RULINGS of the SPEAKER of the SENATE 41St Parliament 2011-2015
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RULINGS OF THE SPEAKER OF THE SENATE 41st Parliament 2011-2015 September 2016 Prepared by the Chamber Operations and Procedure Office Introduction The Speaker of the Senate is named by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Speaker presides over proceedings; rules on procedural matters such as points of order, the initial merits of questions of privilege and requests for emergency debate; and generally maintains order and decorum during sittings. The Speaker cannot, however, act independently of the institution. Almost all of the Speaker’s decisions are subject to appeal and can be overturned by a majority vote. The 41st Parliament was a period of transition for the Senate and for the Canadian polity. After two successive minority governments covering three Parliaments, the general election returned a majority in the House of Commons, and, for the first time since 2006, government supporters were a majority both in the appointed Senate and in the elected House of Commons. Within the Senate, the long service of Speaker Noël A. Kinsella, P.C., named to that post in 2006, drew to a close with his resignation in late 2014. His successor, the Honourable Pierre Claude Nolin, had served as Speaker pro tempore since November 20, 2013. This, coupled with his long years of work in the Senate, placed him in a strong position to build on his predecessor’s contribution to the work of the institution. He was, however, stricken by a grievous illness and passed away within months of taking the chair. The Honourable Leo Housakos was then named as Speaker, and served in that role for the rest of the Parliament. At the start of the second session of this Parliament, the Speaker was frequently called upon to deal with procedural matters during the contentious debate on motions to suspend a number of senators. This allowed the chair to examine issues relating to the disciplinary powers of the Senate, the rights of individual members, and the balance between Government Business and work not initiated by the government. Procedural issues continued to arise throughout the Parliament, and the rulings by the three Speakers contained in this collection illustrate their contribution to assist with the conduct of the Senate’s business and to balancing the multiple factors at play in the parliamentary environment. Charles Robert Clerk of the Senate and Clerk of the Parliaments i TABLE OF CONTENTS First Session, Forty-First Parliament (June 2, 2011 – September 13, 2013) Motion — Situation in which Previous Question Can Be Moved ............................................... 3 Form of Motions in Amendment .................................................................................................. 3 Pre-Study ...................................................................................................................................... 3 Pre-Study ...................................................................................................................................... 4 Question of Privilege — Introduction of a Bill ............................................................................ 4 Estimates and Supply Bills ........................................................................................................... 5 Language During Debate ............................................................................................................. 7 Article in a Newspaper (Ruling given by the Speaker pro tempore) ........................................... 8 Article in a Newspaper (Ruling given by the Speaker pro tempore) ........................................... 8 Not Seeing the Clock (Statement by the Acting Speaker) ........................................................... 8 Committee Report Proposing Revised Rules of the Senate .......................................................... 9 Motion to Refer a Report to a Committee of the Whole ............................................................ 12 Committee Meetings While a Committee of the Whole Is Meeting .......................................... 14 Senators’ Statements .................................................................................................................. 15 Language During Debate ........................................................................................................... 16 Question of Privilege — Proceedings in Committee ................................................................. 16 Use of Exhibits ........................................................................................................................... 18 Senators’ Statements .................................................................................................................. 19 Senators’ Statements .................................................................................................................. 19 Question of Privilege — Parliamentary Budget Officer ............................................................ 20 Senators’ Statements .................................................................................................................. 22 Motion to Refer Motion to Committee ...................................................................................... 23 Question of Privilege – Debate .................................................................................................. 24 Question of Privilege — Witness ............................................................................................... 25 Subamendment ........................................................................................................................... 27 Question of Privilege — Committee Report (Internal Economy, 24th report) ........................... 27 Question of Privilege — Committee Report (Internal Economy, 22nd report) ........................... 29 Distribution of Committee Report in Senate .............................................................................. 30 Question of Privilege — Review of Living Expenses ............................................................... 31 Second Session, Forty-First Parliament (October 16, 2013 – August 2, 2015) Content of Motion ...................................................................................................................... 35 Motion to Suspend a Senator ..................................................................................................... 35 Government Motion Proposing to Dispose of Motions Under Other Business ......................... 36 Speaker’s Statement — Complicated Questions ........................................................................ 40 Speaker’s Statement — Complicated Questions ........................................................................ 40 Statement by the Speaker pro tempore — Motion ..................................................................... 41 Question of Privilege — Interference in Committee Work ....................................................... 41 Speaker’s Statement — Recognized Party in the Senate ........................................................... 43 Motion Calling Upon the House of Commons to Undertake Actions and Comity Between the Houses ............................................................................................................................... 44 Statement by the Speaker pro tempore — Mace ....................................................................... 46 Speaker’s Statement — Vote Deferred to Time the Senate Will Not Sit ................................... 47 Omnibus Bills............................................................................................................................. 47 Security Arrangements on Parliament Hill ................................................................................ 51 Speaker’s Statement — Further Consideration of Point of Order .............................................. 52 Statement by the Speaker pro tempore – Further Consideration of Point of Order Deferred .... 53 iii Question of Privilege – Leaks of Auditor General’s Report ...................................................... 53 Bill C-377 and the Royal Recommandation .............................................................................. 53 Form of an Amendment (Decision delivered by the Speaker pro tempore) ................... 56 Government Motion to Deal with an Item of Other Business (Decision overturned by the Senate) .................................................................................................................................... 57 Index ............................................................................................................................................. 59 iv First Session, Forty-First Parliament June 2, 2011 – September 13, 2013 Speaker: The Honourable Noël A. Kinsella Speaker pro tempore: The Honourable Donald H. Oliver Motion — Situation in which Previous Question Can Be Moved October 5, 2011 Journals, p. 222 I wish to thank all honourable senators for their contribution to this point of order raised by the Honourable Senator Banks. I, too, spent part of the break between 6 p.m and 8 p.m. in anticipation, but not with any sense of prophecy. I had the opportunity to examine the contemporary procedural literature. First of all, I want to state that I am prepared to rule now because I am comfortable with what I will say. However, I respect the will of the house. It is the honourable senators who regulate