Briefing book for the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons - 2021

[ * ] An asterisk appears where sensitive information has been removed in accordance with the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act.

Introduction

This document provides information and advice on your roles and responsibilities as the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and how they can be carried out. It includes information on opening the 44^th Parliament and on successfully launching the Government’s legislative agenda.

The document is organized into the following sections:

1. Ministerial roles and responsibilities – Outlines your principal work managing the Government’s program in Parliament and as a member of Cabinet
2. Minority government considerations – Strategic information to help navigate the minority government context in Parliament
3. Early actions – Actions and issues you may need to consider before Parliament opens, and shortly thereafter, including an early legislative agenda, possible adjustments to sitting procedures due to the pandemic, and issues related to the Senate
4. Managing other key House business – Managing Private Members’ Business, committee business, and parliamentary returns
5. Strategies and support for carrying out the House Leader’s role – Operational and other advice including key regular meetings, and the support provided by the Legislation and House Planning Secretariat of the Privy Council Office (PCO)

A series of annexes are appended which provide more detailed background information on certain topics. These could serve as reference documents for you and your staff throughout the 44^th Parliament.

In addition to background information, Annex D outlines recommended processes for planning the legislative agenda and managing it in the minority context, while Annex G provides recommendations on developing the Government’s positions on Private Members Business.

PCO provides specialized non-partisan public service support through your Deputy Minister, Paul MacKinnon, and the PCO Secretariat.

Further details, and advice on certain issues, will be discussed during in-person briefings and in subsequent briefing materials. Information on the administrative and corporate support for your office will also be provided separately.

I. Ministerial roles and responsibilities

The roles and responsibilities of the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons are multifaceted. You are:

• responsible for managing the Government’s program in Parliament and its parliamentary team;
• a member of Cabinet; and,
• the Minister responsible for two acts (the Parliament of Canada Act and the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Act).

In a minority government, the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons plays an important strategic role in advancing the Government’s agenda by helping build support among opposition parties, scheduling business at times when it will find support, and managing the response to the opposition’s procedural manoeuvres.

The Prime Minister’s specific expectations of each minister for their portfolio are set out in mandate letters, through Orders in Council, and defined in the “Cabinet Directive on Law-Making” (2003) and “Open and Accountable Government” (2015).

Overlaying these roles and responsibilities are political ones to the party, region, and your constituency.

Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Your primary role is managing the Government’s program in Parliament, namely:

• the Government’s legislative agenda;
• the day-to-day operations and management of the Government’s House activities;
• the approach to Private Members’ Business;
• coordinating the Government’s responses to parliamentary returns;
• strategic management of committee business and issues;
• working with the President of the Treasury Board on parliamentary aspects of the business of supply; and
• leadership of the Government’s parliamentary team.

Managing the day-to-day operations of House activities primarily includes:

• managing relations with the Government’s caucus, opposition parties and independent Members of Parliament;
• handling procedural matters, including responding to points of order and responding to questions of privilege, and certain motions to advance Government bills;
• coordination of the Government’s strategy for Question Period;
• scheduling debate during Government Orders;
• liaising with the Government Representative in the Senate;
• coordination of the Government’s participation in Adjournment Proceedings (‘Late Shows’); and
• managing the Government’s participation in Take Note or Emergency debates, as well as debates to concur in committee reports.

You are responsible for responding to the “Thursday Question” after Question Period on Thursdays every week. The Opposition House Leader will ask for a preview of the items that will come up for debate in the House of Commons for the remainder of that week and for the next week. The schedule that you provide is non-binding, but supports planning not only within the House, but also within government departments.

House Leaders meet weekly to discuss House issues. These meetings are held on Tuesday afternoons in private to provide frank exchanges on the management of the House.

Traditionally, the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons has been chosen to be one of the Governing party’s appointees to the Board of Internal Economy (BOIE), the governing body for the House of Commons’ financial and administrative matters.

You could be asked to lead on implementing any changes to the House’s proceedings in response to pandemic public health measures (see page 20), and any other measures related to House of Commons modernization that may arise.

See Annexes A (Supply), B (Routine Proceedings) and C (Board of Internal Economy) for more information on your House and related responsibilities.

Government House team

The Leader of the Government in the House of Commons provides leadership to the Government’s House of Commons team which includes the Chief Government Whip, the Parliamentary Secretary to the House Leader, the Deputy House Leader, and the Deputy Government Whip. A strong and cohesive parliamentary team is a key factor in ensuring the ongoing effective management of the Government’s agenda in Parliament, particularly in a minority context.

