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Historical information
This a previous edition. For the latest publication, consult
House of Commons Procedure and Practice
, Third Edition, 2017
.
Table of Contents
Home Page
Introductory Pages
Parliamentary Institutions
Parliaments and Ministries
Privileges and Immunities
The House of Commons and Its Members
Parliamentary Procedure
The Physical and Administrative Setting
The Speaker and Other Presiding Officers of the House
The Parliamentary Cycle
Sittings of the House
The Daily Program
Questions
The Process of Debate
Introduction
Motions
Notice of a Motion
Moving a Motion
Decisions of the House
Unanimous Consent
Notes 1-50
Notes 51-100
Notes 101-150
Notes 151-200
Notes 201-250
Notes 251-300
Notes 301-350
Notes 351-380
Rules of Order and Decorum
The Curtailment of Debate
Special Debates
The Legislative Process
Delegated Legislation
Financial Procedures
Committees of the Whole House
Committees
Private Members’ Business
Public Petitions
Private Bills Practice
The Parliamentary Record
Appendices
House of Commons Procedure and Practice
Edited by Robert Marleau and Camille Montpetit
2000 Edition
—
More information …
12. The Process of Debate
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Open/print full chapter
[101]
See, for example,
Debates
, May 23, 1985, p. 4992. See also
Bourinot
, 4th ed., p. 324.
[102]
See, for example,
Debates
, February 21, 1979, p. 3457; December 7, 1979, pp. 2132-4.
[103]
See, for example,
Debates
, March 14, 1985, pp. 3029-30.
[104]
See, for example,
Debates
, December 20, 1978, p. 2320.
[105]
See, for example,
Debates
, June 21, 1994, p. 5698.
[106]
Standing Order 2(3).
[107]
See Standing Orders 38 and 52.
[108]
Standing Order 81(17) and (18). On June 5, 1984, which was the final allotted day for the Supply period, the Speaker did not accept a motion to adjourn the House (
Debates
, p. 4381).
[109]
Standing Order 57.
[110]
Standing Order 25. On one occasion, the Chair ruled a motion to adjourn out of order because the House had agreed to the presentation of the Budget later in the sitting (
Debates
, May 23, 1985, p. 4984). In other instances, an order having been adopted to extend the sitting, the Speaker refused to put the motion to adjourn (
Debates
, December 7, 1990, p. 16470; October 20, 1997, p. 866).
[111]
Standing Order 53(3)(
d
).
[112]
Standing Order 60. “Intermediate proceeding” is defined as a “proceeding that can properly be entered on the journals” (
Bourinot
, 4th ed., pp. 322-3). See, for example,
Journals
, March 10, 1966, pp. 274-6.
[113]
See
Bourinot
, 4th ed., p. 323.
[114]
In a Committee of the Whole, the motion that the committee rise and report progress is the equivalent of the motion to adjourn debate. See
Chapter 19, “Committees of the Whole House”
.
[115]
See, for example,
Journals
, June 21, 1994, pp. 633-4, 637-8, when a motion to adjourn the debate was moved during report stage of a bill which had been time allocated under Standing Order 78; March 12, 1996, pp. 79-80, and March 9, 1998, p. 540, when it was moved during debate on a motion in relation to a matter of privilege; March 26, 1998, pp. 633-4, when, in Routine Proceedings, it was moved during debate on a motion to concur in a committee report.
[116]
See section above, “Motion to Adjourn the House”.
[117]
Notice requirements have been part of the Standing Orders since Confederation. For a description of the operation of notice in the British House, as it developed rules and principles to organize and arrange the “introduction, treatment and disposal” of the large amount of business before it, see
Redlich
, Vol. III, pp. 8-26.
[118]
Standing Order 54. For further information on the
Notice Paper
, see
Chapter 24, “The Parliamentary Record”
.
[119]
For example, notices of motions for closure (Standing Order 57) and notices of motions for time allocation where there is not agreement among party representatives (Standing Order 78(3)).
[120]
For example, no notice is required for a motion to adjourn a debate or to amend a motion.
[121]
See section below, “Specific Notice Requirements”.
[122]
The Speaker has the discretionary power (Standing Order 86(5)) to refuse the most recent notice, to so inform the sponsoring Member and to return the item to the sponsor (see
Debates
, November 2, 1989, pp. 5474-5); see also
Chapter 21, “Private Members’ Business”
.
[123]
See Speaker Lamoureux’s ruling,
Debates
, September 14, 1973, pp. 6589-90.
[124]
Standing Order 54.
[125]
Standing Order 54.
[126]
Standing Order 123(4).
[127]
Standing Order 81(14)(
a
).
[128]
Standing Order 81(14)(
a
).
[129]
Standing Order 81(14)(
a
).
[130]
Standing Orders 76(2), 76.1(2).
[131]
Standing Order 77(1).
[132]
Standing Order 94(1)(
a
).
[133]
Bourinot
, 4th ed., pp. 300-1.
[134]
See Standing Order 54(1). The
Order Paper and Notice Paper
is published daily when the House sits. The
Notice Paper
lists all notices of bills, motions and questions which Members may wish to bring before the House. The
Order Paper
is the official House agenda and lists all items of business which may be brought forward on a given day. Until 1971, the
Notice Paper
was appended to the then
Votes and Proceedings
(now the daily
Journals
), so that each notice given by a Member was printed with the
Votes and Proceedings
of the sitting at which the notice was given. See
Chapter 24, “The Parliamentary Record”
.
[135]
Standing Order 54(2). Adjournment periods are defined by reference to Standing Order 28(2).
[136]
In 1993, a Member’s notice of a motion (to amend a bill at report stage) was refused for inclusion on the next day’s
Notice Paper
because it had been faxed. A point of order was raised and, in his ruling, the Speaker advised that, in addition to having been received after the 6:00 p.m. deadline, the notice was inadmissible because notices submitted for the
Notice Paper
are not considered official until an original document with the Member’s signature is received (
Debates
, February 15, 1993, pp. 15899-900).
[137]
This procedure has been followed since Confederation (see
Bourinot
, 1st ed., pp. 308-9).
[138]
See, for example,
Journals
, January 14, 1953, p. 127.
[139]
See
Debates
, March 22, 1990, pp. 9613-24, 9628-9.
[140]
Debates
, March 26, 1990, pp. 9758-61.
[141]
See, for example,
Debates
, May 24, 1988, pp. 15697-703.
[142]
See, for example,
Debates
, June 19, 1990, pp. 12963-7; May 28, 1991, pp. 702-3.
[143]
See Speaker Fraser’s ruling,
Debates
, December 7, 1989, p. 6584.
[144]
See, for example,
Debates
, February 12, 1993, p. 15851.
[145]
Standing Order 42(1).
[146]
For example, notices sponsored by Jean-Claude Malépart (Laurier–Sainte-Marie) (died November 16, 1989), Catherine Callbeck (Malpeque) (resigned January 25, 1993) and Stephen Harper (Calgary West) (resigned January 14, 1997) were withdrawn. They included notices of motions for Private Members’ Business, notices of written questions and notices of motions for the production of papers. Private Members’ bills awaiting introduction and notices of motions under Routine Proceedings would also be withdrawn in such circumstances.
[147]
Standing Order 87. See
Chapter 21, “Private Members’ Business”
.
[148]
Standing Order 56(1).
[149]
Standing Order 83(2).
[150]
Bourinot
, 4th ed., pp. 296-7. See also Standing Order 64. See, for example,
Debates
, March 12, 1993, pp. 16925-6; May 11, 1994, p. 4211.