House of Commons.

The Second Session of the 35th Parliament opened with the Speech from the Throne on Tuesday, February 27, 1996.

Procedure

When the Prime Minister moved the usual motions to elect a Deputy Chairman and an Assistant Deputy Chairman of Committees of the Whole House, several members of the Opposition rose on debate to argue that at least one Chair Officer should be chosen from their side of the House. The Reform Party also objected to the candidacy of Pierrette Ringuette-Maltais as Assistant Deputy Chairman. Following recorded divisions on both motions, Bob Kilger was elected Deputy Chairman (he had been the Assistant Deputy Chairman in the first session) and Mrs. Ringuette-Maltais was elected Assistant Deputy Chairman. A question of privilege was raised the next day when a Reform Party Member alleged that a press release dated February 26 from the Prime Minister's office stated that the Prime Minister appointed the two Chair Officers. The Speaker replied that since a clarification had been issued within 24 hours, the matter was closed.

On February 27 the Speaker, Gilbert Parent, made a statement regarding the point of order raised by Ray Speaker on December 14, 1995, in which the Speaker had been asked to recognize the Reform Party as the Official Opposition. The Speaker noted that although prorogation brings an end to any point of order, the recent equality of seats between the two parties had created a new context. The Speaker emphasized that his role was to ensure that the business of the House was conducted in accordance with the rules and practice. He then carefully reviewed previous cases from other parliaments and concluded that the Bloc Quebecois would retain the status of Official Opposition until a further review of its status was warranted. Furthermore, the Speaker noted that there were no statutory authority, rules or guidelines that could be used if the Chair were required to determine which party should be the Official Opposition. Following the March 25 by-election to replace Lucien Bouchard, the Bloc Quebecois again had the greater number of seats.

Also on February 27, Don Boudria put a motion on the Notice Paper which accused Ray Speaker of attempting to put pressure on the Speaker to recognize the Reform Party as the Official Opposition. The motion further declared that this constituted a contempt of parliament and ordered that Mr. Speaker be admonished by the Chair at the bar of the House. The motion was placed on the Order...

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