Additionally, the Government Representative in the Senate has a parallel role in advancing the Government’s agenda in the Senate, albeit with a smaller team.

Leadership in Caucus

Along with the Chief Government Whip, you play a leadership role in working with the Government’s caucus on parliamentary issues.

Cabinet responsibilities

As a member of Cabinet you will attend Cabinet and certain Cabinet Committees that the Prime Minister has assigned you to. Cabinet committees often review, discuss, and provide approval-in-principle to policy proposals presented by Ministers before they proceed to full Cabinet for ratification.

A particular Cabinet committee is typically designated to review parliamentary items such as positions on Private Members’ Bills and Senate Public Bills, approve Government Responses to Committee Reports, and approve positions linked to amendments to Government bills.

You may be asked to make regular presentations on the Government’s legislative agenda and parliamentary strategy, including to outline a plan early in the mandate. You will also likely be asked to make presentations on other parliamentary business, and provide updates on progress. This will provide a forum to discuss key parliamentary issues with other Ministers and to ensure that major Government files in Parliament are being well managed. More information on Cabinet processes can be found in Annex D.

Like all ministers, you are expected to provide general comments and views on policy proposals presented by Ministers. Given your role, you may also be expected to comment on legislative proposals, parliamentary strategies, the management of the Government’s parliamentary program, and ensuring that Ministers have a plan for advancing support on legislative items in the House and the Senate.

While you provide overall leadership within Cabinet for the Government’s agenda in the House of Commons, each individual minister is responsible for securing Cabinet policy approval for government bills (including the parliamentary and communications strategies), for positions on Private Members’ Business items, for responses to committee reports, and for responses to Order Paper Questions.

Legislation and House Planning (PCO) will provide you with support in preparation for meetings of Cabinet and Cabinet committees.

Policy responsibilities

You are designated as the Minister responsible for two Acts.

The Parliament of Canada Act governs how Parliament functions, relating to the governance and internal proceedings of the House of Commons and the Senate, as well as the Board of Internal Economy.

The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Act, passed in 2017, establishes the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP). The Committee comprises members of both Houses of Parliament and is mandated to review:

• the legislative, regulatory, policy, administrative and financial framework for national security and intelligence;
• any activity carried out by a department that relates to national security or intelligence, unless the appropriate Minister determines that the review would be injurious to national security; and,
• any matter relating to national security or intelligence that a minister refers to the Committee.

Committee members are able to receive classified briefings and materials. Members hold Top Secret security clearances and are permanently bound to secrecy under the Security of Information Act.

As responsible Minister, you would lead any proposal to amend these two statutes, including working with implicated Ministers, securing Cabinet approval, and sponsoring the bill in Parliament.

• See page 28 for more information on Bill S-4, which was introduced in the previous Parliament and died on the Order Paper. It sought to amend the Parliament of Canada Act in support of the Government’s efforts to make the Senate more independent and non-partisan.

For more information on the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, see page 29.

There are also non-legislative measures that you would be involved in, such as changes to the Standing Orders, and changes to funding through the Board of Internal Economy as they arise.

II. Minority government considerations

The composition of the House of Commons will be as follows:

• Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) - 159
• Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) - 119
• Bloc Québécois (BQ) - 32
• New Democratic Party (NDP) - 25
• Green Party (GP) - 2
• Independent - 1

This means that the Government will require the support of at least one of the three recognized parties (CPC, BQ or NDP) in order to have a majority of votes in the House.

Strategic context

Maintaining the confidence of the House, while advancing the Government’s agenda, is an ongoing, evolving, and delicate task for a minority government. It requires different approaches to governing, particularly with respect to the management of parliamentary business.

Historically, fewer pieces of Government legislation are introduced and adopted in minority parliaments, and they are more frequently amended. As such, negotiations between parties become pivotal to the success of minority governments. Private Members’ Bills and Senate Public Bills are also more likely to be adopted, as opposition parties can vote together to pass bills even if the Government does not support them.

Based on the experience of past minority governments, there are three over-arching strategic considerations:

• Both the opposition and the Government could trigger an election in circumstances that they perceive are to their own advantage.
• Because the duration of parliament during minority governments has generally been shorter, at an average of approximately 18 months versus 4.2 years for a majority, it is always assumed the election will be a relatively short time away. While the Government may necessarily need to adopt a pre-election stance on many issues, successful minorities have also been able to remain focused on advancing core parts of their agenda, even if it is not possible to achieve all of their campaign commitments that require parliamentary approval.
• Governments have less control over the parliamentary agenda. This significantly influences the content, timing, and parliamentary management of legislative initiatives. In particular, House committees, which are controlled by the opposition, can significantly impact the Government’s ability to deliver its agenda through amendments to legislation, studies not favourable to the Government, reducing or opposing estimates, and requesting documents that would not otherwise be disclosed. Such efforts can reduce the momentum of the Government in pursuit of achieving its agenda and priorities.

