Subcommittee on Private Members' Business committee  Just with respect to the Constitution and the nature of the motion, it's an instruction from the House of Commons to one of its committees to proceed to study. The Constitution actually protects the House of Commons from outside interference because it's part of its privilege. The House of Commons could ask one of its committees to study any subject.

Subcommittee on Private Members' Business committee  The purpose of this bill is to change the name of the St. Lawrence Islands National Park of Canada to “Thousand Islands National Park of Canada”. This bill appears to concern a question that falls under federal jurisdiction; it does not appear to clearly be unconstitutional; no similar private member's bill has been voted on in the current session of Parliament; no government bill concerning the same question is currently on the Order Paper.

Subcommittee on Private Members' Business committee  The motion reads as follows: That the House acknowledge that Canada lags behind international search and rescue norms and urge the government to recognize the responsibility of the Canadian Forces for the protection of Canadians, and to take such measures as may be required for Canada to achieve the common international readiness standard of 30 minutes at all times, from tasking to becoming airborne, in response to search and rescue incidents.

Subcommittee on Private Members' Business committee  This bill would amend the International Boundary Waters Treaty Act and the International River Improvements Act in order to prohibit the bulk removal of transboundary waters. This bill does not concern questions outside federal jurisdiction. It does not appear to clearly violate the Constitution.

Subcommittee on Private Members' Business committee  This bill would amend the Canadian Human Rights Act in order to add, as prohibited grounds of discrimination, gender identity and gender expression. The bill would also amend the Criminal Code in order to add, as distinguishing characteristics protected under the Criminal Code, gender identity and gender expression.

Subcommittee on Private Members' Business committee  This bill would amend the Canada Post Corporation Act with regard to library materials. The bill does not concern questions that are outside federal jurisdiction; it does not clearly violate the provisions of the Constitution; it does not concern questions that are substantially the same as ones already voted on in a private member's bill by the House of Commons in the current session of Parliament; it does not concern questions that are currently on the Order Paper as items of government business.

Subcommittee on Private Members' Business committee  This bill would amend the Criminal Code in order to prohibit cyberbullying. Various amendments would be made to the offences already in the Criminal Code, so as to also prohibit intimidation and harassment by means of the Internet. This bill seems to fall under federal jurisdiction; it does not seem to clearly violate the Constitution, including the Charter; it does not concern questions that are the same as ones already voted on by the House in the current session in a private member's bill; and no government bill on the same topic appears on the Order Paper.

Subcommittee on Private Members' Business committee  This motion would instruct the Standing Committee on Finance to undertake a study on income inequality in Canada. This matter seems to fall under federal jurisdiction; it does not clearly violate the Constitution; no similar motion has already been voted on by the House of Commons in a private member's bill; and there are no government motions on the same subject currently on the Order Paper.

Subcommittee on Private Members' Business committee  This motion asks that a special committee of the House be appointed and directed to review subsection 223(1) of the Criminal Code which states that a child becomes a human being only at the moment of complete birth, and to answer various questions. This motion does not seem to fall outside federal jurisdiction; it does not clearly violate the provisions of the Constitution; it does not concern questions that are the same as ones already voted on by the House in private members' motions in the current session; and it does not concern questions that are currently on the Order Paper as items of government business.

Subcommittee on Private Members' Business committee  This would amend the Canada Pension Plan and the Old Age Security Act in order to provide that the payment of benefits, which are made on a monthly basis, could be made on a biweekly basis at the request of the beneficiaries.

Subcommittee on Private Members' Business committee  Also, the rule with respect to royal recommendations is that they can be given to a private member's bill up to the adoption of the bill, after reading by the House of Commons.

Subcommittee on Private Members' Business committee  If the committee wants to include the reasons why the motion has been deemed non-votable, it is free to do so. However, the motion must meet the criteria. Among others, a motion is non-votable if its topic falls outside federal jurisdiction, or if it is clearly unconstitutional, even if this only applies to a few unfortunate words.

Subcommittee on Private Members' Business committee  If it is the will of the committee—maybe the clerk will have something to say on that too—the committee could have the sponsor of the bill as a witness or ask the sponsor of the motion for a submission. The committee is the master of its own proceedings.

Subcommittee on Private Members' Business committee  In the past, when there were 15 or 30 items on the agenda, the committee examined only a part of those items. There are precedents, among others that of Mr. Reid, when the study of a bill or a motion was deferred so that members could take a closer look at all the ins and outs of the issue.

Subcommittee on Private Members' Business committee  The only power the committee has is to make a recommendation to indicate that a bill or a motion is non- votable. The committee cannot require that a member redraft his motion. If the committee were to designate the motion non-votable, Ms. Michaud could certainly introduce a similar motion that would take the committee's discussions into account.