Financial Procedures

Introduction

The written rules and parliamentary practices governing financial procedures—specifically, the business of supply, the business of ways and means, and the royal recommendation—are among the most intricate and difficult to understand. The roots of these practices are found deep in British parliamentary history and involve not only the process by which the various taxation and appropriation bills and substantive bills with financial implications are introduced and passed, but also touch upon the relationships between the Crown and the House of Commons and between the Senate and House of Commons.

Speaker Parent’s rulings frequently contained a detailed analysis and explanation of the procedural points at issue. In particular, difficulties were raised on a number of occasions concerning legislation which was felt to require a royal recommendation but was first introduced in the Senate. In a key ruling delivered on December 2, 1998, the Speaker dealt at length on the distinction between a tax and a levy, as well as considering the proper role for the Speaker in deciding such matters.

A brief explanation of the business of supply and the business of ways and means may help to clarify the issues raised in this chapter. The business of supply is the process by which the government submits its projected spending plans for parliamentary approval. The process has two phases: the legislative phase, which involves the Estimates and the necessary appropriation bills; and a general debate phase, which focuses on opposition supply motions, the number and disposition of which are governed by specific Standing Orders. The business of ways and means is the process by which the government obtains the necessary resources to meet its expenses. It is, in essence, the mechanism by which the government raises taxes, presents national budgets and thus influences the nation’s economy. The process has two phases: the budget presentation, in which the Minister of Finance delivers an economic statement and tables notices of ways and means motions; and the legislative phase, in which notice of a ways and means motion is given and then adopted as a prerequisite to the first reading of any tax bill proposing an increased charge on the taxpayer.

The 13 decisions selected for this chapter are divided into supply issues, ways and means issues, and legislative practices involving the royal recommendation. With respect to supply issues, the decisions touch upon extending consideration of the Estimates in committee, presentation of votes without legislative authority, presentation of multiyear appropriations, and the procedural validity of amendments proposed to a motion on an opposition day.

With respect to ways and means, Speaker Parent dealt with the question of the procedural significance of the practice of budget secrecy. Also included in this chapter are decisions pertaining to the financial prerogatives of the Crown, as expressed in the royal recommendation, and of the House, as outlined in the Standing Orders.

The matter of the relationship between the House and the Senate with respect to the introduction of financial legislation was raised on several occasions. Other issues considered in these decisions are the proposing of an amendment requiring a royal recommendation; the attempt to allocate money to a program before the enabling legislation had been adopted; and the attempt to impose a charge on the people in a bill not preceded by a ways and means motion.