Mr. Speaker, I would like to raise a question of privilege about something that has concerned me a great deal for some time now, but that we have witnessed first-hand this week. I am talking about public disclosure of government bills that have not yet been introduced in the House.
I want to draw your attention specifically to the press conferences held in various locations across Canada on Tuesday to announce the measures in Bill C-52, which was introduced in this House yesterday by the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Public Works. I am also talking about a press release issued by the Minister of Justice and his parliamentary secretary.
In fact, the ministers went so far in disclosing the measures in this bill that before we even read it, we had a detailed knowledge of the measures it contains. When I read Bill C-52, I also noticed that the copy I received 24 hours after the press conference, but before the bill was introduced, was marked “Secret until introduced in Parliament”.
When we read Bill C-52 once it had been introduced in the House, we found that we already knew everything it contained, because we had read about it in the morning papers and heard about it on the television news the day before. This is highly unusual. In our opinion, publicly disclosing the content of a bill that was on the order paper when the disclosure was made constitutes contempt of Parliament.
According to Maingot, contempt of Parliament is “an offence against the authority or dignity of the House”.
May defines it as follows:
...the House also claims the right to punish, as a contempt, any action which, though not a breach of a specific privilege, tends to obstruct or impede the House in the performance of its functions...or is an offence against the authority or dignity...
Maingot and May also state that contempts cannot be codified and that contempt may exist even where there is no precedent.
Mr. Speaker, although you have not ruled on a matter identical to the one at issue today, you have addressed the question of the confidentiality of bills on the order paper. In a ruling rendered on March 19, 2001, you said: “—the convention of the confidentiality of bills [on the order paper] was necessary, not only so that members themselves would be well informed, but also because of the pre-eminent role that the House plays [and must play in the] affairs of the nation”.
Later that same year, the House Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs considered a point of order concerning the disclosure of the contents of a bill and commented as follows in its 40th report: “The Committee reiterates its position that it views the disclosure of bills prior to their tabling in the House of Commons, while on notice, with extreme seriousness. Members of the Committee are committed to protecting the privileges of the House of Commons and of its Members in this regard”.
These two passages indicate that there is a convention requiring that the contents of bills on the order paper not be divulged. I believe that the convention exists because members of Parliament have an important role to play as legislators. Consequently, they should be the first to know the contents of bills so that they can do their work well, and the Speaker must do everything in his power to honour that role and enable members to fulfill their duty.
In a ruling issued on November 6, 1997, the Speaker of the House at the time said that issues affecting the role of members of Parliament as legislators were not insignificant. Even then, he warned the executive that “this dismissive view of the legislative process, repeated often enough, makes a mockery of our parliamentary conventions and practices”.
We take our role as legislators very seriously, and we do not vote on a bill until we have carefully examined all of its provisions. By disclosing details about the measures in Bill C-52 over 24 hours before it was introduced in this House, the ministers, and the Minister of Justice admitted it himself, wanted to put pressure on Parliament. By increasing pressure on me and on all opposition members to make a decision about this bill before it was introduced in the House, the ministers wanted to prevent us from doing our work with all due diligence and care. The laws that we enact are not mere political tactics; they are measures that will apply to all citizens of this country for a very long time.
But that is not all. I believe that the actions of two government ministers on Monday constituted a serious offence against the dignity of this House, and as such, constitute contempt of Parliament. By publicly disclosing the contents of a bill—while the bill was on the order paper—to admittedly put pressure on Parliament, the ministers undermined the authority and dignity of the institution of the House of Commons.
I would like to quote the current President of the Treasury Board, when he was speaking about a similar question of privilege on March 14, 2001. He said:
If the House is to function with authority and dignity then it must be respected, especially by the executive. Every elected member is not the servant of the executive. The executive is the servant of each and every elected member. When a member of the executive thwarts the parliamentary process they deny the rights and privileges of each member and destroy the authority of the House. If the House is to function with authority and dignity then it must be respected, especially by the executive. They are responsible to parliament, not to the media.
I completely agree with these comments. I believe that the actions of the two ministers, the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Public Works, constitute a contempt of Parliament, and if you feel that there is a prima facie case in my question of privilege, I am prepared to move the appropriate motion.