| REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE | Tuesday, November 6, 2001 |
The Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of
Parliament
(formerly entitled the Standing Committee on Privileges, Standing Rules and
Orders)
has the honour to present its
SEVENTH REPORT
1. On March 22, 2001, your Committee received the following
order of reference from the Senate:
That
the matter of officially recognizing a third party, within the procedures of the
Senate, be referred to the Standing Committee on Privileges, Standing Rules and
Orders for consideration and report.
2. Your
Committee has been considering this issue for several months. On May 9, 2001,
Senator Gerry St. Germain testified before your Committee on his proposal of
officially recognizing a third party in the Senate. Members of your Committee
have had several discussions of the issues related to such recognition.
3. A
parliamentary system is based on there being a Government and an Opposition.
This is reflected in the physical layout of many legislative chambers, including
that of the Senate. In addition, the experience of the Senate has been the
existence of two predominant parties, which have alternated in Government and
Opposition. This, in turn, reflects the basic history of Canadian politics at
the federal level, at least until recently.
4. The
Rules of the Senate, in turn, are premised on there being only two
parties in the Senate. Indeed, since Confederation, the vast majority of
Senators have belonged to the Liberal or Progressive Conservative parties. While
there have been, and are, independent Senators – and, more rarely, Senators
belonging to other parties – in the upper chamber, the issues of recognition
and the rights of third parties have not arisen. In the British House of Lords,
there is a large group of “cross benchers,” who are Peers who are not
affiliated with any political party, but who have received recognition as a
group.
5. Traditionally,
the procedures in parliamentary systems have not acknowledged the existence of
political parties. Within a parliamentary context, the grouping of members was
considered largely a private matter. It was not until the latter part of the
nineteenth century that parties in the modern sense coalesced and emerged.
Electorally, in Canada, parties were not registered, nor was the political
affiliation of candidates shown on ballots, until the 1970s.
6. Since
the early 1950s in the House of Commons, there have been a series of rulings
which granted limited rights to parties other than the Government and Official
Opposition. In 1963, the Senate and House of Commons Act (now the Parliament
of Canada Act) was amended so that party leaders in the House other
than the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition would receive an
additional allowance. According to the amendment, those Members who led a party
with a “recognized membership of 12 or more persons in the House of Commons”
would be entitled to the additional stipend. House Leaders and Whips of such
parties are also entitled to additional allowances. This figure of 12 has come
to be used for many other purposes. Since 1968, officially-recognized parties in
the House have received funds for research purposes.
7. Clearly,
political parties have emerged as fundamental to political life and the
operations of Parliament. Since 1997, there
have been five recognized parties in the House of Commons. Moreover, Canada is
experiencing an unprecedented period of upheaval with respect to political
parties.
8. Against
this background, your Committee believes that it is appropriate and prudent for
the Senate to re-examine its procedures and practices with respect to the
recognition of parties. We have carefully considered the submissions of Senator
St. Germain, as well as the arguments put forth by other Senators, both in the
Chamber and in the Committee. We have also reviewed the procedures and policies
of other legislative bodies, including the House of Commons, provincial
legislatures and the British House of Lords.
9. Your
Committee has been very mindful of the role and the traditions of the Senate of
Canada. Under the Canadian Constitution, the role of the Senate is, in part, to
act as an independent check on the elected lower chamber and the executive. It
is not a confidence chamber, in that a defeat of Government legislation does not
necessarily lead to the Government’s resignation. The government party does
not always have a majority in the Senate. While the Government of the day plays
a significant role in determining the business of the Senate, it can face
significant constraints on its ability to control the legislative agenda. The
concept of the Official Opposition as a party that, in the event of the
resignation of the Government, is willing to assume office, is absent in the
case of the Senate.
10. It should
also be noted that this report is concerned exclusively with the recognition of
political parties in the Senate. Your Committee has not reached any conclusions
with respect to the recognition of or rights of groups of Senators other than
parties. At different times in the history of the Senate, groups of Senators –
both within a party caucus and across party lines – have chosen to work
together. Nothing in this report is intended to deal with such situations.
11.
The significance of party recognition in Parliament has increased over
time. It is important to remember that there are different aspects to
recognition – legal, procedural and administrative.
12. Your
Committee believes that the Senate should recognize parties. While it is not
necessary or desirable to define what constitutes a party, some threshold
requirements must be established. We believe that there should be two principal
components to this: first, an objective organizational requirement, and, second,
a numerical requirement, or minimum number of members in the Senate.
13.
With respect to the objective requirement, your Committee recommends that
a party must be registered as a party under the Canada Elections Act at
the time that recognition is sought in the Senate. Your Committee
emphasizes, however, that the relevant time is when the party first seeks
recognition as a party in the Senate. If, subsequently, it ceases to be
registered under the Canada Elections Act, it would retain its
recognition in the Senate so long as it continued to meet the minimum number of
members in the Senate. Only if it fell below this threshold, and again sought to
be recognized would its registration under the Canada Elections Act be
relevant. While the Canada Elections Act does not apply to the Senate,
there is a connection through the appointment of Senators by the Governor
General on the advice of the Prime Minister. Moreover, registration under the Canada
Elections Act represents a commitment to the political system, and
represents an objective criterion for determining the bona fides of an
organization.
14. As far as the minimum number of members required for
recognition in the Senate, your Committee believes that a party must have at
least five members in the Senate. This is premised on two arguments.
First, in order to function as a party, it is necessary that the group have a
leader, a deputy leader, and a whip, and there must be at least two other
members. Without such numbers, it is difficult to see how the group of Senators
could function as a party. This is not to say that political parties may
not continue to have – as they have had in the past – representatives in the
Senate, without being recognized as a party. Second, your Committee notes that
the number of members required for recognition as a party in most legislatures
in Canada has a numerical component, and bares some relation to the total
membership of the legislature. Given that the House of Commons currently has a
membership of 301, and requires at least 12 members for a party to be
recognized, your Committee believes that five is appropriate.
15. If the Senate is to recognize other parties, the Parliament
of Canada Act should be amended to provide for additional allowances to be
paid to the Leader, Deputy Leader and Whip.
16. In
addition, the Rules of the Senate will need to be reviewed and revised
accordingly. Procedurally, certain rights should be given to recognized third
parties.
17. With
respect to speaking times, your Committee believes that only the Leader of the
Government in the Senate and the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate should
be permitted unlimited time in debate. Leaders of other parties
generally should be given the period of time to speak as the sponsor of a
bill and the first Senator speaking immediately thereafter – 45 minutes –
under Rule 37(3).
18. With
respect to committees of the Senate, your Committee believes that recognized
third parties should receive membership on committees that is proportionate to
their standings in the Senate. We do not believe, however, that it would be
appropriate for members of recognized third parties to be ex officio
members of Senate committees.
19. Other
issues flow from recognition. Administrative matters, such as office
accommodation and seating arrangements in the Chamber, and research and other
budgetary matters, will also have to be addressed. Your Committee believes that
these can be worked out by the leadership, and the Standing Committee on
Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration.
Your Committee, therefore, recommends:
1.
That the Senate accord official recognition to parties that are
registered as parties under the Canada Elections Act at the time that
recognition is sought in the Senate and have at least five members in the
Senate. Recognition would be withdrawn only if the party’s membership in the
Senate fell below five members.
2.
That the Government be asked to propose amendments to the Parliament
of Canada Act to reflect the decision of the Senate.
3.
That the Rules of the Senate be reviewed and that your Committee
propose amendments following adoption of this report by the Senate.
Respectfully submitted,
JACK
AUSTIN
Chair