The oldest parliamentary rules in Quebec and Canada.

AuthorBlais, Christian

This article presents a brief history of the oldest written rules of the first "Canadian provinces" and introduces two unpublished manuscripts on the Rules of Quebec and Lower Canada.

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From the fourteenth century until the early nineteenth century, parliamentary procedure in the House of Commons was more a matter of custom and practice rather than explicit written rules. (2) It was not until 1810 that the Commons officially codified some of its procedures as Standing Orders. (3)

Much of the knowledge of parliamentary practice prior to 1810 was based on various works published from the sixteenth century onwards. Among them were Order and Usage by John Hooker (1572), De Republica Anglorum by Thomas Smith (1583), The Manner How Statutes are Enacted in Parliament by Passing of Bills by William Hakewill (1641), Lex parliamentaria attributed to George Petyt (1689) and works by John Hatsell, beginning with A Collection of Cases of Privilege of Parliament, from the earliest records to 1628 (1776). Considered the best authorities, (4) these publications are also known to have circulated in America. A shared British colonial administration combined with these procedural sources explains why parliamentary procedure was fundamentally the same from one colony to another.

In the eighteenth century, parliamentary business in Nova Scotia, lie Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island), Quebec, New Brunswick, Upper Canada and Lower Canada was governed by about 10 written rules. This codification of parliamentary customs and practices in British North America actually predates that of the British House of Commons.

The purpose of this article is to present a brief history of the oldest written rules of the first "Canadian provinces". At the same time, two unpublished manuscripts on the Rules of Quebec and Lower Canada will also be introduced.

Rules of the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia

The parliamentary traditions of Nova Scotia are the oldest in Canada. From 1719 to 1758, the members of the Council of Twelve--granted legislative and executive powers to run the province--employed the elements of procedure used at Westminster.

For example, one member acts as Speaker and presides over the House, motions are introduced, minutes are prepared, and committees of the whole are created to study regulations. However, there are no formal written rules in the minutes about this "Governor in Council". (5)

The first 22 members of the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia met on October 2, 1758. They did not consider it appropriate to immediately adopt rules to frame their business. It was not until November 5,1763 that four resolutions were passed by the members of the 3rd Parliament to serve as rules of operation. (6)

The sole objective of these four resolutions was to reduce absenteeism. In order to promote "the better Attendance of the Members on the Service of the Public, during the sitting of the General-Assembly", the Speaker could, subject to censure, require that an absent member be present. (7) The seat of the member who subsequently failed to attend would be declared vacant, unless he had an excuse that was deemed valid by the Assembly. Elected representatives were also required from that time on to request leave from the Speaker.

Twenty years later, during the 1784 session, some 15 "standing rules and orders" were adopted. They concerned the recording of roll call votes and motions, distribution of the Assembly Journal, keeping attendance records for Assembly members (who were required to sit from opening to closing) and allowances. (8) The public could request permission to attend parliamentary sittings, but the elected representatives reserved the right to meet in camera. From that time on, members who accepted a public office would lose their seat unless they were granted this privilege by House vote. Finally, members revoked the rule 14 which prohibited the taking notes of speeches of other members or talking about them outside the House. (9)

In addition, still in 1784, there was a compilation entitled Rules and Orders agreed on by the House of Assembly (10) This manuscript, consisting of 19 rules, bore the signature of the clerk, Richard Cunningham. None of the standing rules in force in the Lower House appeared in this document. In essence, this other set of disciplinary rules ensured the smooth running of parliamentary debates. It concerned decorum and the process surrounding the passage of bills.

These different codification exercises took place at the 17th and final session of the 5th General Assembly which was elected in 1770 and dissolved in 1785. At that time, Nova Scotia was undergoing considerable change. The province's population had doubled with the arrival of thousands of Loyalists beginning in 1783. Though much remains hypothetical, it is possible that these codification efforts were intended to ensure that future Loyalist members would act in accordance with Nova Scotia's parliamentary traditions.

Rules of the House of Assembly of lie Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island)

Ile Saint-Jean (renamed Prince Edward Island in 1798) was annexed from the French by the Nova Scotian government by the Royal Proclamation of 1763. (11) The 67 island lots were soon divided among some one hundred non-resident landowners. However, the original island settlers could not elect representatives to the Parliament of Nova Scotia, as voting rights were restricted to landowners who were Protestant residents.

Ile Saint-Jean was detached from Nova Scotia by an order-in-council in 1769. The new governor, Walter Patterson, was instructed to establish a Legislative Assembly when circumstances allowed. The area was administered by a "governor-in-council" until 1773.

An assembly of 18 members was elected and sitting as of July 7,1773. A committee composed of six members was soon asked "to frame a set of rules and regulations for better order and government of this House". There was no follow-up on the motion during this 10-day session. At the following session, on October 5, 1774, a resolution was passed "that Laws, regulations and orders be drawn up for the better government of this House". Despite these indications, no rule was recorded in the minutes. Another reference was made to "Rules, Orders and Regulations" on July 1,1776, but these did not appear in the Journal either.

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