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Although the House now resolves itself into a Committee of the Whole primarily to study main estimates, to hold take-note debates and, occasionally, to consider legislation, Committees of the Whole have examined other matters, such as motions, resolutions and addresses.[191] Indeed, the potential mandate of a Committee of the Whole is virtually unlimited as it may consider any substantive motion, with the exception of motions particular to take-note debates,[192] which the House chooses to refer to it.[193] In the past, the Committee’s consideration of matters other than legislation was largely limited to resolutions preceding bills involving the expenditure of public funds or the imposition of a public tax, but other matters have also been debated in a Committee of the Whole.[194] When a motion or resolution, other than a motion or resolution involving a take-note debate, is referred to a Committee of the Whole for consideration, the Chair proposes the motion or resolution and asks the Committee if it wishes to agree to it.[195] The mover of the resolution or motion opens the debate and other Members then rise to participate in the debate and to ask questions. The rules of debate are the same as those that apply in a Committee of the Whole for the consideration of legislation: the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition have unlimited speaking time, and Members have 20 minutes each time they rise to speak to ask questions and to receive replies. Amendments may be moved to the main motion, with possible subamendments. At the conclusion of debate, the Chair puts the question on the resolution or motion. If agreed to, the Chair requests leave to report the resolution or motion to the House. If leave is granted, the Chair rises, the Mace is placed back on the Table, the Speaker takes the Chair, and the Chair reports the resolution or motion.[196] Should a Committee of the Whole report the adoption of a motion or a resolution, the Speaker immediately puts the question to concur in the motion or resolution, without debate or amendment.[197] If the House agrees to the concurrence motion, it expresses its support for the content of the resolution or motion; if not, the House withholds its support. [191] A resolution is a motion agreed to by the House in order to make a declaration of opinion or purpose. An address is a formal message to the Crown that may either express a wish or an opinion of the House or make a request. Addresses are used, for example, to express congratulations to the Royal Family as well as to request the production of documents in the Crown’s possession. [192] Motions for take-note debates contain the words: “That the Committee take note of [subject]”. These motions rarely come to a vote. For further information, see the section in this chapter entitled “Other Uses of Committees of the Whole”. [193] In 1991, a Member sought to have the House sit as a Committee of the Whole during the debate on the crisis in the Persian Gulf to maximize the exchanges between Members during debate. Consent was denied (Debates, January 15, 1991, p. 16984). [194] Motions which have been debated in a Committee of the Whole in the past have dealt with, among other matters, the naturalization of aliens (Journals, April 10, 1873, p. 147; April 5, 1875, p. 355), the establishment of provincial boundaries (Journals, April 29, 1889, pp. 383‑5), the classification and organization of House of Commons staff (Journals, June 5, 1913, pp. 785‑8), and the ratification of agreements, conventions and treaties (Journals, March 20, 1925, pp. 148‑9; June 8, 1942, p. 367). [195] See, for example, Debates, May 9, 1975, p. 5646; January 28, 1988, p. 12362. For a description of the consideration of resolutions in a Committee of Supply, see Bourinot, 4th ed., pp. 425‑8. [196] See, for example, Debates, May 9, 1975, p. 5670; January 28, 1988, p. 12371. [197] Standing Order 103. This Standing Order was adopted in 1955 to reflect a practice the House had previously followed for a number of years in connection with financial proceedings. For an example of the use of this Standing Order, see Journals, January 28, 1988, p. 2076. For a historical perspective on procedures relative to resolutions reported back from Committees of Supply and of Ways and Means, see Bourinot, 4th ed., pp. 433‑9; for reports from a Committee of the Whole, see Bourinot, 4th ed., pp. 402‑3. See also Beauchesne, 4th ed., pp. 207‑8. |
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