This internal memorandum addressed to the procedural clerks in the legislative services directorate indicates a number of important changes that have been made to the level and the quality of the independent legal services available to members. These changes have been made without the full knowledge of the members of Parliament, without MPs having a full understanding of the consequences of these changes and without debate and approval of members of this House as a whole.
As I understand the memorandum, the changes include four things: relegating legislative counsel to drafting only private members' bills; delegating procedural clerks to draft amendments to government bills, a function that used to be performed by legislative counsel; prohibiting legislative counsel from providing legal advice to members in relation to government bills or amendments to government bills either in private or in committee; restricting the drafting of members' amendments of government bills to compatible language as opposed to credible, legally binding amendments drafted by legislative counsel, a service to which we were accustomed in the previous Parliament.
The initiation of these changes interferes with my ability to do my job as a member of Parliament and as such constitutes a breach of my rights and privileges. It strikes to the very heart of what we do as MPs in this House.
I point this out not as a hypothetical case because according to that memorandum a pilot project has been initiated. Over the last couple of years the independent legal services available to me through legislative counsel have been constantly eroded by administrative decree. I have not been given an opportunity to debate this issue or vote on the changes imposed on me by the House of Commons administration over which you, Mr. Speaker, preside.
Further to this, Beauchesne's citation 33 states:
The most fundamental privilege of the House as a whole is to establish rules of procedure for itself and to enforce them. A few rules are laid down in the Constitution Act, but the vast majority are resolutions of the House which may be added to, amended, or repealed at the discretion of the House.
When changes in the ability of independent legal services are made unilaterally by an administrative directive rather than with the full understanding and approval of this House it violates the privileges of this House and every member who sits in this House. It ought to be of concern to each one of us.
I quote citation 114(2) of Beauchesne's:
A complaint of a breach of privilege must conclude with a motion providing the House with an opportunity to take some action.
Therefore I would like to make the following motion.