House of Commons Procedure and Practice
Edited by Robert Marleau and Camille Montpetit
2000 Edition — More information …

9. Sittings of the House

[101] 
Standing Order 28(3). See also Debates, June 23, 1994, pp. 5781-2. For further information on recalls of the House, see Chapter 8, “The Parliamentary Cycle”.
[102] 
Standing Order 28(4). See Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Twenty-Seventh Report, June 8, 1994, Issue No. 16, p. 3, adopted by the House on June 10, 1994 (Journals, p. 563).
[103] 
Standing Order 29(5). Though a “sitting” for the sole purpose of Royal Assent is not a regular sitting, it has become practice for the Speaker’s parade to be held and for the Speaker to read Prayers prior to receiving the message from the Governor General for the House’s attendance in the Senate. See also section above, “Quorum When the Attendance of the House Is Requested in the Senate”.
[104] 
See, for example, Journals, December 10, 1998, p. 1440.
[105] 
This also precludes the deposit of any document with the Clerk of the House and the reading of any Senate message except for those regarding Royal Assent. See, for example, Journals, June 23, 1994, pp. 668-70; July 7, 1994, pp. 672-3; July 13, 1995, pp. 1877-9; December 15, 1995, pp. 2267-8; February 2, 1996, p. 2269; December 18, 1997, pp. 399-400; June 18, 1998, pp. 1029-32; December 10, 1998, pp. 1439-40.
[106] 
Standing Order 2. The election of John Fraser as Speaker in September 1986 serves as an excellent example of the operation of this Standing Order. The House met at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 30, and proceeded with the election process. After 11 ballots, John Fraser was elected Speaker and, after taking the Chair, adjourned the House at 2:30 a.m. on the morning of October 1 (see Journals, September 30, 1986, pp. 1-9). For further information on the election of the Speaker, see Chapter 7, “The Speaker and Other Presiding Officers of the House”.
[107]
For further information on “strangers”, see Chapter 6, “The Physical and Administrative Setting”.
[108] 
Journals, April 15, 1918, p. 151.
[109] 
Journals, November 28, 1944, p. 931. Prior to the adjournment of the House on the day preceding the secret sitting, Members discussed various ways by which the House could conduct a sitting in secret. It was decided, on the invitation of the Speaker, that, upon commencing the sitting the following day, the prayers would be read but the doors would not be opened. The Speaker then indicated that he would leave it to the House, at that point, to proceed as it deemed fit (Debates, November 27, 1944, pp. 6632-3).
[110] 
See Journals, April 17, 1918, p. 160; February 24, 1942, p. 93; July 18, 1942, p. 553; November 28, 1944, p. 931.
[111] 
See, for example, Debates, December 6, 1867, p. 199; December 19, 1867, p. 317.
[112] 
See, for example, Journals, March 29, 1972, p. 232; March 11, 1999, p. 1593. Prior to the 1970s, the motions to append the text of the address and introductory and related speeches were normally adopted at the sitting following the delivery of the address by distinguished visitors (see Journals, January 21, 1942, p. 654; May 18, 1961, p. 561).
[113]
The joint address by U Thant, Secretary-General of the United Nations, on May 26, 1964, was not printed in Hansard.
[114] 
See, for example, Journals, April 29, 1980, p. 94; April 1, 1987, p. 689; March 11, 1999, p. 1593.

Please note —

As the rules and practices of the House of Commons are subject to change, users should remember that this edition of Procedure and Practice was published in January 2000. Standing Order changes adopted since then, as well as other changes in practice, are not reflected in the text. The Appendices to the book, however, have been updated and now include information up to the end of the 38th Parliament in November 2005.

To confirm current rules and practice, please consult the latest version of the Standing Orders on the Parliament of Canada Web site.

For further information about the procedures of the House of Commons, please contact the Table Research Branch at (613) 996-3611 or by e-mail at trbdrb@parl.gc.ca.