The Constitution Act, 1867, requires that all questions (i.e. votable items) arising in the House of Commons be decided by a simple majority, with the Speaker casting a vote in the case of a tie. For each question, this not only requires the Government to seek sufficient support for its position from the opposition, but also to assess the consequences of losing the vote.

Based on the experience of past minority parliaments, the following items have the greatest potential for opposition parties to hold the government to account, or alter or frustrate the government’s agenda.

• Amending or defeating government bills;
• Requesting documents and papers not required to be tabled by statute, or that are potentially damaging to the government (see page 36 for more information); and,
• Reducing or defeating individual items of supply (see Annex A for more information).

Most often, these items do not constitute questions of confidence in and of themselves.

The confidence convention

Confidence is a constitutional convention that has evolved over time, and political actors, media, and constitutional experts may disagree as to what constitutes a question of confidence. It is not justiciable and is not a matter of parliamentary procedure, and therefore is not an issue on which the courts or the Speaker can rule.

In practice, what constitutes a matter of confidence is ultimately determined by the Prime Minister, who must act on any votes of non-confidence by resigning or requesting that the Governor General dissolve Parliament, thereby triggering an election.

It is generally acknowledged that the following motions are questions of confidence:

• Explicit motions of confidence, which state, in express terms, that the House has, or does not have, confidence in the Government. For example, in 2005 and 2011, the Prime Minister advised the Governor General to dissolve Parliament after opposition day motions were adopted stating that the House had lost confidence in the Government.
• Implicit motions of confidence traditionally deemed to be confidence matters. This includes votes on: the Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne (SFT), but not necessarily amendments to it; the Government’s budgetary policy, but not necessarily amendments to it; supply, but not necessarily individual items of supply.
• Matters expressly declared by the Prime Minister in advance to be confidence questions. This has been a tactic successfully used by Prime Ministers to help pass certain bills or motions because it signaled to the opposition that not supporting them would trigger an election.

There is generally an expectation that a newly elected government will test whether it holds the confidence of the House early in the first session of Parliament. The most likely scenario is that a vote on the main motion for the Address in Reply to the SFT would be the first confidence test, if the Government chooses to bring it to a vote. It is worth noting, however, that no minority government has ever fallen on the Address in Reply. Otherwise, the next required confidence vote would be either on Budget implementation bill or on the first supply bill. However, there are other votes that the opposition could initiate such as votes on Opposition day motions if they are drafted in confidence terms.

Legislation and House Planning (PCO) can provide your office with information on past cases and analysis of confidence questions including why they were or were not treated as such, upon request.

Ministerial travel

Travel by ministers and Government members in a minority context can be challenging due to the need for all members to be in the House for all major votes. The solution used by governments in the past, prior to the pandemic, has been to invite opposition members to travel with the Minister, in order to ensure that the Minister’s absence does not impact the result of the vote, as the opposition members present on the trip will also not be able to vote. Constraints on travel may therefore become a caucus management issue. However, this may not be an issue during any such time that remote voting is put in place in response to public health measures.

III. Early actions

Opening of the new Parliament

The Prime Minister has decided that Parliament will open on Monday, November 22, 2021, 1pm with the election of the Speaker, and that the Speech from the Throne (SFT) will take place on Tuesday, November 23, 2021.

Election of the Speaker of the House of Commons

The Constitution Act, 1867 requires that the first order of business in a new Parliament is the election of a Speaker of the House of Commons. House rules provide that the Dean of the House (the longest serving member, Mr. Louis Plamondon (Bloc Québécois)) presides over the proceedings.

The election is conducted by means of a single secret preferential ballot. Members will rank the candidates, and they need not rank every candidate.

This process was first used in 2015, and took a total of 2.5 hours with four candidates, and 3.5 hours in 2019 with five candidates. The time required is largely dependent on the number of candidates, given each is able to make brief remarks on their candidacy. If modified voting procedures are required as a result of public health measures, the time required to elect the Speaker could take longer.

Once a successful candidate has been announced to the House, the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition escort the Speaker‑elect to the Speaker’s chair, and recent practice has seen party leaders offering brief congratulatory remarks, followed by the Speaker thanking members for the honour of being elected Speaker.

