that is, for the consideration of bills and
motions presented and sponsored by private Members. Private Members may use the
time allotted for the consideration of Private Members’ Business to put
forth their own legislative and policy proposals, and express their views on a
variety of issues. [4]
Private Members’ proposals can take the form of a bill (either public or
private), a motion, or a notice of motion for the production of
papers.
A private Member’s bill is the text
of a legislative initiative sponsored by a private Member. Based on private
Members’ own ideas and drafted with the aid of legislative counsel, such
bills are brought forward by the sponsoring Member. Like government bills,
private Members’ bills become statutes once they receive Royal
Assent. [5]
Most private
Members’ bills are public bills originating in the Commons, but some
public bills, and occasionally private bills, sponsored by private Members come
to the Commons from the
Senate. [6]
A private Member’s motion typically
proposes that the House declare its opinion on some topic or that the House
order a certain course of action to be taken, either by the House itself, or by
one of its committees or officers.
A notice of motion for the production of
papers is a request that the government compile or produce certain papers or
documents and table them in the
House. [7]
Historical Perspective
From 1867 to 1984
Time Reserved for Private Members’ Business
In the early years of Confederation, a
large proportion of the time of the House was devoted to private bills or to
private Members. In 1867, the Standing Orders gave precedence to Private
Members’ Business on particular days in each
week. [8]
However,
governments found such a distribution inadequate for the conduct of their own
legislative programs, and regularly gave precedence to their own business via
special and sessional orders.
Over the years, changes were made to the
Standing Orders to give more House time to the government for its own business.
By 1906, this pattern had established itself to such a degree that, in that
year, the weekly order of business was officially amended so that after four
weeks from the start of each session, one of the three private Members’
days — Thursday — was given over to government
business. [9]
Between 1906 and 1955, the use of special
and sessional orders to give precedence to government business had appropriated
virtually all the time remaining from private Members. In 1955, amendments to
the Standing Orders once again formalized the practice of giving precedence to
government business: the number of private Members’ days was reduced from
each Monday, Wednesday and four Thursdays per session to six Mondays and two
Thursdays per
session. [10]
Depending
on the length of each session, this change at least guaranteed that these eight
days would not be further nullified by the suspension of private Members’
time through the use of special or sessional orders.
In 1962, the House abandoned the allocation
of a certain number of days each session for Private Members’ Business
and, instead, set aside one hour per day for that purpose. However, after this
hour had been used 40 times per session, its use on Monday, Tuesday and
Wednesday would lapse and Private Members’ Business would take place only
on Thursday and Friday
thereafter. [11]
In
1968, Private Members’ Business was removed from the order of business on
Wednesday, and the rule establishing a maximum 40 considerations per session was
retained for Monday and Tuesday only; thereafter, Private Members’
Business was only held on Thursday and
Friday. [12]
In 1982, the practice of considering
Private Members’ Business for one hour on certain days was replaced by a
single private Members’ day on Wednesday. This resulted in a reduction of
one hour of debating time per week, from four hours to
three. [13]
In late
1983, however, the House reverted to the consideration of Private Members’
Business for one hour per day on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, without
the previous provision for a maximum number of times for consideration on Monday
and Tuesday. [14]
The
omission of this part of the former rule meant that the amount of time provided
for Private Members’ Business actually increased. (Further changes to the
Standing Orders, adopted in April 1991, increased the number of Private
Members’ Business days from four to five per week, adding an extra hour to
the sitting on
Wednesday. [15] )
Precedence of Items
From Confederation until the late 1950s,
the two criteria which determined the order in which items of Private
Members’ Business were considered were their date of notice and, in the
case of bills, their stage in the legislative process. During this period as
well, secondary criteria, aimed primarily at distinguishing the different
categories of business from one another, also became important.
In 1910, for example, an amendment to the
Standing Orders [16]
established a higher precedence for unopposed Private Members’ Notices of
Motions for the Production of Papers. Meanwhile, opposed motions of this kind
continued to be considered with other notices of motions until 1961, when they
were given a specific category (“Notices of Motions (Papers)”) in
the order of business and were debated on a designated
day. [17]
Similarly, rule changes in 1927 limited
each Member to one notice of motion on the Order Paper at any one time.
Such notices would be dropped from the Order Paper if called twice and
not proceeded
with. [18]
In addition,
other rules allowed private Members’ bills or notices of motions to stand
over from one day to the
next. [19]
These kinds
of exceptions to the usual chronological, stage-based ordering, coupled with
frequent changes to the day-by-day order of business, eventually led to a fixed
sequencing of items for each category of Private Members’
Business. [20]
Throughout this period, the volume of
Private Members’ Business increased, leading to further innovations in
procedure. In 1958, Speaker Michener instituted a ballot system for notices of
motions. [21]
One
notice per Member could be submitted at the start of a session and placed in a
container. In the presence of the Speaker, the Clerk, and the representatives of
the parties, notices of motions were drawn to establish a sequence for
consideration. Notices given after the draw were placed on the Order
Paper after those which had been drawn.
At the start of a subsequent session, a
similar practice was extended to private Members’ public bills. There were
now two draws: one for notices of motions and one for bills. In the latter case,
however, each Member could give notice of several bills, there being no limit as
with notices of motions. In either case, when an item had been considered but
not disposed of, it fell to the bottom of the list. Notices of motions called
twice and not proceeded with were dropped from the Order Paper, as
before.
