Chapter 19Committees of the Whole

Resolving into a Committee of the Whole and Quorum

When the Order of the Day is read for the House to go into a Committee of the Whole, no question is put.⁷⁰ The Speaker normally leaves the Chair and exits the Chamber.⁷¹ The Chair of the Committee is generally taken by the Chair, Deputy Chair or Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole. The Chair of the Committee sits in the Clerk’s chair at the head of the Table, and the Table Officers sit to the right and left of the Chair. One of the Table Officers acts as the clerk of the Committee.⁷²

If a Committee of the Whole is discussing legislation or considering estimates, the Minister or Parliamentary Secretary responsible for the legislation or for the department or agency whose estimates are under consideration sits at one of the front row desks on the government side of the Chamber. The Minister or the Parliamentary Secretary acts as a witness answering any questions Members may have and as a member of the Committee, participating in the debate and voting.

During such studies, the Minister or Parliamentary Secretary may be assisted by up to three departmental officials, who sit at a small table on the floor of the House in front of the Minister or the Parliamentary Secretary. The officials do not, however, take part in the debate or answer questions. Before proceedings begin, the officials are escorted by a page supervisor to their place; they are escorted out of the Chamber immediately after the Committee rises and before the Speaker takes the Chair. This is one of the rare occasions when anyone other than Members or House staff is permitted on the floor of the Chamber when the House is sitting.⁷³

The quorum for a Committee of the Whole is the same as in the House, that is, 20 Members, including the Speaker.⁷⁴ If a Member draws to the attention of the Chair a lack of quorum in a Committee of the Whole, the Chair counts the Members.⁷⁵ If there are fewer than 20 Members present, the Chair rises without seeking leave to report progress and sit again. The Speaker then takes the Chair.⁷⁶ The Chair reports the lack of a quorum and the Speaker counts the number of Members present in the Chamber. If the Speaker finds a quorum, the Committee resumes its deliberations.⁷⁷ If there is no quorum, the Speaker orders the bells to be rung until there is a quorum, at which time the Committee resumes its deliberations. If after 15 minutes the bells are still ringing, the Speaker adjourns the House until the next sitting day.⁷⁸ Any proceedings which are brought to a close for lack of quorum in the House remain on the Order Paper and retain their precedence for the next sitting when the Order is called for the House to resolve into a Committee of the Whole.⁷⁹ At that time, the Committee resumes its work from the point of interruption.

70.: Standing Order 100. Prior to 1955, as a general rule, whenever the House desired to resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole, the motion “That Mr. Speaker do now leave the Chair” was moved. In some instances, if the motion was for the House to resolve itself into Committee of Supply or into the Committee of Ways and Means, it was debatable; in other instances, the House would resolve itself into Committee without putting the question. In 1913, the House had adopted an amendment to the rules which provided that, if an Order of the Day were called to go into the Committee of Supply or of Ways and Means on a Thursday or Friday, the Speaker was to leave the Chair without putting any question (Journals, April 23, 1913, pp. 507–9). In 1955, the special committee on procedure recommended a new Standing Order to clarify what had become the “general practice” by that time. The House adopted the rule which specified that, except for the particular circumstances of motions to resolve into the Committee of Supply or the Committee of Ways and Means, all motions for the House to resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole were to be decided without debate or amendment (Journals, July 12, 1955, pp. 920–1). The wording of the rule remained unchanged until December 1968. Since the Committees of Supply and of Ways and Means were abolished at that time, the Standing Order was rephrased to stipulate that, when an Order of the Day was read for the House to go into a Committee of the Whole or when it was ordered that a bill be considered in a Committee of the Whole, no question was to be put. The Speaker would simply leave the Chair upon the order being read (Journals, December 20, 1968, p. 572).
71.: In the past, the Speaker occasionally participated in debate in a Committee of the Whole, although this is not the modern practice. See, for example, Debates, April 7, 1927, pp. 2034–8.
72.: According to Arthur Beauchesne, Rules and Forms of the House of Commons of Canada, 4th ed. (Toronto: Carswell, 1958), p. 195, the Clerk also leaves the Chamber when the Speaker exits and returns when the Committee rises. In practice, the Clerk will leave the Chamber along with the Speaker but may reappear to take the place of one of the Table Officers.
73.: In 2007, exceptionally, and by Special Order of the House, a group of approximately 10 witnesses was admitted to the floor of the House for a sitting of a Committee of the Whole, in order to answer questions from Members who were considering emergency legislation relating to the resumption of the operation of a nuclear reactor at Chalk River (Bill C-38, An Act to permit the resumption and continuation of the operation of the National Universal Reactor at Chalk River, 2nd Sess, 39th Parl, 2007). During the sitting in Committee of the Whole, the witnesses were seated near the Table of the House and some were given the opportunity to make statements (Journals, December 11, 2007, pp. 295–7, Debates, pp. 2049–78). One other person is permitted on the floor of the House: the Usher of the Black Rod, the officer of the Senate whose responsibilities include delivering messages to the Commons when its Members’ attendance is required in the Senate Chamber by the Governor General or a deputy of the Governor General. For further information, see Chapter 8, “The Parliamentary Cycle”, and Chapter 16, “The Legislative Process”.
74.: Constitution Act, 1867 (UK), 30 & 31 Vict, c 3, s 48, reprinted in RSC 1985, Appendix II, No 5; Standing Order 29(1). See also Bourinot, Parliamentary Procedure and Practice, 4th ed., p. 218; Beauchesne, Rules and Forms of the House of Commons, 6th ed., p. 250.
75.: See, for example, Debates, May 19, 1966, p. 5323; March 14, 1967, pp. 13993–4.
76.: The Chair of the Committee of the Whole may also take the Chair if he or she is one of the four Chair Occupants. See, for example, Debates, June 6, 1899, col. 4461.
77.: See, for example, Debates, June 6, 1899, col. 4461; March 30, 1915, pp. 1780–1; May 13, 1919, p. 2361; February 29, 1968, pp. 7131–2; October 29, 1968, p. 2180.
78.: Standing Order 29(3). For further information on quorum, see Chapter 9, “Sittings of the House”.
79.: Standing Order 41(2). Since this Standing Order was first adopted in 1991, proceedings in a Committee of the Whole have not been interrupted because of a lack of quorum. On June 9, 1938, the House was adjourned because of a lack of quorum in the Committee of Supply (Journals, p. 434, Debates, p. 3704). Note, however, that for Committees of the Whole, the House regularly adopts special orders stipulating that quorum calls are not allowed. See, for example, Journals, May 27, 2015, p. 2577.

For questions about parliamentary procedure, contact the Table Research Branch

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