On the same day, or on a later sitting day, the Speaker will recommend to the House one member to be Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees of the Whole, and two members to act as Assistant Deputy Speakers (i.e., the Assistant Deputy Speaker and Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole, as well as the Assistant Deputy Speaker and Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole), based on prior consultations with the leaders of each of the recognized parties (i.e., those with 12 or more members).

We understand that the Clerk of the House of Commons and the administration are looking into ways to elect a new Speaker that take into account public health guidance. The Clerk may present options to the House Leaders of each party for their consideration.

Speech from the Throne and routine business

On the day of the SFT, Tuesday, November 23, 2021, the Usher of the Black Rod will deliver a message to the House that the Governor General desires members’ attendance in the Senate. Members, or a limited number representing each party, will then proceed to the Senate to listen to the Speech.

The Pro Forma Bill and other routine business

Upon their return to the Commons Chamber, the Speaker reports that the privileges of the House of Commons have been claimed. The Prime Minister then introduces the Pro Forma Bill C-1, An Act respecting the Administration of the Oaths of Office. The purpose of the tradition is to assert the right of the House to give precedence to matters not addressed in the SFT.

After the Speaker reports that the SFT was delivered, and asks for leave to table its text for it to be published in Hansard, the Prime Minister moves a motion for consideration of the SFT later that day to allow the House to consider other routine administrative business first.

This routine business may include the Speaker announcing members appointed to the Board of Internal Economy (See Annex C) and moving a motion to appoint Deputy Speakers; a motion by you to establish the Procedure and House Affairs Committee to determine committee memberships; and a motion by the President of the Treasury Board for the continuation of supply, which initiates the supply process (See Annex A for more information on the supply and estimates process).

You may also need to move a motion to establish modified sitting procedures due to pandemic public health measures if necessary (see page 20 for more information).

Following these administrative matters, the Government traditionally begins the debate on the Address in Reply to the SFT by having the mover and seconder make their speeches.

The Prime Minister normally selects the mover and seconder, often from among the newly elected backbench with consideration to linguistic representation, and the Prime Minister’s Office and your office provide support to the Members for their speeches and prepares them for the question and answer portion of the debate.

The Leader of the Opposition moves that the debate be adjourned, which is followed by you moving a motion to adjourn the House for the day, which is usually agreed to.

The regular daily order of business would begin on Wednesday, November 24, 2021, with the first Routine Proceedings, Statements by Members, and Question Period.

Decision regarding whether to debate the SFT and bring it to a vote

There is no procedural requirement to debate or vote on the Address in Reply to the SFT. If debate is initiated, it does not need to be completed.

If the Address in Reply to the SFT motion is put to a vote, and if it is adopted, the House would be expressing its general agreement with the contents of the Speech. Not bringing the Address in Reply to the SFT to a vote does not preclude the House from debating and voting on government legislation. However, there is a provision in the Standing Orders providing that any unused days for the Address in Reply can be made into opposition days, if such a motion were to be adopted.

Recent past minority governments have always debated the Address in Reply to the SFT and brought it to a final vote after an election. Because this motion is traditionally considered a confidence question, it provides a minority government an early test of the House’s confidence in it, and helps solidify its mandate if adopted. In contrast, the Address in Reply to the SFT was not debated after the day it was delivered and was not voted on following the election of a majority government in 2011.

The Standing Orders provide for up to six days of debate on the Address in Reply to the SFT (this does not include the day the Speech is delivered and the Address in Reply is moved and seconded). These six days do not need to be consecutive (i.e., government business, including legislation and opposition day motions, could be debated on intervening days).

• The first day of debate on the Address in Reply to the SFT is traditionally devoted to speeches by leaders of the recognized parties. The Prime Minister’s speech follows that of the Leader of the Official Opposition, and is a key opportunity to provide detail on the Government’s policy agenda. The leaders of the Official Opposition and the second-largest opposition party usually move an amendment and sub-amendment respectively to the motion for the Address in Reply to the SFT, which expresses their perspective on the Speech’s content.
• At the end of the second day, the House has the first vote, which is on the sub-amendment to the Address in Reply to the SFT. In the past, most governments have not introduced legislation until after this vote, although there is no procedural rule preventing this.
• On the third or fourth day, a member may move a new sub-amendment to the Official Opposition’s amendment, if applicable. Debate continues and at the end of the fourth day, there is a vote on the amendment and on the new sub-amendment, if one is moved.
  • The votes on the amendment and sub-amendment(s) present the first opportunity for the House of Commons to express confidence in the Government. However, they are not automatically considered confidence matters if they are not explicitly worded as such. For example, the amendments to the Address in Reply were adopted in 2004, 2006 and 2008, and sub-amendments were adopted in 2004 and 2006 without the Government interpreting them as confidence issues (each of these instances was during a minority government).
• At the end of the sixth day of debate, the House votes on the main motion for the Address in Reply to the SFT, including any amendments that might have previously been agreed to by the House. This vote is implicitly considered a confidence question.

