Routine Proceedings / Motions

Altering Debates

Journals p. 613

Debates p. 7419

Background

On October 31, Mr. Nielsen (Yukon) rose on a question of privilege to complain that a reply given the day before by Mr. Allmand (Solicitor General) had been improperly altered in the text of the Debates "so as to take away from its original meaning". He claimed that the deliberate deletion of certain words constituted "misinformation: it misleads the readers of the official record of... [the] Debates". Unless the Minister agreed to concede this point, Mr. Nielsen proposed to move a motion to have the record changed. Mr. Allmand acknowledged that some changes had been made, but he did not know what they were and he had assumed it had been done in the usual way. The Speaker stated that it was the responsibility of the Chair to look into the record.

Issue

Are there rules or practices governing editorial changes to the "blues" of the Debates?

Decision

"The rules or regulations governing the correction of the 'blues' are not too clearly set down." In the present case, it appears to be the wish of those concerned that "the revised edition conform with the Minister's actual statement".

Reasons given by the Speaker

The House has concurred in a committee report recommending "that changes suggested by Members be confined strictly to correction of errors and essential minor alterations". The accepted practice has been to allow the editor of the Debates "to exercise his judgment as to whether changes suggested by Members are really corrections or errors or essential minor alterations". In addition, similar types of corrections not made to the "blues" can be proposed to the House under Motions, and, if adopted, they will subsequently appear in the revised edition of the Debates.

Sources cited

Standing Order 32.

Journals, May 26, 1948, pp. 479-80 (First Report of the Standing Committee appointed to supervise the Official Report of the Debates of the House).

References

Debates, October 30, 1973, p. 7351; October 31, 1973, pp. 7391-2.