Members soon realized that by placing
several bills on notice, their chances in the draw improved. Inevitably, this
approach resulted in some Members receiving more House time than others. To
ensure a more equitable distribution, the party Whips limited Members to one
bill in the first 50 bills drawn. In a separate development begun in the 1970s,
the business to be considered during Private Members’ Business was
organized by the Office of the Government House Leader, a practice criticized by
some Members as undue government interference. Eventually, the Clerk of the
House became responsible for the organization of this part of House
Business. [22]
The last major change prior to the adoption
of the current system for precedence occurred in 1982, when all categories of
Private Members’ Business (except private bills) were combined into one
group, for which a single draw of Members’ names was held at the start of
each session. A limitation, similar to that which had previously applied to
bills, was retained for the first 50 items drawn and, at the same time, the
limit of one notice of motion per Member was
lifted. [23]
Since 1984
The modern rules relating to the conduct of
Private Members’ Business developed largely from recommendations of the
Special Committee on the Reform of the House of Commons (the “McGrath
Committee”), established in December 1984. In its final report to the
House in June 1985, the Committee made the following observations:
The House does not attach any great
importance to private members’ business as it is now organized (…)
members are seldom greatly concerned to claim the priorities they have drawn in
the ballot governing the use of private members’ time, and this is largely
because private members’ bills and motions rarely come to a
vote. [24]
The subsequent recommendations in the
report resulted in Standing Order amendments adopted provisionally after lengthy
debate in the House in February
1986. [25]
These
amendments to the Standing Orders formed the basis for the modern rules relating
to Private Members’ Business — the establishment of the order of
precedence, the process for determining which items should be made votable, and
the manner in which items would be debated. Since February 1986, a number of
further adjustments have been made to the rules.
In response to problems caused by the
absence of Members whose items were scheduled for debate, a special order was
adopted in December 1986 allowing the Speaker to exchange non-votable items
should one Member notify the Chair that he or she cannot be present in the House
when his or her item is due for
consideration. [26]
In June 1987, the provisional Standing
Orders were made permanent and other changes were adopted in regard to the order
in which items of Private Members’ Business were
considered. [27]
The
Speaker was given the power to exchange a non-votable item of a Member who
cannot be present with a similar item of a Member who can. In addition, the
Order Paper was changed to contain all types of items in one list,
including private bills and private Members’ public bills originating in
the Senate.
In 1989, the House adopted a motion to have
the Standing Committee on Elections, Privileges, Procedure and Private
Members’ Business consider and report on various practices and procedures
relating to the conduct of Private Members’
Business. [28]
On
December 6, 1989, the Committee presented its Seventh Report, which included
several recommendations regarding such matters as the selection of items for the
order of precedence, the selection of votable items, and the time limit for
debate on votable
items. [29]
Although
the report was not concurred in, it did form the basis of Standing Order
amendments adopted on May 10,
1990. [30]
There were several significant changes to
the Standing Orders, as recommended by the Standing Committee: Members’
names rather than individual items would be drawn, which meant that Members with
one motion or bill would have the same chances as those with several motions or
bills; separate lists of bills and motions were established, and the number of
votable items was set at three bills and three motions; the time for debate on
votable items was reduced from five hours to three; and Private Members’
Business was suspended on Supply days. The amendments were adopted on a
provisional basis until the last sitting day in December 1990.
In December 1990, the Standing Committee on
Privileges and Elections, after reviewing the success of the provisional
Standing Orders that had been approved in May 1990, recommended in its
Twenty-First Report that they be made
permanent. [31]
It went
on to propose a number of other changes, including the exchange of votable
items, Private Members’ Hour on Monday, and the deferral of any recorded
division with respect to Private Members’ Business at the request of the
Whips. Further changes to the Standing Orders governing Private Members’
Business adopted on April 11, 1991, which were largely based on the Twenty-First
Report of the Committee, clarified the procedures to be followed in the draw to
select items for debate, reduced the number of hours for debate on an item,
increased the number of days per week on which Private Members’ Business
would be considered, and refined the process to be followed for an exchange of
items to be debated during Private Members’
Hour. [32]
On April 29, 1992, two reports of the
Standing Committee on House Management were adopted, thereby amending the
Standing Orders to increase the number of votable items and the total number of
items on the order of precedence and to clarify the procedures to be followed
for deferring recorded divisions on items of Private Members’
Business. [33]
With the
adoption of the Twenty-Fourth
Report [34]
regarding
recorded divisions on private Members’ bills or motions, it became the
practice for the vote of the sponsoring Member to be recorded first, and then
the rest of the votes on that side of the chamber to be recorded before
proceeding to the other side. With the adoption of the Twenty-Seventh Report,
the order of precedence was increased from 20 to 30 items, draws were to be held
before the list dropped below 15 items instead of 10, and the maximum number of
votable items increased from three bills and three motions to five of
each. [35]
In 1998, the reference to five bills and
five motions was removed so that the reference is now only to ten votable items,
and a new procedure was established allowing for a specific item supported by
100 Members to be added to the order of
precedence. [36]
Private Members’ Bills
Bills sponsored by private Members fall
into two categories, public bills and private bills. Public bills deal with
matters of public policy under federal jurisdiction, whereas private bills
concern matters of a private or special interest to specific corporations and
individuals and are designed to grant the beneficiary power to do something
which cannot be done otherwise or to exempt the beneficiary from some existing
legal obligation. Procedures relating to public bills are discussed in this
chapter while those concerning private bills are dealt with in Chapter 23, “Private Bills Practice”.
A private Member’s bill is typically
drafted with the assistance of legislative counsel to ensure that the text
conforms with statutory law should it be given Royal Assent. In drafting each
legislative proposal, legislative counsel act on Members’ clear, written
instructions about the purposes and objectives of the proposed legislation and
ensure that draft bills are acceptable in terms of their form and
compliance with legislative and parliamentary conventions. A private
Member’s bill is certified by legislative counsel to indicate that the
bill is in correct form. The certified copy of the bill is then returned to the
Member.
