Arranging the Business of the House / Miscellaneous

Recall of the House; rescinding recall; prerogative of the Speaker

Debates, p. 12709

Context

Pursuant to the Standing Orders, the House rose for the usual summer recess on June 23, 1992. On June 25, 1992, the Speaker received a request from the Government to recall the House on July 15, 1992 to consider the constitutional situation in Canada. The Speaker ordered the recall of the House for that date.

For some months previous, the Government had been involved in constitutional discussions with a number of provincial premiers and with groups and individual Canadians through a series of consultative conferences. A tentative agreement on proposals for constitutional reform was reached between the President of the Privy Council and Minister Responsible for Constitutional Affairs (Rt. Hon. Joe Clark) and certain of the provincial premiers on July 7, 1992. On July 10, 1992, a letter signed by representatives of the three recognized parties in the House of Commons was sent to the Speaker asking that the recall of Parliament for July 15 be rescinded in light of this and other significant developments. Such action was undertaken by the Speaker the following day.

However, as this action was unprecedented and not provided for in the Standing Orders, the Speaker took the opportunity on September 8, 1992, when the House reconvened, to explain the reasons that had led him to rescind the recall of the House for July 15, 1992. His statement on this matter is reproduced below.

STATEMENT OF THE CHAIR

The Speaker: […] I am also tabling today documentation relating to the request by the Government to recall the House for July 15, 1992 as well as documentation which resulted in my decision to rescind the recall of the House scheduled for that day.

On June 26, 1992 after consultation with the Government under the provisions of Standing Order 28(3) and being satisfied that the public interest required that the House be recalled in order to consider the constitutional situation, I gave notice that the House meet on July 15, 1992.

On July 10, I received a request, signed by representatives of the three recognized parties in the House, to rescind the recall because they felt it was no longer necessary, in the public interest, to recall the House for July 15, 1992.

This request to rescind the recall was unprecedented and the Standing Orders do not offer the Speaker any direction as to the action to be taken in such a case. As the recall of the House is ultimately the prerogative of the Speaker, on July 11, 1992, after careful consideration, I directed that the recall of July 15, 1992 be rescinded. I came to this decision as the request to rescind the recall was made by all three recognized parties that agreed it was no longer necessary in the public interest for the House to meet at that time.

I wish to thank the House for allowing the Speaker to explain the reasons for his decision.

F0208-e

34-3

1992-09-08