If the Government does not wish to schedule debate on the Address in Reply immediately, it could decide to schedule debate on another substantive government motion on Day 3. Government bills could be introduced as early as Day 3 and debated as early as Day 4.

Establishing parliamentary committees

The process for establishing the membership of standing committees is as follows:

• As part of the routine business following the SFT, you move a motion to establish the membership of the Procedure and House Affairs Committee (PROC). As with other committee assignments, the membership of PROC could be an issue for the Chief Government Whip to manage.
• PROC then has 10 sitting days to table its report on membership lists for all standing committees. The committee determines membership by approving lists submitted by party whips.
  • During the 42^nd Parliament, the House adopted Standing Order 104(5) which provides that Parliamentary Secretaries may only serve as non-voting members of committees. This rule was suspended at the beginning of the 43^rd Parliament by unanimous consent for the duration of that Parliament.
• Within 10 sitting days following the adoption of the report, the Clerk of the House convenes a meeting of each committee for the purposes of electing a chair.
• The Standing Orders provide for chairs to be elected by committee members by way of a secret ballot.

The Standing Orders provide for 25 standing committees in the House of Commons and two joint House-Senate committees. This will include the new Standing Committee on Science and Research, which was created through the unanimous adoption of Private Members’ Motion M-38 on May 26, 2021. Standing Orders also define the mandates of standing committees, the total number of seats on each committee (10) and which committees are chaired by opposition members (currently four: Public Accounts; Government Operations and Estimates; Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics; and Status of Women). The Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations is also jointly chaired by an Official Opposition member and a senator. The Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament is jointly chaired by a government member and a senator.

Often, the number of members on each committee, and the share allocated to each recognized party, is agreed to by the party Whips and a sessional order is adopted to this effect. If the size of committees remains at ten in this Parliament, for Government chaired committees, the proportion of members would likely be five Liberals (including the chair), three Conservatives, one Bloc Québecois and one NDP. For opposition-chaired committees, it could be 4 Liberals, 4 Conservatives (including the chair), 1 Bloc Québecois and 1 NDP.

If changes to committees are desired to reflect changes related to machinery of government, the Prime Minister could ask you to negotiate with opposition House Leaders and pursue a motion to amend the Standing Orders to this effect. This would enable the work of committees to be better aligned with the Government’s approach to the issues they work with. This is generally done with the agreement of other parties to avoid debate.

If there is no formal action by the House to temporarily change the Standing Orders, the current configuration of committees would remain.

Opposition members will have the majority on committees. This will provide opportunities for them to control committee decisions on agenda (what topics to study), witnesses and the use of procedural tools (summons of people and production of papers). See page 35 for more information on committees.

Other House committees

In addition to the standing committees of the House, the Standing Orders provide for the establishment of legislative and special committees, which need not be established in the opening days, but are options to pursue particular Government priorities. The creation of additional committees would create management challenges for the Chief Government Whip.

Special committees on the Economic Relationship between Canada and the United States, and on Canada-China Relations were created in the last Parliament through the adoption of CPC opposition day motions. These ceased to exist at dissolution, but it is likely that at least the latter will be recreated given the importance of relations with China for opposition parties, in particular the CPC, and given ongoing developments (release of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, upcoming decision on Huawei’s ability to provide components of Canada’s 5G networks, etc.).

These committees could be re-established either by the adoption of an opposition day motion, a motion adopted by the House with unanimous consent including as part of one setting out other sessional orders early in the new Parliament, or through the House’s concurrence in a committee report’s recommendations such as from the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.

Legislative committees are created on an ad hoc basis to draft or review proposed legislation, and can be a useful tool to manage the workload distribution or to review legislation that does not fit squarely within the responsibilities of an existing standing committee.

Special committees are also created on an ad hoc basis and are established to inquire into a matter to which the House and, in a majority context, the Government attaches particular importance. Special committees can be used to study matters that do not squarely fit within an existing committee’s mandate, or to provide a forum for a comprehensive study into a matter. The membership of special committees is fixed at a maximum of 15 members.