Members also have the option of proposing a
motion to have a bill prepared by a standing, special or legislative
committee. [37]
If such
a motion is selected following the draw to establish the order of precedence, it
is debated during Private Members’ Hour. If selected as a votable motion
and later adopted, it becomes an order for a committee to prepare and bring in a
bill. If the committee prepares and reports a bill to the House, a motion to
concur in the committee’s report may be moved by a private Member during
Private Members’ Hour if the concurrence motion has also been selected
following the draw to establish the order of precedence. However, if a Minister
were to move concurrence in the report, the motion would be taken up during
Government Orders. [38]
The adoption of the motion for concurrence in the committee report constitutes
an order to bring in a bill based on the committee’s report. If the bill
is sponsored by a private Member and is subsequently selected to be votable,
when the motion for second reading is proposed to the House, the Speaker
immediately puts all questions to dispose of the second reading stage without
debate or
amendment. [39]
If it
is not designated votable, the bill is debated for one hour and dropped from the
Order Paper. If a Minister undertakes to sponsor the bill, it is
considered during Government Orders and all questions to dispose of second
reading are also put without debate or amendment.
Financial Limitations
There is a constitutional requirement that
bills proposing the expenditure of public funds must be accompanied by a royal
recommendation, which can be obtained only by the government and introduced by a
Minister. Since a Minister cannot propose items of Private Members’
Business, a private Members’ bill should therefore not contain provisions
for the spending of funds. However, since 1994, a private Member may introduce a
public bill containing provisions requiring the expenditure of public funds
provided that a royal recommendation is obtained by a Minister before the bill
is read a third time and
passed. [40]
Before
1994, the royal recommendation had to accompany the bill at the time of its
introduction. The Speaker is responsible for determining whether any bill
requires a royal recommendations and the Speaker is empowered to decline to put
the necessary questions on bills which require, but have not received, a royal
recommendation. [41]
With respect to the raising of revenue, a
private Member cannot introduce bills which impose taxes. The power to initiate
taxation rests solely with the government and any legislation which seeks an
increase in taxation must be preceded by a Ways and Means
motion. [42]
Only a
Minister can bring in a Ways and Means motion. However, private Members’
bills which reduce taxes, reduce the incidence of a tax, or impose or increase
an exemption from taxation are
acceptable. [43]
Notice
Once a bill has been drafted, the Member
must give 48 hours’ notice of his or her intention to introduce the bill,
indicating the committee to which the bill will be referred following second
reading. The title of the bill and the name of its sponsor are then
published in the Notice Paper. After the 48-hour notice period has
expired, the bill may then be introduced during Routine Proceedings and given
first reading whenever the Member is ready to
proceed. [44]
Similar Items
If a Member submits notice of a bill which
is judged to be substantially the same as another item of Private Members’
Business already submitted, the Speaker has the discretionary power to refuse
the most recent notice. If the Speaker refuses the notice, the sponsoring Member
is advised and the bill is
returned. [45]
This is
intended to prevent a number of similar items from being selected following the
draw for the order of precedence. In a 1989 ruling, Speaker Fraser clarified
that for two or more items to be substantially the same, they must have the same
purpose and they have to achieve their same purpose by the same
means. [46]
Thus, there
could be several bills addressing the same subject, but if their approaches to
the issue are different, the Chair could deem them to be sufficiently
distinct.
The question has arisen whether a private
Member’s bill which is similar to a government bill may be placed on the
Order Paper and debated. The authorities and past rulings show
that there is nothing to prevent such similar items from being placed on the
Order Paper simultaneously. However, because the House cannot take more
than one decision on any given matter during a session, a decision on any one of
these bills (for example, the adoption or rejection of the second reading
motion) will prevent further proceedings on any other similar
bills. [47]
Consideration of non-votable bills, if dropped from the Order Paper after
debate, does not preclude consideration of other similar, or even identical,
bills since the House does not take a decision on non-votable
items. [48]
Seconders
A Member who would like to support a bill
already appearing on the Order Paper may notify the Clerk of the House in
writing that he or she wishes to second the bill. The names of the Members
wishing to support the bill will be added to the list of seconders on the
Order Paper. [49]
Once
the order for second reading has been proposed to the House, no additional names
may be appended. [50]
No more than 20 Members may jointly second an item under Private Members’
Business. [51]
The
Member who seconds the motions for introduction and first reading of the bill in
the House, as well as subsequent stages, need not be one of the seconders listed
on the Order Paper.
Introduction and First Reading of Private Members’ Bills
To be eligible for selection following the
draw for the order of precedence, private Members’ bills must be
introduced and given first reading in the House before the draw is held. On the
day the Member chooses to introduce the bill, he or she rises during Routine
Proceedings when the Speaker calls “Introduction of Private Members’
Bills”. [52]
The Speaker then announces the title of the bill and the motion for leave to
introduce the bill is automatically deemed carried, without debate, amendment or
question put. [53]
The
Member is permitted to give a succinct explanation outlining the purpose of the
bill. [54]
Since no
debate is permitted at this time, the Member often simply reads the explanatory
note in the bill. The bill is then deemed read a first time and ordered to be
printed, also without debate, amendment or question
put. [55]
The bill is then transferred to the list of
“Private Members’ Business — Items Outside the Order of
Precedence”. This list of items, which may be consulted at the Table in
the Chamber or on the electronic version of the Order Paper, does not
actually appear in the printed publication of the Order Paper. Having
been placed on this list, the bill is set down for second reading and
reference to a committee. When submitting a bill for inclusion on the Notice
Paper, the sponsor must indicate the standing, special or legislative
committee to which the bill is to be referred following second reading. A
two-week period must elapse between the first and second reading of the
bill. [56]
Senate Public Bills Sponsored by Private Members
Some private Members’ public bills
originate in the Senate and are sent to the Commons after passage by the Senate.
