Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.
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Questions on the Order Paper February 21st, 2007
Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.
Questions on the Order Paper February 20th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.
Questions on the Order Paper February 19th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.
Points of Order February 16th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, on May 13, 2006, you included Bill C-293 in a list of private members' items with possible royal recommendation issues. Following interventions in the House, on September 19, 2006, you ruled that the bill, as it was introduced, requires a royal recommendation.
You found that the creation of an advisory committee and new reporting requirements for ministers:
--require the authorization of spending for a new and distinct purpose.
As such, clause 6 and clauses 7 to 10 cause the bill as a whole in its current form to require a royal recommendation.
On February 1, the bill was reported from committee with numerous amendments.
Without commenting on the merits of this bill, I would appreciate your consideration of whether this bill still requires a royal recommendation under Standing Order 79, for two reasons.
First, while the committee deleted clauses 6 to 8, the bill as amended continues to include clause 9, and the provisions that had been in clause 10 have been substantially incorporated into clause 9. Given that your previous ruling concluded that clauses 9 and 10 required a royal recommendation, I would welcome your ruling on whether the bill still requires a royal recommendation.
A second aspect of the bill that may require a royal recommendation is that the bill would establish new conditions and criteria respecting the provision of official development assistance beyond those in the initial bill.
The committee amended clause 3 of the bill to provide for a definition of “official development assistance”, which includes that it be “concessional in character”, that it “conveys a grant element of at least 25%”, and that it “meets the requirements set out in section 4” of the bill.
Clause 4 of the bill places restrictions on the provision of official development assistance. Clause 4 was amended in committee to change the wording in subclause 4(2), obliging the minister to “consult with governments, international agencies and Canadian civil society organizations” before spending official development assistance. Clause 4 was also amended to provide a new subclause 4(3), which places a new condition on the calculation of official development assistance.
Authority for official development assistance is currently provided in subsection 10(3) of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Act, which provides the Minister of Foreign Affairs with authority to develop and carry out programs in relation to the minister's powers, including for the provision of assistance to developing countries.
You did not consider clauses 3 and 4 in your initial ruling on Bill C-293 on September 19, 2006. However, there have been new developments since that time.
In your ruling on Bill C-303 on November 6, 2006, you found that adding new conditions and criteria to an otherwise authorized expenditure requires a royal recommendation and that the clauses of Bill C-303:
--which relate to the making of transfer payments according to the specified criteria and conditions, require a royal recommendation.
This principle should apply to Bill C-293 as well, which would impose new conditions on government spending.
Other precedents make clear that adding new conditions to an otherwise authorized expenditure require a royal recommendation. For example, on April 23, 1990, Speaker Fraser ruled that a royal recommendation was appropriate because the bill in question would:
--change the conditions and qualifications that were attached to the original legislation recommended by the Governor General.
This is exactly what clauses 3 and 4 of Bill C-293 would do, by imposing new conditions on development assistance.
Therefore, due to the committee's amendments and in light of your ruling on Bill C-303, the government believes that Bill C-293 continues to require a royal recommendation.
I would respectfully welcome your ruling on this matter.
Questions on the Order Paper February 16th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.
Government Response to Petitions February 16th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 17 petitions.
Questions on the Order Paper February 15th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, I ask that all remaining questions be allowed to stand.
Questions on the Order Paper February 15th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, the Privy Council Office has contacted all departments and agencies to ascertain whether they have the electronic capacity to search for and sort financial information such as funds, grants, loans and loan guarantees by federal electoral riding. The results of the survey indicate that the majority of departments and agencies do not have this capacity. A manual search would require an inordinate cost and length of time. For this reason, the government is not able to provide a comprehensive answer to this question.
Questions on the Order Paper February 15th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, Question No. 169 will be answered today.
Motions for Papers February 14th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, I ask that all notices of motions for the production of papers be allowed to stand.