Special Joint Committees & Medical Assistance in Dying Committee

Special joint committees are created for the same purposes as special committees: to study matters of particular importance. Membership of special joint committees include members of the House and Senators and there are two Chairs, one from each Chamber. These committees are established by an order of reference (i.e., the adoption of motions) in the House and the Senate, which could be done on any sitting day.

Sub-section 5 (1) of An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying), which received Royal Assent on March 17, 2021, requires that a comprehensive review of the provisions of the Criminal Code relating to medical assistance in dying and their application be undertaken by a Joint Committee of both the House of Commons and Senate. In addition to setting out the committee’s composition and quorum, the Act also requires that the committee present its report no later than one year after it is established. Through a motion adopted with unanimous consent, the committee was established on April 16, 2021, and it met three times before the dissolution of Parliament.

Pursuant to the Act, the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance and Dying will need to be reconstituted early in the 44^th Parliament, to enable it to present its report by April 16, 2022.

Sitting procedures and practices during the pandemic

Depending on the public health guidance at the time when Parliament begins sitting, the Government may wish to engage the opposition on ways to ensure that proceedings of the House respect that guidance. If the Government chooses to pursue such discussions, it would be your responsibility as Government House Leader to negotiate with opposition House leaders any changes to House proceedings. You would also be responsible for moving the associated motion in the House to implement such changes.

During the 43^rd Parliament, the House of Commons adapted its procedures, practices and technology in response to public health guidance on the pandemic. This culminated in decisions to conduct regular business in hybrid sittings in the second session, building on measures used in a more limited way in the first session. 

During the second session, members were able to fully participate in proceedings either in person or via videoconferencing. Members participating online initially voted by videoconference but transitioned to a remote voting application in March 2021.

A motion to implement these measures was adopted on unanimous consent and expired on June 23, 2021. A decision of the House would be necessary to adopt these or other measures in the 44^th Parliament.

If public health guidance remains mostly unchanged, consideration should be given to adapting House procedures as long as necessary in the 44^th Parliament in order to protect members, their staff and House Administration. This is in addition to the Prime Minister’s commitment to working with all parties to ensure all Members of Parliament are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The Legislation and House Planning Secretariat (PCO) is available to provide advice to support this measure.

The hybrid sittings conducted in the 43^rd Parliament allowed all members to participate fully in House proceedings, while respecting physical distancing. However, particularly for committee meetings, technical difficulties with videoconferencing often caused disruptions to proceedings and the ability of translators to provide quality translation.

Videoconference voting and the remote voting application were both successfully implemented to allow members participating virtually to vote. However, videoconference votes required significantly more time (typically upwards of 40 minutes) than the remote voting application (typically 12 to 15 minutes).

In the last Parliament, in exchange for supporting changes to House proceedings, the opposition sought measures to enhance parliamentary scrutiny and accountability. For example,

• In the first session of the 43^rd Parliament, the House adopted a number of measures to provide ongoing parliamentary accountability while it was adjourned due to the pandemic. On March 24, 2020, the House adopted a motion to require the Minister of Finance to provide bi-weekly reports to the Finance Committee on certain spending under the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act, and a process for the House to be recalled for a take-note debate if the committee was dissatisfied.
• On April 11, 2020, the House requested that the Auditor General conduct an audit of certain COVID-19 spending and table a report by June 1, 2021. On April 20, 2020, the House adopted special measures that required the Government to secure support for COVID-19 legislation by sharing draft bills with opposition parties in advance of introduction and obtaining all-party agreement to expedite passage in the House.
• In the second session of the 43^rd parliament, the Government provided greater transparency in its legislation to renew the Public Health Events of National Concern Payments Act by including an itemized schedule of payment limits.

Should the Government wish to continue with hybrid sittings, it is expected that the opposition would seek measures to enhance parliamentary scrutiny and accountability, such as those noted above, in exchange for their support.

If there were all-party support, the first opportunity to implement changes to House proceedings would be during routine business on the second sitting day by moving a motion on unanimous consent.

If there were majority support, a motion could be moved and debated during Government Orders as early as the third sitting day. Moving the motion at that time would delay consideration of the Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne. In order to maintain the House’s focus on the Government’s agenda, it would be important to negotiate reasonable timelines for debate of this motion with opposition House leaders.

The PCO Secretariat is available to provide strategic and procedural advice on adapting House proceedings and preparing the associated motion.