When the Speaker calls “First Reading of Senate Public Bills” during
Routine Proceedings, the Member sponsoring a Senate bill in the House is
permitted to give a brief explanation of its purpose, without engaging in
debate. The motion for first reading is then deemed carried without debate,
amendment or question put, and the bill is automatically added to the bottom of
the order of precedence for Private Members’ Business without having gone
through the draw process. [57]
Private Members’ Motions
Private Members’ motions are used to
introduce a wide range of issues and are framed either as orders or resolutions,
depending on their
intent. [58]
Motions
attempting to make a declaration of opinion or purpose, without ordering or
requiring a particular course of action, are considered
resolutions. [59]
Hence, such motions which simply suggest that the government initiate a certain
measure are generally phrased as follows: “That, in the opinion of this
House, the government should consider …”. The government is not bound to
adopt a specific policy or course of action as a result of the adoption of such
a resolution since the House is only stating an opinion or making a declaration
of purpose. [60]
This
is in contrast to those motions whose object is to give a direction to
committees, Members or officers of the House or to regulate House proceedings
and, as such, are considered orders once adopted by the
House. [61]
No motion sponsored by a Member who is not
a Minister can contain provisions for either raising revenue or spending funds,
unless it is worded in terms which only suggest that course of action to the
government. As an alternative to a bill which might require a royal
recommendation obtained only by a Minister, a private Member may choose to move
a motion proposing the expenditure of public funds, provided that the terms of
the motion only suggest this course of action to the government without ordering
or requiring it to do
so. [62]
Such a motion
is normally phrased so as to ask the government to “consider the
advisability of …”.
Notice
A private Member must provide at least two
weeks’ notice of his or her intention to move a
motion. [63]
Notice of
a private Member’s motion appears on the Notice Paper for the date
on which notice is given and is transferred afterwards to the list of
“Private Members’ Business — Items Outside the Order of
Precedence” which may be consulted at the Table in the Chamber or on the
electronic version of the Order Paper. The sponsoring Member can move the
motion only if the item has been selected following the draw establishing the
order of precedence, and only after the two-week notice period has
elapsed.
Similar Items
If a Member submits notice of a motion
which the Speaker judges to be substantially the same as an item already
submitted, the Speaker has the power to refuse the most recent notice, to so
inform the Member sponsoring it and to return the motion to him or
her. [64]
Seconders
A Member who wishes to support a motion
already appearing on the Order Paper may second that motion by indicating
in writing to the Clerk of the House his or her desire to do
so. [65]
A motion may
have up to 20 seconders, although the number of seconders has no bearing on the
motion’s chances of being selected as a votable
item. [66]
The names of
these seconders are listed with the motion on the Order Paper. Once the
motion has been proposed to the House, no additional names may be
appended. [67]
The
Member who seconds the motion in the House need not be one of the seconders
listed on the Order Paper.
Notices of Motions for the Production of Papers
Members may choose to give notice of a
motion requesting that certain papers or documents be compiled or produced by
the government and tabled in the
House. [68]
Notices of
Motions for the Production of Papers resemble written questions in that they are
requests for information from the government. All such motions are worded in the
form of either an Order of the House (“That an Order of the House do issue
…”) or an Address to the Crown, a formal message requesting the
production of documents in the Crown’s possession (“That a humble
Address be presented to His/Her Excellency praying that he/she will cause to be
laid before the House of Commons …”). Thus, a motion, if adopted,
becomes either an order that the government table certain documents in the House
or an Address to the Governor General requesting that certain papers be sent to
the House. An Order of the House is used for papers concerning matters directly
related to federal departments or the business of the House. An Address is
required for correspondence between federal and provincial governments, federal
and foreign governments, the federal government and any company, corporation or
individual, Orders in Council, and papers concerning royal commissions, the
administration of justice, the judicial conduct of judges or the exercise of
Crown prerogatives. It is the responsibility of the Speaker to ensure that the
motion proposed is appropriately worded so that it can achieve what it intends
to do. [69]
While a number of motions for the
production of papers have been transferred for debate in recent years, debate
has rarely been held on an item of this nature since
1986. [70]
When the
House does consider such motions, the debate is restricted to whether or not the
papers should be produced rather than the subject matter of the
papers. [71]
Notice
Members must give 48 hours’ written
notice of a motion for the production of papers, after which it is transferred
from the Notice Paper to the Order Paper where it appears under
the rubric “Notices of Motions for the Production of Papers” on the
following Wednesday, the only day of the week such notices of motions can be
called. [72]
Transferred for Debate
When a Notice of Motion for the Production
of Papers is called on a Wednesday following Routine Proceedings, it must be
either dealt with immediately, without debate or amendment, or transferred for
debate at the request of the sponsoring Member or a
Minister. [73]
(For
further details, see Chapter 10, “The Daily Program”.) Once
transferred for debate, the motion is placed on the Order Paper under the
heading entitled “Notices of Motions (Papers)” on the list of items
outside the order of precedence. It may be subject to debate at a subsequent
time if it is selected by the sponsoring Member following the draw for the order
of precedence.
The Order of Precedence
While government bills and motions are
called for debate in the order that the government chooses, items of Private
Members’ Business are called according to their place on the order of
precedence; only those items in the order of precedence may be considered during
Private Members’
Hour. [74]
The order of
precedence is a list of items sponsored by private Members, established
following a random draw of names. A Member’s name is entered in the draw
provided that he or she does not already have an item in the order of precedence
and provided that he or she has at least one item of Private Members’
Business on the list of items outside the order of precedence. For the purpose
of the draw, the following items are considered to be on the list of items
outside the order of precedence:
- a bill, if it has been introduced,
read a first time and ordered for a second reading at the time of the
draw;
- a notice of motion, if it has been
put on the Notice Paper not later than the day before the
draw;
- a notice of Motion (Papers), if it has been transferred for debate before the draw.
