Procedure and House Affairs committee  Precisely.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I agree with Ms. Turnbull. The governor general is bound by the prime minister's advice if he or she has the confidence of the House.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I'm on the French channel. Is that better?

Procedure and House Affairs committee  All right. The Standing Orders could actually set out the conditions for holding a confidence vote or non-confidence vote. If the Standing Orders were amended to provide that, should the prime minister request prorogation without first obtaining the support of the House by way o

Procedure and House Affairs committee  In 2008, he did not lose the confidence of the House, but a confidence vote was looming. There was quite a debate among the experts. It was traditionally held that the prime minister could not seek prorogation with a confidence vote pending. Some argued the opposite, meaning, tha

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I'm proposing that the Standing Orders of the House of Commons be amended to provide that the government would be deemed to have lost the confidence of the House were it to submit an opinion to the governor general that Parliament should be prorogued without first having passed a

Procedure and House Affairs committee  As far as my proposal is concerned, Ms. Turnbull and I may differ in one respect. A prime minister always has the ability to request the prorogation of Parliament if he or she has the confidence of the House. If the prime minister no longer has the House's confidence, his or her

Procedure and House Affairs committee  That's the type of evidence put forward in the Supreme Court case in the United Kingdom. Yes, that's very useful.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I think Parliament has the mechanisms to determine whether an obstruction constitutes contempt of Parliament. I will just say this. The House of Commons is the master of its own decisions on the subject. Clearly, Parliament's role is to hold the government accountable for its act

Procedure and House Affairs committee  A reasonable prorogation doesn't last very long so that Parliament can carry on its role and functions.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  When a prime minister claims that a vote on a particular matter will be a confidence vote, it's often just posturing. The executive branch cannot decide whether a matter will be a question of confidence; only the House can. Here's the example I sometimes give my students. When a

Procedure and House Affairs committee  You partly guessed what I was going to say, but I actually think this committee is demonstrating the ineffectiveness of the rules. It is attempting to figure out the reason for the game after the game was played. As elected representatives, you hold the government to account, an

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The Prime Minister would have had to propose a motion to agree to prorogation. A debate would have ensued, and members would have discussed the issue. Had the motion been adopted, it would have confirmed that the Prime Minister had the confidence of the House and there would have

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Indeed. Usually, prorogation does not last very long.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I first want to say that my answer will be limited to my area of expertise, which is constitutional law. That means I can't answer your question directly, except to say this. I'm going to cite an excerpt from the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom's decision because it's import