House of Commons Procedure and Practice
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19. Committees of the Whole House

[1] 
See Wilding and Laundy, pp. 149-52.
[2] 
When Shirley Maheu (Saint-Laurent–Cartierville) was appointed Deputy Chairman of Committees of the Whole for the First Session of the Thirty-Fifth Parliament (1994-96), she asked to be referred to as Deputy Chairperson of Committees of the Whole.
[3] 
Beauchesne, 6th ed., p. 249.
[4]
The Estimates are the expenditure plans of all government departments, consisting of Main Estimates, tabled annually, and Supplementary Estimates, tabled as required. Consideration of the Estimates is a major component of the Business of Supply. See Chapter 18, “Financial Procedures”, for additional information.
[5]
An appropriation bill is a bill authorizing government expenditures, introduced in the House by a Minister following concurrence in the Main or Supplementary Estimates or Interim Supply.
[6]
A taxation bill is a public bill introduced in the House by a Minister and authorizing the government to raise revenues.
[7] 
Standing Order 73(4). See, for example, Journals, March 12, 1997, pp. 1262-3.
[8] 
See, for example, Journals, April 20, 1994, pp. 375-6; June 22, 1994, p. 660; April 17, 1997, p. 1485.
[9] 
Since 1980, while a significant number of bills have been referred to Committees of the Whole for examination after second reading, very little time has been spent in this forum debating those bills, with the exception of the Committee of the Whole consideration of Bill C-2, An Act to implement the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the United States of America, in December 1988 (see Debates, December 20, 1988, pp. 408-19, 433-517; December 21, 1988, pp. 532-87).
[10] 
See Standing Order 101(1).
[11] 
See Bourinot, 4th ed., pp. 391-2. The earliest references to general committees and grand committees comprising the total membership of the House can be found during the reign of Elizabeth I (Wilding and Laundy, p. 152).
[12] 
Redlich, Vol. II, p. 208.
[13] 
Lord Campion, An Introduction to the Procedure of the House of Commons, 3rd ed., London: MacMillan & Co. Ltd., 1958, p. 27. See also Griffith and Ryle, p. 269.
[14] 
Redlich, Vol. II, p. 210.
[15] 
Campion, pp. 28-9.
[16] 
O’Brien, p. 103.
[17] 
O’Brien, p. 256. O’Brien notes that parliamentary procedure in Lower Canada was more comprehensive and better suited to a larger assembly than that in Upper Canada.
[18] 
Bourinot, 1st ed., p. 414.
[19] 
Bourinot, 1st ed., p. 212.
[20] 
Bourinot, 1st ed., p. 416.
[21] 
Bourinot, 1st ed., p. 416.
[22] 
See, for example, Journals, October 27, 1967, pp. 418-20.
[23] 
See, for example, Journals, March 26, 1964, pp. 133-4.
[24] 
See, for example, Journals, March 26, 1964, p. 134; June 18, 1965, p. 278.
[25] 
See, for example, Journals, March 26, 1964, p. 134. For additional information on the Committee of Supply and the Committee of Ways and Means, see Chapter 18, “Financial Procedures”.
[26] 
See, for example, Journals, April 29, 1964, pp. 266-71; December 14, 1967, pp. 595-600.
[27]
Resolutions relating to the expediency of introducing a bill involving the expenditure of public monies and couched in general rather than specific terms would be proposed to the House and referred to a Committee of the Whole for consideration.
[28] 
See, for example, Journals, July 3, 1961, pp. 795-6; July 13, 1964, pp. 526-7.
[29] 
See, for example, Journals, November 13, 1964, p. 872; November 27, 1967, pp. 537-8.
[30] 
See, for example, Journals, April 29, 1910, pp. 535-7; July 12, 1955, p. 881.
[31] 
See, for example, Journals, May 1, 1925, pp. 234-6; June 8, 1942, p. 367.
[32] 
See Stewart, p. 85. See also, for example, Journals, October 6, 1966, pp. 833-4; March 1, 1967, pp. 1459-60; March 15, 1967, p. 1538; March 16, 1967, pp. 1540, 1542; March 17, 1967, p. 1546; March 20, 1967, p. 1556; March 21, 1967, p. 1584.
[33] 
Journals, April 29, 1910, pp. 535-7, in particular p. 537. See also British House of Commons Standing Order 42.
[34] 
Journals, July 12, 1955, pp. 881, 920, 922-3, 928-9. Speeches were limited to 30 minutes at a time (except for the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition who had unlimited time) and the motion for the Speaker to leave the Chair was to be decided without debate or amendment.
[35] 
Journals, October 9, 1964, pp. 779-80. Debate on such resolutions was limited to one day. In addition, the length of speeches was reduced to no more than 20 minutes solely during consideration of such resolutions in a Committee of the Whole. Consideration of Clause 1 of a bill was postponed until all other clauses had been considered if Clause 1 contained only the short title of the bill.
[36] 
Journals, September 24, 1968, p. 68.
[37] 
Journals, December 6, 1968, pp. 429-64, and in particular pp. 432-3, 436. The Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition continued to have unlimited time.
[38] 
Journals, December 20, 1968, pp. 554-79, and in particular pp. 560, 562, 572-3.
[39] 
Journals, March 14, 1975, pp. 372-6; March 24, 1975, p. 399. In its Second Report, the Standing Committee on Procedure and Organization had expressed the view that the examination of selected items in the Estimates in a Committee of the Whole would permit the House to perform more effectively.
[40] 
Journals, October 12, 1976, p. 12.
[41] 
See Special Committee on the Reform of the House of Commons (the McGrath Committee), Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, December 19, 1984, Issue No. 2, pp. 3-23, and in particular p. 21. See also Journals,December 20, 1984, p. 211; June 27, 1985, pp. 918-9.
[42] 
Journals, June 3, 1987, pp. 1002-3, 1016.
[43]
For information on the referral of bills, see Chapter 16, “The Legislative Process”.
[44] 
Standing Order 7(4). In practice, the person presiding over the House proceedings (other than the Speaker) will also chair the Committee when the House goes into a Committee of the Whole (see, for example, Debates, March 15, 1995, p. 10559; April 21, 1997, p. 10000).
[45] 
Standing Order 7(1). For additional information on the selection of presiding officers, see Chapter 7, “The Speaker and Other Presiding Officers of the House”.
[46] 
The Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees of the Whole is required to be fluent in the official language which is not that of the Speaker. See Standing Order 7(2).
[47] 
See, for example, Journals, January 18, 1994, p. 18; September 23, 1997, p. 13.
[48] 
Standing Order 7(3). See, for example, Journals, May 15, 1990, pp. 1704-5.
[49] 
Standing Order 8. There have been instances when debate has occurred and recorded divisions have been taken on these appointment motions (see, for example, Journals, October 2, 1990, p. 2050; February 27, 1996, pp. 3-4; February 28, 1996, pp. 9-10; October 28, 1996, pp. 778-9; October 29, 1996, pp. 784-9).
[50] 
Standing Order 12.

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