Any item on which a recorded division has
been deferred and which would be removed from the order of precedence as a
result of the division is not considered to be an item in the order of
precedence for the purpose of the
draw. [75]
The Draw
The draw is organized by the Clerk of the
House and is chaired, by practice, by the Deputy Speaker or one of the other
Presiding Officers of the House. At least 48 hours before a draw is to be held,
the Clerk of the House notifies Members of the date, time and place of the
draw. [76]
Members or
their staff may attend the draw, though their presence is not required. The draw
itself is not a formal proceeding of the House; therefore, no formal recording
is made in that day’s Journals. The new items in the order of
precedence will appear in the Order Paper of the following sitting under
the heading “Private Members’ Business — Items in the Order of
Precedence”.
First Draw of a Session
At the beginning of a session, Members are
notified of the first draw within two sitting days after 30 or more Members have
each placed at least one eligible item of Private Members’ Business on the
Order Paper. [77]
The draw is conducted so that the order of precedence contains an equal number of
public bills originating in the Commons and motions (including motions for
papers), provided there are sufficient numbers of eligible bills and
motions. [78]
The names of Members with eligible bills are drawn first, followed by the
names of Members with eligible motions, for a total of 30 names to be drawn. If
a Member’s name is drawn for both a bill and a motion, then his or her
name is set aside the second time since no Member may have more than one motion
or bill at second reading on the order of precedence at one
time. [79]
These 30
names are then redrawn to establish the order of items on the order of
precedence. [80]
When a Member whose name has been drawn has
more than one eligible item standing in his or her name on the Order
Paper, the Member must choose which one of these items is to be placed on
the order of precedence. The Member must notify the Clerk of the House of his or
her choice by the end of the second sitting day after the draw. Should the
Member fail to do so within the allotted time, the first item put on the
Order Paper in the Member’s name will be the one placed on the
order of
precedence. [81]
The
number of joint seconders influences neither the chances of a bill or a motion
being placed on the order of precedence nor of it being selected later as a
“votable
item”. [82]
Any
private and Senate public bills which have been ordered for a second reading in
the House and placed at the bottom of the order of precedence at the time of a
draw are not considered to occupy any of the 30 positions on the order of
precedence.
Subsequent Draws
The order of precedence may not contain
more than 30 motions and public bills originating in the House at the second
reading stage, nor fewer than 15
items. [83]
Further
draws for up to an additional 15 items are held during the session whenever the
number of items on the order of precedence is close to
15. [84]
The number of
bills and motions to be chosen following each draw depends on the number of
bills and motions still in the order of precedence at the time of the draw. For
example, if there are 10 motions but only five bills on the order of precedence
at the time of the draw, five additional motions and 10 additional bills will be
chosen. If a Member already has an eligible item on the order of precedence at
the time of the draw, his or her name will not be included in the draw, unless
it is an item on which a recorded division has been deferred and which would be
removed from the Order Paper as a result of the
vote. [85]
Withdrawal of Items
If a Member no longer wishes to proceed
with a notice of motion which is on the list of items outside the order of
precedence or a bill which has not yet been given first reading, and thus does
not wish to see the item placed on the order of precedence, he or she may
request to have the item withdrawn from the Order Paper by notifying the
Clerk of the House in writing. If a Member wishes to withdraw a bill which has
been given first reading, he or she must seek the unanimous consent of the House
to do so since, having been ordered for a second reading by the House, the bill
is then in the possession of the House and only the House can take a further
decision on it. [86]
Since the order of precedence is
established by the Standing Orders, a Member wishing to withdraw any item which
has been placed on the order of precedence must first seek the unanimous consent
of the House. [87]
Status of Items Not Chosen
Items not chosen following the draw to
establish the order of precedence remain on a list, which may be consulted at
the Table in the Chamber or on the electronic version of the Order Paper,
entitled “Items Outside the Order of Precedence”, and are eligible
for subsequent draws in the
session. [88]
Unless
chosen following a subsequent draw, items outside the order of precedence do not
receive consideration during Private Members’ Business. There is no limit
to the number of bills and motions a Member may have on the list of items
outside the order of precedence.
Certain Items Automatically Placed on the Order of Precedence
Certain items of Private Members’
Business are placed automatically at the bottom of the order of precedence
regardless of the results of the draw or the number of items already on the
list. [89]
These items
include:
- orders for consideration of
subsequent stages of a bill already debated during Private Members’
Business (including bills reported back or deemed to have been reported back
from committees [90] );
- bills on the order of precedence in
a previous session which are
reinstated; [91]
- consideration of Senate amendments to bills;
- all stages of a private bill;
- private Members’ public bills originating in the Senate.
An item supported by 100 Members, including
at least 10 Members each from a majority of the recognized parties in the House,
is also eligible to be added to the order of precedence if the sponsoring Member
does not already have an item on the order of
precedence. [92]
The
order of precedence can contain only one such item at any given time. Thus, it
is possible for the total number of items on the order of precedence to exceed
30 since this number applies only to motions and public bills originating in the
Commons at second reading.
Selection of Votable Items
Mandate of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs
As soon as practicable after the order of
precedence has been established at the beginning of each session, but not later
than 10 sitting days after that date, the Standing Committee on Procedure and
House Affairs must meet to select from the items placed on the order of
precedence as a result of the draw up to 10 items to be designated as
“votable
items”. [93]
Being selected as votable should not be construed as a guarantee that the House
will adopt the bill or motion.
