2005 Legislative Session: 1st Session, 38th Parliament
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The printed version remains the official version.
No. 34
OF THE
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Two o'clock p.m.
Prayers by Mr. Hawes.
Order called for "Members' Statements."
Order called for "Oral Questions by Members."
Ms. Thorne presented a petition regarding Bill 12.
The Hon. M. de Jong (Minister of Labour and Citizens' Services) tabled the Labour Relations Board Annual Report, 2003.
The Speaker delivered his reserved decision as follows:
Honourable Members:
Following question period on Monday, October 24, 2005, the Honourable Member for Malahat-Juan de Fuca rose and reserved his right to raise a matter of privilege relating to statements made in the House by the Minister of Labour.
On Tuesday morning prior to entering on Orders of the Day, the Member raised his matter of privilege and presented the statement of the matter together with supporting documentation and a motion the Member would propose to move if the Chair found that he had established a prima facie case of privilege. The Member has complied with the technical requirements upon raising a matter of privilege and also provided the Chair with notice of his intention in this regard.
On Tuesday afternoon following question period the Hon. Minister of Labour and Government House Leader responded to the matter of privilege and tabled with the House his statement and supporting documentation.
Both Members ably argued their position and I have had an opportunity to examine the material filed, the Hansard report and the relevant authorities.
I wish to first deal with the "earliest opportunity" rule which was raised by the Minister of Labour and is canvassed in some detail at pages 48 and 49 of Parliamentary Practice in British Columbia, 3rd edition. In that decision Speaker Schroeder, after canvassing the facts in that case, observed as follows:
"The Chair must, however, consider the rules relating to matters of privilege. It is necessary that the matter be raised at the earliest opportunity and the proposed motion be tendered at the same time. The motion was properly tendered in accordance with the rule so it remains for the Chair to consider whether this matter was raised at the earliest opportunity."
In that case the alleged offence occurred on Monday the 23rd and the matter was raised in the House on Wednesday the 25th. By way of explanation for the delay the Member observed that it was not until the 25th he learned the identity of the person complained of and therefore the matter had not been raised earlier. The Chair observed as follows, and I quote:
"It seems to the Chair that the Member should have brought the incident to the attention of the House immediately to preserve his rights, and then pursued his investigation as to the identity of the party. This procedure would have conformed with the authority in this House which states the proposition that a matter of privilege may be raised to satisfy the "earliest opportunity" rule, even though complete detail upon which the matter is based is not available at that time."
Honourable Members will be aware that the Standing Orders of this House state clearly that whenever a matter of privilege arises, it shall be taken into consideration immediately.
A reading of the statement submitted by the Member for Malahat-Juan de Fuca clearly identified October 19th as the date on which the alleged offence occurred, yet it was not until the afternoon of Monday, October 24th that the same Member rose to reserve his right to raise a matter of privilege. Notwithstanding the Member may not have had all his facts in hand on October 19th, it seems to the Chair that that was the date upon which he should have reserved his right to raise a matter of privilege to be in conformity with the Standing Orders and the decision of this House quoted above.
Finally, on this particular point, let me quote again from the final paragraph of the decision referred to:
"Because a motion based on privilege is given precedence over the prearranged program of public business, strict compliance with the rules has invariably been required. I am unable to find any authority which would permit the Chair to allow this matter to proceed when it has been raised in the House on the second sitting day after the event complained of. Even had the matter been raised in the House at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, the 24th, it seems to the Chair, based on the existing authorities, the matter would have failed to satisfy the "earliest opportunity" rule. There is no doubt that the onus on the Member raising a matter of privilege is a heavy one but the Chair has no authority to relax these rules, even though the Chair may well be satisfied a prima facie case exists."
On this ground the Member's application cannot succeed.
Having made that finding, I also wish to touch on the substantive portion of this matter. I have examined with great care, not only the written submissions of the Honourable Minister of Labour and the Honourable Member for Malahat-Juan de Fuca, but I have examined the Hansard reports of both Members' submissions. I should mention as an aside that the speedy and accurate transcription by the Hansard staff of the remarks made by Members in cases like the one before me, are of enormous assistance to the Chair in coming to a decision.
The Member's submission alleges that the Minister's replies to questions posed by the Opposition on October 19th conveyed misleading information to the House.
The Minister says that the information conveyed on that occasion was accurate on all aspects and tabled again the notice of appointment of an Industrial Inquiry Commission appointing Vince Ready as Industrial Inquiry Commissioner. The document in question was dated October 6, 2005, apparently in conformity with the Minister's answers given to the House on October 19th.
The Member then quotes from Mr. Ready's report identifying October 10, 2005, as the date of his appointment as Industrial Inquiry Commissioner. No explanation has been given as to the divergence of these two dates, but certainly the appointment document would tend to confirm the Minister's version of events. In any event, these quotes fail to provide a foundation for an assertion that the Minister misled the House.
I commend both Members on their orderly presentations, but bearing in mind the stringent guidelines relating to such matters, I am unable to find that a prima facie case has been established and the Member will not be permitted to move the tendered motion.
Bill Barisoff, Speaker
The House proceeded to "Orders of the Day."
Order for Committee of Supply called.
Pursuant to Sessional Order, order called for Section A and Section B of Committee of Supply.
The Committee recessed until 6.45 p.m.
(In Committee -- Section B)
31. Resolved, That a sum not exceeding $418,644,000 be granted to Her Majesty to defray the expenses of Ministry of Forests and Range, Ministry Operations, to 31st March, 2006.
32. Resolved, That a sum not exceeding $55,380,000 be granted to Her Majesty to defray the expenses of Ministry of Forests and Range, Direct Fire, to 31st March, 2006.
33. Resolved, That a sum not exceeding $207,701,000 be granted to Her Majesty to defray the expenses of Ministry of Forests and Range, Housing and Homelessness, to 31st March, 2006.
47. Resolved, That a sum not exceeding $3,607,000 be granted to Her Majesty to defray the expenses of Other Appropriations, Forest Practices Board, to 31st March, 2006.
Section B of Committee of Supply reported the Resolutions and completion of the estimates of the Ministry of Forests and Range.
Report to be considered at the next sitting.
Committee to sit again at the next sitting.
(In Committee -- Section A)
Section A of Committee of Supply reported progress of the estimates of the Ministry of Transportation.
Report to be considered at the next sitting.
Committee to sit again at the next sitting.
And then the House adjourned at 9 p.m.
BILL BARISOFF, Speaker
NOTICE OF MOTIONS
Thursday, October 27
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