Edited
Hansard • Number 044
Thursday,
December 12, 2002
Questions
on the Order Paper--Speaker's Ruling
[Hansard – Page 2637]
The Speaker: I am now prepared to rule on the question of privilege raised by the hon. member for Yorkton—Melville on December 4, charging the hon. Minister of Justice and the hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment with contempt of Parliament for tabling deliberately misleading information in response to a written question.
I thank the hon. member for Yorkton—Melville for having raised this matter, as well as the hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the government House leader, the House leader of the official opposition, and the hon. members for Winnipeg—Transcona and Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough for their contributions.
In presenting his case, the hon. member for Yorkton—Melville explained that, during the 1st Session of the 37th Parliament, he had asked a written question of the government, as provided for in Standing Order 39(1), concerning the Canadian Firearms Program. On April 24, a response was tabled on behalf of the government by the hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment. The hon. member then presented the procedural basis for a charge of contempt. I summarize his presentation for the House by citing House of Commons Procedure and Practice, page 52, which states:
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Any conduct which offends the authority or dignity of the House, even though no breach of any specific privilege may have been committed, is referred to as a contempt of the House. Contempt may be an act or an omission; it does not have to actually obstruct or impede the House or a Member, it merely has to have a tendency to produce such results. |
[Translation]
The hon. member for Yorkton—Melville went on to cite the annual report of the Auditor General, specifically, the study of the Canadian Firearms Program. The Auditor General makes a number of observations critical of the administration of the registry. Among the conclusions the Auditor General reached was that the government had provided the House with incomplete and misleading information concerning the Canadian Firearms Program. The hon. member claimed that the answer to his question fell within the ambit of this misleading information. He then outlined the serious consequences of such behaviour on the public perception of the dignity and the authority of the House.
[English]
The hon. member for Yorkton—Melville highlighted several points in the report of the Auditor General. He cited the apparent failure of the Department of Justice to provide sufficient information to Parliament to allow for a full scrutiny of the gun registry program. He also repeated the claim that the government did not adhere to Treasury Board guidelines and policy in reporting these program expenditures, noting particularly the Auditor General's concerns regarding the lack of an adequate explanation for the program's major supplementary estimates.
(1520)
Before I respond to the member's concerns, I must first remind members that, in general, the Speaker has no role in reviewing the content of responses to written questions. I refer to Marleau and Montpetit page 443 where a previous ruling makes this quite clear:
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The Speaker has ruled that it is not the role of the Chair to determine whether or not the contents of documents tabled in the House are accurate nor to “assess the likelihood of an Hon. Member knowing whether the facts contained in a document are correct”. |
The Chair's power in this case is limited to whether or not there has been any transgression of our procedural rules or any breach of parliamentary privilege.
[Translation]
Since the hon. member’s case rests in large part on the report of the Auditor General, the Chair has reviewed what that report has to say about the gun registry program.
[English]
As members well know, the report raises various serious complaints about the program. However, as your Speaker, it is not up to me to judge the substance of the complaints but rather to ensure that the process for debating or otherwise dealing with them is respected.
Basically, our procedure relating to the business of supply dictates that the government must not spend money on programs without the approval of Parliament. Neither the hon. member for Yorkton—Melville nor the report of the Auditor General have suggested that any program funds were not voted by Parliament.
I would draw the attention of hon. members to page 234 of Maingot's 2nd edition of Parliamentary Privilege in Canada, wherein he lays out the conditions that must be met to constitute a prima facie breach of privilege in such a case:
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Before the House will be permitted by the Speaker to embark on a debate in such circumstances...(it must be demonstrated) that a Member of the House of Commons was intentionally misled or an admission of facts that leads naturally to the conclusion that a Member was intentionally misled, and a direct relationship between the misleading information and a proceeding in Parliament is necessary. |
In reviewing page 141 of the 19th edition of Erskine May, which the hon. member cited in his arguments, it is also stated that it is “a breach of parliamentary privilege to present forged, falsified or fabricated documents to either House or to Committees of either House”. No evidence has been presented that a specific item in the government response represents a deliberate attempt on the part of the government to present false or inaccurate information.
[Translation]
The argument has been made that the Department of Justice apparently failed to provide sufficient information to members. That is a matter of debate, not a question of privilege.
[English]
I would remind all hon. members that the responsibility for pursuing a full investigation of the issues during their study of the main and supplementary estimates in this chamber and in committees rests with them. Members require adequate and accurate information to undertake appropriate oversight of government spending. However, it is for members themselves to judge the amount and form of the information provided. For example, recent changes to our Standing Orders provide an extended study in the chamber of specific votes in the main estimates.
The role of Parliament in overseeing government spending has long been a source of concern for hon. members and for observers and commentators on Parliament. Perhaps the airing on this issue will lead to better planning of the study of the estimates over the course of each Parliament. The recent creation of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates appears to offer an excellent forum for developing creative solutions to the daunting challenge of effective parliamentary oversight of government spending in this day and age. I use the prerogative of the Chair to encourage members in this regard.
Under the circumstances, however, I can find no procedural grounds for finding a prima facie breach of privilege in this case. I wish to thank the hon. member for Yorkton—Melville for his well-researched and thoughtful intervention on this matter, as well as other hon. members.
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