Certain items which may be selected as
votable are nonetheless not to be included as part of the list of 10 votable
items, since they were not placed on the order of precedence as a result of the
draw:
- bills jointly supported by 100 Members; [94]
- Senate public bills;
- bills reinstated from a previous session at the second reading stage.
As well, any item on which a recorded
division has been deferred, and which would be removed from the order of
precedence as a result of that division, is not to be included as part of the
list of 10 votable items.
Furthermore, other items are automatically
placed on the order of precedence and automatically made votable but are not to
be included as part of the list of 10 votable items:
- all stages of a private bill; [95]
- notices of motions (papers); [96]
- bills reported from committee (or deemed to have been reported from committee);
- bills at the third reading stage;
- consideration of Senate amendments to bills.
Consultation with Members
It has been the practice since 1986 for the
Committee to consult with the sponsors of each bill or motion placed on the
order of precedence before making its selection of votable items. Each Member
sponsoring an item on the order of precedence is invited to appear before the
Committee in a public meeting to make a short presentation explaining why his or
her item warrants additional debate and being put to a vote in the House. Each
presentation may be followed by a brief question-and-answer period. The
Committee has traditionally selected votable items by consensus rather than on
the basis of
votes. [97]
A Member may ask the Committee not to
select his or her item as votable by notifying the clerk of the Committee. The
item will still remain on the order of precedence and be debated as a
non-votable item.
Criteria for Selection
Since 1986, the Committee has based its
selection of votable items on specific criteria, the list of which was
occasionally modified throughout the
years. [98]
The most
recent list, outlined in the Seventieth Report of the Standing Committee on
Procedure and House Affairs in April
1999, [99]
contains the
following criteria:
- Bills and motions must be drafted in clear, complete, and effective terms;
- Bills and motions must be constitutional and concern areas of federal jurisdiction;
- Bills and motions should concern matters of significant public interest;
- Bills and motions should concern
issues that are not part of the government’s current legislative agenda
and which have not been voted on or otherwise addressed by the House of Commons
in the current session of Parliament;
- All other things being equal,
higher priority will be given to items which transcend purely local interest,
are not couched in partisan terms, or cannot be addressed by the House in other
ways.
Presentation of Report
After consulting the Members sponsoring the
items on the order of precedence, the Committee meets, in camera, to make
a final decision. It prepares a report which contains the list of the items
selected and the names of the sponsoring Members. Once presented to the House,
the report is deemed adopted without debate or
amendment. [100]
Further Selection of Votable Items
Further meetings to select items may be
held from time to time during the session, usually when the order of precedence
has been replenished through subsequent draws. The number of votable items which
the Committee can select after a draw will depend on the number of items still
on the list from previous selections, although no more than 10 items selected as
votable can be on the order of precedence at any given
time. [101]
Private Members’ Hour
Private Members’ Business is
considered for one hour every sitting
day. [102]
At the
beginning of a session, Private Members’ Business is suspended until an
order of precedence and a list of votable items have been
established. [103]
Once this has occurred, the consideration of Private Members’ Business
begins the following day.
The Speaker must give Members at least 24
hours’ notice before an item on the order of precedence can be considered.
This notice is published in the Notice
Paper. [104]
During Private Members’ Hour, items on the order of precedence are
considered in the order in which they are listed and normally only one item is
considered each
day. [105]
Exchange of Items
If the sponsor of an item is unable to move
his or her motion on the day set by the order of precedence and has given the
Speaker at least 48 hours’ written notice, the Speaker may arrange to
exchange the position of the sponsor’s item with that of another Member in
the order of precedence, with the permission of the Members
involved. [106]
The
Speaker consults with Members and finds a date that is agreeable to two Members.
Members sponsoring items on which debate has previously begun may not request an
exchange but may agree to a request for exchange from another sponsoring Member.
If no exchange is possible, Private Members’ Hour is suspended for that
day, the House continues with the business before
it, [107]
and the
Member’s item is consequently dropped to the bottom of the order of
precedence. [108]
On
Monday, the House takes up Government Orders during that
hour. [109]
Cancellations and Suspensions
Although Private Members’ Hour is
regularly scheduled for each day that the House sits, there are some situations
when it may be cancelled or suspended. The cancellation or suspension of the
Hour has been a matter of concern to the House ever since the adoption of the
modern rules relating to Private Members’ Business in
1986. [110]
The consideration of Private Members’
Business may be cancelled or suspended for a number of reasons:
- Should the sponsor of an item set
for consideration not be present to move the item or should the sponsor decline
to move the item, Private Members’ Business is cancelled for that day; the
Hour cannot be used for other business without the unanimous consent of the
House.