Supply

[ * ]

Based on the existing House of Commons calendar, Parliament would have opened on September 20, 2021. Because it will now open on November 22, 2021, the number of opposition days for the supply period will be reduced from the usual seven by an amount proportional to the number of sitting days the House stood adjourned. The Speaker will determine and announce to the House the reduction in the number of opposition days, which the Government will then schedule. We expect that the number of opposition days will be reduced to two.

See Annex A for an overview of the supply process, including scheduling considerations for allotted days.

Lesiglative agenda

The early part of a new Parliament presents a key window for the Government to pass legislation linked to priority campaign commitments.

A minority government’s ability to pass bills is constrained by the need to secure sufficient opposition support for each one, and the typically shorter duration of a minority parliament often leaves insufficient time to complete the legislative process. Further, the length of time bills are debated and studied at each legislative stage is typically longer in a minority situation as procedural tools such as closure and time allocation motions require the support of at least one opposition party.

Governing in the context of a minority government requires flexibility and a readiness to negotiate with opposition parties to secure support for the government’s parliamentary agenda, as well as, contingency planning for when support is not obtained.

You are responsible for managing and advancing the Government’s legislative program in Parliament. You set priorities for the drafting of bills, and when they are debated in Parliament. Ministers are responsible for developing policy proposals and seeking Cabinet approvals for the proposals; for developing strategies to ensure sufficient support from opposition members in the House and from senators in order to pass the bills; and for managing the progress of the individual bills throughout the parliamentary process.

Recommended process: Legislative forecast and plan

The Speech from the Throne and ministerial mandate letters represent key indicators of legislation that will be a focus early in the mandate.

A key component in assisting you in managing House business is the creation of a government-wide legislative forecast and plan.

[ * ] In parallel, PCO would send a request to Deputy Ministers asking that they support Ministers in developing their forecast and that it be submitted to the Legislation and House Planning Secretariat (PCO) along with detailed information about each legislative proposal. This request could be made twice a year; one would cover January to June and the other September-December.

See Annex D for more details on the information the legislative forecast call-out letter could request.

The PCO Secretariat would support you in using the forecast submissions from Ministers and departments to develop an evergreen legislative plan focused on each sitting period. In addition, PCO would support the development of legislative plans for the medium and longer term of the mandate drawing on the forecast, other information it receives from departments, and policy analysis.

Recognizing that the aggregate of all submissions would amount to more legislation than time available in Parliament to debate and pass it, this plan would seek to set priorities to focus the Government on delivering its commitments to Canadians, and addressing any important or pressing issues that arise.

[ * ]

Launching the legislative program quickly will demonstrate early action on implementing campaign commitments and will contribute to a continued record of achievement. It is also important to ensure sufficient business to occupy the House and Senate, especially in the first few months.

See Annex D for a description of the policy development and Cabinet approval process for legislation and managing the legislative process, and Annex E for the use of procedural tools such as time allocation and closure to manage debate, including for legislation.

The Senate

There are 105 Senate seats. As of October 19, 2021, the composition of the Senate is as follows:

• 42 Independent Senators Group (ISG)
• 18 Conservatives (C)
• 14 Progressive Senate Group (PSG)
• 13 Canadian Senators Group (CSG)
• 7 non-affiliated
• 11 vacancies - Alberta (1), British Columbia (1), Manitoba (1), New Brunswick (2) Newfoundland and Labrador (1), Nova Scotia (1), Ontario (2), Prince Edward Island (1), Saskatchewan (1)

One additional vacancy is expected to occur this year, with the upcoming early, voluntary retirement of Senator Doug Black (Alberta) on October 31, 2021. Between 2021 and 2025, there are 28 anticipated retirements, including Senator Black.

During the 43^rd Parliament, the Senate had to determine how it would function and adapt to the realities of the pandemic. It expeditiously dealt with emergency legislation related to the pandemic and priority Government legislation. Senate committees conducted 10 pre-studies of Government bills as a way to advance the Government’s legislative agenda. 

The Senate has changed significantly in its composition and culture since 2015. There is no longer the traditional model of Government and Opposition, but rather, a multi-group structure that has developed (groups and standings listed above). The ISG currently has the majority of members, while the Government does not have a caucus, and the Official Opposition Conservative Party of Canada Senate caucus is relatively small. This new structure is a result of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau having appointed senators who do not belong to a political party by using a non-partisan advisory body to recommend appointments. 

