The Standing Committee on
Procedure and House Affairs has the honour to present its
FIFTY-THIRD
REPORT
Pursuant to
its mandate under Standing Order 108(3)(a)(iii), the Committee has
reviewed the Standing Orders relating to delegated legislation.
Bill C-205, An
Act to amend the Statutory Instruments Act (disallowance procedure for
regulations), was given Royal Assent on June 19, 2003. It now provides for a
disallowance procedure applying in both the House and the Senate to all
regulations.
At the request of
the Speaker, the Clerk of the House examined the provisions of Bill C-205 in
order to determine whether any changes to the Standing Orders were required.
While there are many similarities with the existing disallowance procedures
found in Chapter XIV of the Standing Orders of the House of Commons, there are
also some notable differences. The Clerk concluded that the Standing Orders
should be amended to reflect the requirements of the bill in order for the
Speaker to exercise the power conferred on the Speaker by the House to deal
with questions of order relating to these proceedings. This would be fully in
keeping with the past practice of the House.
The Committee
agrees that the House should modify the Standing Orders to incorporate the
provisions of Bill C-205.
Recommendation
The Committee
therefore recommends that Standing Orders 123 through 128 be replaced with the
following:
“123. (1) In addition
to the powers granted, so far as this House is concerned, to the Standing Joint
Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations, pursuant to Standing Order 108(4),
the said Committee shall be empowered to make a report to the House containing
only a resolution that all or any portion of a regulation that stands
permanently referred to the Committee be revoked.
(2) No report
pursuant to section (1) of this Standing Order may be made unless the authority
authorized to make the regulation has been notified, at least 30 days before
the Committee adopts the report, that the Committee intends to consider the
report, and if the regulation is authorized to be made by the Governor in
Council, the notice must be given to the Minister responsible for the provision
under which the regulation may be made.
(3) Not more than one report pursuant to section (1) of this
Standing Order shall be received during any sitting.
(4) When any report is made pursuant to section (1) of this
Standing Order, the Member presenting it shall state that it contains a
resolution pursuant to section (1) of this Standing Order, shall identify the
regulation, or portion thereof, in relation to which the said report is made,
shall indicate that the relevant text is included in the report, and shall
state that notification has been given in accordance with section (2) of this
Standing Order.
(5) Immediately after the said
report is received and laid upon the Table, the Clerk of the House shall cause
to be placed on the Notice Paper, the resolution contained in the
report, which shall stand in the name of the Member presenting the report. The
resolution shall not be placed on the Notice
Paper in the name of any other
Member and no notice of motion for concurrence in the report shall be placed on
the Notice Paper.
124. Except as otherwise provided in any Standing or Special
Order of the House, when a notice of a resolution given pursuant to Standing
Order 123(5) is transferred to the Order Paper under “Motions”, it shall
be deemed to have been moved and adopted by the House at the ordinary hour of
daily adjournment on the fifteenth sitting day after the notice is transferred,
unless a motion for which notice has been given pursuant to Standing Order 54,
standing in the name of a Minister, to the effect that the resolution not be
adopted, has been placed on the Order Paper.
125. (1) When a motion for which notice has been given pursuant
to Standing Order 124 has been adopted by the House, the corresponding
resolution standing on the Order Paper pursuant to Standing Order 123(5)
shall be deemed withdrawn.
(2) When a motion for which notice
has been given pursuant to Standing Order 124 has been negatived, the
corresponding resolution standing on the Order Paper pursuant to
Standing Order 123(5) shall be deemed to have been moved and adopted by the
House.
126. (1) A notice given pursuant to Standing Order 124
shall be taken up and considered for a period not exceeding one hour, provided
that:
(a) during the
consideration of any such motion or motions, no Member shall speak more than
once or for more than ten minutes;
(b) for the purposes of
this Standing Order and notwithstanding the usual practices of the House, no
consideration of the procedural acceptability of any report made pursuant to
Standing Order 123(1) shall be entertained until all of the motions of which
notice of consideration had previously been given pursuant to Standing Order
124, have been put to the House for its consideration. If any report made
pursuant to Standing Order 123(1) is found to be irreceivable, the resolution
based on that report made pursuant to Standing Order 123(5) and the
corresponding notice of motion given by the Minister pursuant to Standing Order
124 shall be deemed to have been withdrawn; and
(c) unless the motion or
motions be previously disposed of, not later than the end of the said hour of
consideration, the Speaker shall interrupt any proceedings then before the
House and put forthwith and successively, without further debate or amendment,
every question necessary to dispose of the said motion or motions, provided
that any division or divisions demanded in relation thereto shall stand
deferred until no later than the ordinary hour of daily adjournment in that
sitting, when the bells to call in the Members shall be sounded for not more
than fifteen minutes. Any remaining questions necessary to dispose of
proceedings in relation to such motion or motions, on which a decision has been
deferred until after the taking of such a division, shall be put forthwith and
successively, without further debate or amendment.
(2) The provisions of Standing
Order 45(5) shall be suspended in the case of any division demanded pursuant to
paragraph (c) of section (1) of this Standing Order.
(3) The Standing Orders relating
to the ordinary hour of daily adjournment shall be suspended until all
questions have been decided pursuant to paragraph (c) of section (1) of
this Standing Order.
127. The House shall undertake consideration of any motion or
motions made pursuant to Standing Order 124 in the order in which they
may be set down for consideration at the request of a Minister of the Crown,
provided that all such motions shall be grouped together for debate.
128. (1) When a notice or notices of motion given pursuant
to Standing Order 124 has or have been set down for consideration on the Order Paper, the House shall meet
at 1:00 p.m. on the Wednesday next, at which time the order of business
shall be the consideration of the said notice or notices.
(2) When the House meets at 1:00
p.m. on any Wednesday pursuant to section (1) of this Standing Order, the House
shall not consider any other item but those provided pursuant to that section,
provided that:
(a) if such proceedings are
concluded prior to 2:00 p.m. on any such day, the Speaker shall suspend the
sitting until that hour; and
(b) all such proceedings
shall be concluded except as provided pursuant to Standing Order 126(1)(c)
at 2:00 p.m. on the same day.”
Recommendation
The Committee
further recommends that Standing Order 54(1) be replaced with the following:
“54. (1) Forty-eight
hours’ notice shall be given of a motion for leave to present a bill,
resolution or address, for the appointment of any committee, for placing a
question on the Order Paper or for the consideration of any notice of
motion made pursuant to Standing Order 124; but this rule shall not apply to
bills after their introduction, or to private bills, or to the times of meeting
or adjournment of the House. Such notice shall be laid on the Table, or filed
with the Clerk, before 6:00 p.m. (2:00 p.m. on a Friday) and be printed in the Notice
Paper of that day, except as provided in section (2) of this Standing
Order. Any notice filed with the Clerk pursuant to this Standing Order shall
thereupon be deemed to have been laid on the Table in that sitting.”
A
copy of the relevant Minutes of Proceedings (Meeting
No. 64) is tabled.
Respectfully
submitted,
Peter Adams
Chair