- Should Members not have 24
hours’ notice of the item to be considered during Private Members’
Hour, the Speaker will advise the House that Private Members’ Business
will be suspended for that day; the House will continue with, or revert to, the
business before it prior to the time designated for Private Members’
Business. [111]
If the
Member scheduled to move an item gives the required 48 hours’ written
notice that he or she is unable to do so on the day scheduled, and no exchange
of items is possible, the House also reverts to the business before it prior to
Private Members’
Business. [112]
In
both cases, when Private Members’ Business is suspended on Monday, the
House takes up Government Orders during the time designated for Private
Members’ Business. [113]
- If proceedings under
“Introduction of Government Bills” during Routine Proceedings have
not been completed on a Tuesday or Thursday prior to Statements by Members,
Routine Proceedings will continue immediately after Question Period until the
completion of all items under “Introduction of Government Bills”,
thereby suspending as much of Private Members’ Hour as
necessary. [114]
- Private Members’ Business is
cancelled on any day designated for resuming debate on the Budget or the Address
in Reply to the Speech from the
Throne. [115]
- On the last Supply day in June, the
consideration of Private Members’ Business is cancelled in order to allow
more time to consider and dispose of the Main
Estimates. [116]
- Private Members’ Business
will be cancelled when a Minister moves a motion in relation to a matter the
government considers to be of an urgent nature, and debate subsequently takes
place during the time scheduled for Private Members’
Business. [117]
If
such a motion is moved during Private Members’ Hour, only the remaining
time allotted for consideration of the item being debated is suspended. If the
maximum one hour of debate allowed on the motion extends into Private
Members’ Hour, then the beginning of Private Members’ Hour is
delayed. [118]
- As no emergency debate may be
interrupted by Private Members’ Business, Private Members’ Hour
would be cancelled if an emergency debate were to begin prior to the time
scheduled for the consideration of Private Members’
Business. [119]
- Private Members’ Business is
suspended until an order of precedence and a list of votable items are
established at the beginning of a
session. [120]
- Private Members’ Business is
suspended when, during the course of a session, the House must proceed to the
election of a new
Speaker. [121]
- Private Members’ Business, or
the remainder thereof, is suspended when the House adjourns due to a lack of
quorum. [122]
Delays and Interruptions
If Private Members’ Hour is delayed
or interrupted for any reason, the debate is then extended or rescheduled so
that no time is
lost. [123]
For
example, if the start of Private Members’ Hour is delayed because of
deferred divisions or interrupted so that Members may attend the Royal Assent
ceremony in the Senate Chamber, Private Members’ Hour is extended by the
corresponding amount of time. Similarly, when the time provided for Government
Orders has been extended by 90 minutes or less because of a ministerial
statement, the start of Private Members’ Hour will be delayed by a
corresponding amount of
time. [124]
If debate
on Private Members’ Business does not begin or resume by 30 minutes after
the time Private Members’ Business would have ordinarily ended, the
remaining time or the entire hour is added to another
sitting. [125]
Rescheduling of Debate
The rescheduling of any unused time of a
Private Members’ Hour due to a delay or interruption is done at the
discretion of the Speaker within 10 sitting days and after consultation with the
Member involved. [126]
No more than one adjournment period as provided in the parliamentary calendar
may intervene in the rescheduling of the debate. The rescheduled business is
considered during an additional Private Members’ Hour, which is added to
the daily schedule of the House.
The regular 24 hours’ notice of the
item to be considered is given to the House. The notice is printed on the
Notice Paper on the day the additional debate is to take
place. [127]
The
Order Paper entry referring to the rescheduled debate, or to a debate
awaiting rescheduling, appears at the top of the list of “Items in the
Order of
Precedence”. [128]
The Standing Orders do not provide for an exchange between a Member whose item
of business has been rescheduled and another Member who has an item on the order
of precedence.
On days when Private Members’
Business has been rescheduled, the adjournment proceedings are delayed by the
amount of time required to complete the rescheduled debate.
Time Limits on Debate
Non-Votable Items
An item of Private Members’ Business
not selected to come to a vote is debated for up to one hour and, once the
debate has concluded or the time for debate has expired, the item is then
removed from the Order
Paper. [129]
Debate does not last the full hour allotted for Private Members’ Business
if no other Member rises to speak on the item, if a quorum is lost, or if a
motion to adjourn is carried.
The removal of an item of Private
Members’ Business from the Order Paper does not constitute a decision
since a question is not put to the
House. [130]
Thus, a
Member whose non-votable item has been removed may resubmit it by giving notice
of the item in the usual manner. It remains on the Order Paper on the
list of items outside the order of precedence until it is chosen again for
inclusion on the order of
precedence. [131]
Votable Items
An item of Private Members’ Business
selected as a votable item is eligible for up to three hours of consideration
before the question is put to dispose of
it. [132]
Votable
items work their way up the order of precedence in the same way that all other
items do, but at the end of Private Members’ Hour on the day the item is
debated, if debate is not concluded, they are placed at the bottom of the order
of precedence instead of being removed from the Order
Paper. [133]
The
item continues to work its way up to the top of the list again, is debated and
then placed at the bottom once more. Unless the item has been disposed of
earlier, this continues until exactly two hours and 45 minutes of debate have
been completed, at which time the Speaker interrupts the proceedings and puts
every question necessary to dispose of the item.
If the votable item is a motion framed as a
resolution, the House makes a decision either for or against that item of
business and, accordingly, it is disposed of. No further action is required
since it is solely an expression of opinion or a declaration of purpose. If the
votable item is a motion framed as an order to the House itself, its committees,
its Members or officers, again the House makes a decision either for or against
and, if agreed to, further action will be required to execute the
order.
