Special Debates

Introduction

The Standing Orders and established practices of the House provide Members with opportunities to engage, from time to time, in debates which require the House to put aside its normal proceedings in response to emergencies, national or international issues, or pivotal moments in the life of a Parliament. These special debates include the debate on the Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne, the once-per-Parliament debate on the Standing Orders and procedure of the House and its committees, emergency debates, debates to suspend certain Standing Orders in order to consider urgent matters, and take-note debates. The decisions included in this chapter relate to three of these types of special debates: debates on the Address in reply to the Speech from the Throne; emergency debates; and take-note debates.

Each new session of Parliament begins with a Speech from the Throne. By convention, until the Speech is delivered, no public business may be transacted either by the Senate or by the House of Commons. It is customary for the House to adopt a motion to consider the Throne Speech and, on the day specified for this, for a Government backbencher to move that an Address be presented to the Governor General to offer thanks for the Speech. The debate on this motion for an Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne permits Members to engage in a wide-ranging debate of the policies set out in the Speech.

The single decision included in this chapter which relates to the debate on the motion for an Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne is noteworthy in that it arises from the first instance in our history of the House adopting an amendment to the motion. In it, a Member argues that his privileges have been violated by the failure of the Government to act in accordance with the provisions of the amended motion. The Speaker, while dismissing the question of privilege as a dispute as to facts, takes note of the unprecedented character of the adoption by the House of an amended motion for an Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne.

A number of the decisions which follow are concerned with requests for emergency debates. While debates on matters of urgent concern have been held since Confederation in the context of motions to adjourn the House, there has been a gradual evolution of the rules governing these debates. Under the current rule, motions in respect of emergency debates are typically taken up at the ordinary hour of daily adjournment (Fridays being the exception).

The Speaker is not obliged to indicate the reasons for a decision with respect to a request for an emergency debate, and this is reflected in some of the decisions included in this chapter. In others, however, the Speaker is more forthcoming, pointing out, for example, that other opportunities to address the matter had not been taken advantage of by the Member making the request or by his or her party. The reader will note that of the 13 decisions on requests for emergency debates included in this chapter, only four met with an affirmative response from the Chair. This is actually not representative of the ratio of requests granted to requests refused—the proportion of refusals is much higher. However, the decisions included here well reflect the range of possible responses and the manner in which such routine requests are dealt with by a seasoned Chair Occupant.

Another group of decisions concerns take-note debates. These debates have been held since the early 1990s. They originated as an alternative to emergency debates, which can take place only if the Speaker is satisfied that a number of specific criteria have been met. In 2001, the House adopted a new Standing Order governing the holding of take-note debates in Committees of the Whole. Any Minister may, after consultation with the parties in opposition, propose a motion (which is not debatable nor amendable) setting out the terms of an upcoming take-note debate. The question on the motion is put immediately. If it is adopted, the debate is held at the ordinary hour of adjournment on the day designated in the motion. The House resolves itself into a Committee of the Whole and the debate is governed by the Standing Orders applicable to this type of committee. The debate ends when no Member rises to speak or after four hours of debate—whichever comes first.

The decisions included in this chapter which concern take-note debates are statements by the Speaker on the manner in which such debates are to be conducted. They reflect the desire of the Speaker to ensure that all participants in the debates were fully acquainted with the modus operandi associated with these debates. They serve as useful precedents for the interpretation of Standing Order 53.1 governing such take-note debates.