The Authorities
The rules and procedures of the House are far more complex than they would appear to be on the surface.
This complexity, illustrated by the growth in the number of Standing Orders, an ever-increasing number
of Speakers’ rulings and statements, and the whole body of unwritten practice, has led to the
publication over the years of various works on parliamentary procedure which have come to be referred to
as “the Authorities”. In their own time, these books have attempted to collect and organize
the traditions, precedents and procedures of our Parliament. The House has relied primarily on Arthur
Beauchesne’s Parliamentary Rules and Forms of the House of Commons of Canada and
Sir John George Bourinot’s Parliamentary Procedure and Practice in the Dominion of Canada
(last published in 1916). Other works have also proved useful in understanding the procedures of the House,
notably William F. Dawson’s Procedure in the Canadian House of Commons, C.E.S. Franks’
The Parliament of Canada, Joseph Maingot’s Parliamentary Privilege in Canada, John
B. Stewart’s The Canadian House of Commons: Procedure and Reform, and Norman Ward’s
Dawson’s The Government of Canada. When these and other sources have been insufficient to
help with a problem, reference may be made to Erskine May’s Treatise on the Law, Privileges,
Proceedings and Usage of Parliament as a guide to relevant current British procedures.