If the votable item is a bill and second
reading is agreed to by the House, the bill is then referred to a committee for
study. [134]
The committee is obliged, within 60 sitting days from the date of reference, to
either report back a bill with or without amendment, or to present to the House
a report recommending not to proceed further with a bill or requesting a
one-time extension of 30 sitting days to consider a bill. Reasons must be given
for either recommendation. Should a committee fail to report back to the House
as required, the bill is automatically deemed reported without
amendment. [135]
Report Stage and Third Reading
When a committee reports a private
Member’s bill back to the House or is deemed to have reported a bill back,
the order for consideration of the report stage is placed at the bottom of the
order of
precedence. [136]
Two
Private Members’ Hours on separate sitting days are allotted for report
stage and third reading
consideration. [137]
On the first day, if there are no motions in amendment at the report stage on
the Notice Paper, the motion for concurrence at the report stage is put
immediately and, if adopted, the motion for third reading is moved and debate
commences at third
reading. [138]
If
there are motions in amendment at the report stage and debate on these motions
concludes during the first hour, the question is put on all motions to dispose
of the report stage and, if the bill is concurred in at report stage, the House
immediately proceeds to the consideration of the third reading
stage. [139]
At the
end of the first Private Members’ Hour, unless the bill has been otherwise
disposed of, it drops to the bottom of the order of precedence and works its way
up to the top for consideration by the House during the second Private
Members’ Hour. Fifteen minutes before the end of the time provided for
this second consideration, all questions necessary to dispose of the bill at the
remaining stage or stages are put and the bill, if passed, is sent to the Senate
for consideration. [140]
The time provided for the consideration of
a private Member’s bill at report stage and third reading may be extended
by up to five hours on the second day of debate. If a bill is not disposed of
within the first 30 minutes of debate on the first day of consideration, during
any time then remaining on that day, any Member may propose a motion to extend
the debate on the second day for a period not to exceed five consecutive
hours. [141]
This
non-debatable, non-amendable motion is deemed withdrawn if fewer than 20 Members
rise to support
it. [142]
The motion
may subsequently be proposed again during the time remaining provided an
intervening proceeding has
occurred. [143]
If the
motion is adopted and the time for consideration is extended on the second day,
the Standing Orders relating to the normal hour of adjournment are
suspended. [144]
Not
later than 15 minutes before the conclusion of the time provided on the second
day, the Speaker puts every question necessary to dispose of any remaining
stages of the
bill. [145]
On Monday,
the extension of up to five additional hours of debate begins at the ordinary
hour of daily
adjournment. [146]
Senate Amendments to a Private Member’s Bill
The order for the consideration of Senate
amendments to a private Member’s bill is placed at the bottom of the order
of precedence when the message is received from the
Senate. [147]
The
Standing Orders do not specify any time limit for the consideration of a motion
respecting Senate amendments. When the item reaches the top of the order of
precedence, it is considered during Private Members’ Hour and, if not
disposed of at the end of the hour, it is placed again at the bottom of the
order of precedence. This process is repeated until the debate ends and the
question can be put on the
motion. [148]
Notices of Motions (Papers)
Motions for papers may be debated for a
total of one hour and 40 minutes before the question is
put. [149]
Unless
otherwise disposed of, the item is placed at the bottom of the order of
precedence after the first hour of debate. After the item has worked its way up
the order of precedence, it is debated for a further 30 minutes. At that time,
the Speaker interrupts the proceedings and allows a Minister to speak for a
maximum of five minutes, even if he or she has already spoken in
debate. [150]
The
mover of the motion is then permitted to speak for an additional five minutes to
close the debate before the Speaker puts the question to the House. If the
motion carries, it becomes an order to the government to table the documents
requested in the motion.
Individual Speeches
During debate on a votable item of Private
Members’ Business, the sponsor may speak for 20 minutes, while other
Members may speak for 10 minutes
each. [151]
Debate on
a non-votable item begins with the mover of the item speaking for up to 15
minutes. Other Members may speak for up to 10 minutes, with the time
allotted for 10-minute speeches limited to a maximum of 40 minutes. After 40
minutes, or sooner if no other Member rises to speak, the Member moving the
motion has the right of reply to conclude the debate by speaking again for a
maximum of five
minutes. [152]
Although there is no practice of a fixed
pattern for the recognition of Members wishing to speak during Private
Members’ Business, the Chair seeks to ensure that there is a smooth flow
of debate, providing opportunities for all points of view to be
expressed. [153]
Members speaking during Private Members’ Business require the unanimous
consent of the House to share their time with another
Member. [154]
There is no question and comment period after each
speech. [155]
Divisions
If consideration of a votable item of
Private Members’ Business ends before the maximum time allowed for debate,
the question is then put and, if a recorded division is demanded, either the
Chief Government Whip or the Chief Opposition Whip may ask the Speaker to
defer the division. [156]
In the
event that the time for consideration of a private Member’s item has
expired and debate is interrupted by the Chair in order to put the question, a
recorded division can be deferred only upon the agreement of all Whips and the
Member sponsoring the item upon which a vote is to be
taken. [157]
When a recorded division is taken on an
item of Private Members’ Business, the vote of the Member sponsoring the
bill or motion is recorded first, if he or she is present, followed by the votes
of the other Members on the same side of the House, starting with the back row,
who are in favour of the bill or motion and then the Members on the other side
of the House, starting with the back row, who are in favour of the item. Votes
against are recorded in the same
order. [158]
Management of Private Members’ Business
The Speaker is responsible for the orderly
conduct of Private Members’ Business, ensuring that there is a minimum 24
hours’ notice of items to be considered during Private Members’
Hour, identifying identical or similar items of Private Members’ Business,
arranging the exchange of items in the order of precedence and rescheduling
debate if Private Members’ Hour is delayed for more than 90
minutes.
The Clerk of the House is responsible for
most of the administrative and procedural duties associated with Private
Members’ Business. These include making arrangements for the draws to
establish the order of precedence, ensuring that Members and their staff know
when their items of business are to be taken up during Private Members’
Hour and providing the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs with
procedural advice on Private Members’ Business.
Legislative counsel assists Members in the
drafting of their bills for introduction in the House and in the drafting of
amendments to legislation. Priority in the drafting of private Members’
bills is accorded to those Members who have not previously had a bill drafted by
legislative counsel during that
session. [159]
Legislative advice usually involves the appropriateness of the proposed
legislation, taking into account constitutional requirements or impediments,
vested rights issues, drafting conventions, and procedural requirements. While
Members may draft their own bills or retain outside counsel for that purpose,
before these bills are introduced in the House, they are reviewed by legislative
counsel for constitutionality, form and compliance with drafting conventions. In
addition, all private Members’ bills are certified by legislative counsel
before introduction in the House.