Procedure and House Affairs committee  I will answer in English, because I can express myself better.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Maybe I am... eligible to sit on the Supreme Court of Canada? At any rate, to answer the first part of your question, as I mentioned to Madam Jennings, with regard to the disincentives that were suggested, it's certainly possible. But I think the task for the opposition, and fo

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Absolutely. I'm suggesting that once the standing orders are actually made, they are immediately transmitted to the Governor General so that she has advance notice that if anything like this were to happen again, there would be a potential for the Speaker to represent the will of

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Well, that could certainly have been a possibility. In terms of the letter, I actually question whether she even read it. Given the fact that under strict parliamentary or constitutional tradition, she's only supposed to seek the advice of the Privy Council, I wonder whether sh

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Absolutely. What I'm suggesting here is for Parliament to take action to essentially put in place certain types of standing orders, plus the supporting legislation, to create the conventional rule that no future Prime Minister can violate--they can legally, but at immense cost po

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes, you're right. Until there is a constitutional amendment under section 41 of the Constitution Act, 1982, the powers and the office of the Governor General really cannot be affected. So she has the ability to exercise her reserve powers either to agree or disagree. But what I

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes, I have.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  What's little known is that the Speaker can exercise the rights and privileges on behalf of the House of Commons to seek to advise the Governor General on issues that relate to responsible government. The Prime Minister is not the only one who has the ability to advise the Govern

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Firstly, in terms of the idea of putting disincentives into the standing orders, that's certainly possible. While legally, yes, the Prime Minister can disobey it, as he did with the fixed election law, what I'm suggesting in terms of the standing orders, plus the supporting legis

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you for inviting me here. I do have a presentation. I think it's both in English and French, which I think the clerk has. I won't read all of it because of the time limit, but I'll see how far I can go. The foundation of our constitutional democracy rests on the principle

Bill C-20 (39th Parliament, 2nd Session) committee  I would like to respond to Mr. Murphy's question. I don't think you can create a convention by breaking a constitutional obligation. So that's all.

Bill C-20 (39th Parliament, 2nd Session) committee  Let me try to be really clear. Insofar as any prerogative is not consistent with the amending processes, in particular section 42 and section 38, the royal prerogative has to give way. If there is an indirect attempt to do an end run around the constitutional provisions in sectio

Bill C-20 (39th Parliament, 2nd Session) committee  Do you want to test me on it? Do you want to give me an exam on it?

Bill C-20 (39th Parliament, 2nd Session) committee  I've just given you an answer to the question, Mr. Reid, that that case has been superseded by the procedures of the Constitution. But if you like, maybe after this you can give me a test and I can answer it.