Other Uses of Committees of the Whole

Take-Note Debates

From time to time the House holds take-note debates during which Members have an opportunity to examine and debate domestic and international issues in detail.196 The Standing Orders set out a special procedure for holding such debates in a Committee of the Whole, a forum considered more intimate and more conducive to a free exchange of ideas. The majority of take-note debates today are held in a Committee of the Whole format.197

After consultation with the House Leaders of other parties, and at any point in the sitting, a Minister may move a motion that sets out the theme of the take-note debate to be held in Committee of the Whole, as well as the date the debate is to be held. The motion cannot be moved less than 48 hours before the debate is to begin. When the motion is moved, the question is put immediately without debate or amendment.198

The debate begins at the ordinary hour of daily adjournment on the day designated by the adoption of the motion and continues until no Member rises to speak or until four hours have passed, whichever is earlier. The motion to be debated by the Committee of the Whole reads, “That the Committee take note of [subject]” and is not put to a vote. At the conclusion of the proceedings, the Committee rises and the House immediately adjourns to the next sitting day. As a consequence, the Adjournment Proceedings do not take place. For its part, the motion to allow a take-note debate is dropped from the Order Paper.

The general principles relating to proceedings in a Committee of the Whole apply to take-note debates; that is, Members need not be in their assigned place to be recognized to speak.199 There are, however, a few exceptions. For example, the Committee may not consider any motion except a motion “That the Committee rise”. No Member may speak for longer than 10 minutes and each speech may be followed by a period of not more than 10 minutes for questions and comments. Finally, the Speaker may preside over the Committee debate, if the Speaker wishes to do so.200

In practice, take-note debates have been placed on the Order Paper even though the official procedure as specified in the Standing Orders has not been followed. Very often they are held following the adoption, by unanimous consent, of special orders that set additional conditions for the debate, such as changes to the number of hours or the allocation of a number of days for debate,201 the prohibition against quorum calls,202 and authorization for Members to divide their speaking time with other Members.203

One of the major differences between a Committee of the Whole devoted to a take-note debate and others where bills or motions are under consideration is that Members have no opportunity to propose an amendment or to make a decision on the item being debated. The purpose of take-note debates is first and foremost to permit a discussion of the selected theme. For this reason the only motion admissible during a take-note debate is a motion “That the Committee rise”.

Consideration of Estimates

Detailed examination of estimates takes place mainly in the standing committees of the House. For instance, the main estimates for the incoming fiscal year are deemed referred to committees on or before March 1 of the current fiscal year and are reported back, or are deemed reported back, to the House not later than May 31.204

Each year, under this rule the Leader of the Opposition is permitted to select, in consultation with the leaders of the other opposition parties, the main estimates of no more than two departments or agencies for consideration in Committee of the Whole for up to four hours.205 Not later than May 1, the Leader of the Opposition may give 48 hours’ notice of a motion to refer these selected estimates to a Committee of the Whole. The motion is deemed adopted at the end of the notice period and the estimates in question are deemed withdrawn from the standing committee to which they had initially been referred.206

Each set of estimates is considered on a day designated by the government,207 but not later than May 31,208 at the conclusion of the Adjournment Proceedings, or if taken up on a Friday, at the conclusion of Private Members’ Business. When the estimates are to be considered following the Adjournment Proceedings, the motion to adjourn the House is deemed withdrawn.

Unlike many other debates in Committee of the Whole, the debate on estimates is general in its scope, covering all of the votes referred to the Committee.209 The Committee of the Whole considers the appropriations initially included in the main estimates.210

Another rule of debate that distinguishes this type of Committee of the Whole states that no Member will be recognized for more than 15 minutes at a time. Only 10 minutes within that period may be used by the Member to give a speech. The 15 minutes may be used both for speeches and for posing questions about the estimates to the Minister or the Parliamentary Secretary acting on behalf of the Minister. When the Member is recognized, he or she shall indicate how the 15 minutes is to be apportioned.211 Traditionally, Members have sought to obtain unanimous consent to split their time with other Members.212

Furthermore, the House frequently adopts special orders setting additional conditions for debate, such as rules ensuring that the answer by the Minister or Parliamentary Secretary does not exceed the time taken for the question, or prohibiting quorum calls, dilatory motions and requests for unanimous consent.213 Generally, the Committee Chair makes a statement about the rules of debate at the beginning of the proceedings.214

The goal of these debates is first and foremost to hold discussions on the estimates during which Members have an opportunity to ask the Minister or Parliamentary Secretary questions about the specific estimates under consideration. In fact, the Standing Orders provide no procedure under which the Members of the Committee of the Whole might concur in, reject or reduce the estimates, contrary to what is possible in a standing committee.215 In addition, the estimates are not examined individually, but as a whole, by department or agency. The Standing Orders set out an automatic procedure for reporting the estimates back to the House without the question being put at the conclusion of the proceedings; the Committee rises, the estimates are deemed reported and the House immediately adjourns to the next sitting day.216 Final decisions on the main estimates are made on the last allotted day in the supply period ending June 23.