Speaker of the Senate

Unlike the House, where the Speaker is elected, the Speaker of the Senate is appointed by the Governor in Council on the advice of the Prime Minister, and may be removed at any time. Senator George J. Furey (Non-affiliated - Newfoundland and Labrador) will remain as Speaker unless a new one is appointed. The Prime Minister could decide to appoint a new Speaker from among the existing senators.

Managing government business in the Senate

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It should be noted that throughout the 43^rd Parliament, some senators felt that they were not given adequate time to study legislation (i.e., Bill C-6, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy), and Bill C-10, An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act). For example, on two occasions, the leader of the CSG expressed this sentiment, once in September 2020 with a motion that stated that the Senate should have at least one sitting week to study non-pandemic related Government bills, and recently in June 2021 when he spoke publicly on this issue. 

[ * ]

Legislative changes to the Parliament of Canada Act - Bill S-4

During the last Parliament, the Government introduced Bill S-4, which sought to amend the Parliament of Canada Act in support of the Government’s efforts to make the Senate more independent and non-partisan. The bill was positively received in the Senate including by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and some Conservative senators. Consensus was reached amongst the leadership of all groups on the content of the bill, which led to it being adopted swiftly by the Senate.

[ * ] Moving forward, many senators, especially from the ISG, PSG and CSG, will be looking to the Government to see how it plans to engage with a Senate that is not based on the traditional model of Government and Opposition. [ * ]

National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians

Tabling of documents

[ * ]

Under the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Act, the Prime Minister may consult the Chair and direct the NSICOP to submit a redacted version of the report to protect any classified or privileged information from public disclosure. This process must take place within the 30 sitting day tabling deadline. PCO is currently preparing advice to the Prime Minister on potential redactions to the special report on the Government of Canada’s cyber defence framework, in consultation with partner departments and agencies. 

As the membership of the NSICOP expired when Parliament was dissolved, new members must be appointed and a new Chair designated before consultations on the redactions can take place.

Under the Act, NSICOP members are appointed by the Governor in Council on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. Before members can be appointed, the Prime Minister must consult with the leaders of recognized opposition parties in the House on their proposed members, and with the Government Representative in the Senate, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and the leaders of all Senate caucuses and recognized groups on proposed Senate members. PCO will support the Prime Minister in making these appointments on a priority basis.

During the 42^nd and 43^rd Parliaments, NSICOP reports were tabled by the Government House Leader and the Government Representative in the Senate in their respective Chambers.

[ * ]

Statutory review

Under the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Act, a committee of the House, of the Senate or of both Chambers must begin undertaking a comprehensive review of the Act by October 7, 2022. The Act does not set a deadline for the review to be completed.

As Government House Leader, you will work with the Government Representative in the Senate and the ministers responsible for national security and intelligence activities to identify the parliamentary committee and move the associated motion to task it with the review. PCO will provide strategic and procedural advice to support this decision.

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Parliamentary reform initiatives

During recent past Parliaments many different reforms to how the House of Commons conducts its business have been considered (aside from special measures adopted as a result of the pandemic). These have come from government proposals, Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs reports, Private Members Business items, and external experts. Some of these proposals had multi-party support, but were never put to a final vote that would have resulted in them being adopted. There may be interest among some members to revive some of these proposals.

Standing Order 51 requires that between the 60^th and 90^th sitting days of a Parliament on a day designated by a minister of the Crown or on the 90^th sitting day if no day has been designated, the House debate a motion taking note of its Standing Orders. While this does not directly lead to any changes to procedural rules and practices, it will be an opportunity for members to express what changes they may want to see. These debates are referred to the Procedure and House Affairs committee for study.

Legislation and House Planning (PCO) will support you and your office in pursuing any parliamentary reform initiatives that may be in your mandate letter or in responding to any that arise in the House.

IV. Managing other key House business

Private Members’ business

As Government House Leader, you are responsible for managing and coordinating the Government’s overall approach to Private Members’ Business (PMB). Ministers are responsible for developing and implementing a Government strategy for the PMB items and Senate Public Bills in their portfolio in consultation with you.

Following your direction, Legislation and House Planning, and PCO more generally, will work with departments to ensure timely development of products to support ministers in the PMB process.

Private Members’ Bills and Senate Public Bills passed by Parliament have the same force and effect as Government legislation. Private Members’ Motions are non-binding on Government programs and operations, but can change the proceedings of the House, bind committees or address sensitive subjects that may raise communications, stakeholder or caucus management issues.

We expect that debate of Private Members’ Business items will begin in mid-February 2022. Votes on these items could begin to take place by the end of March 2022.

There is up to two hours of debate, on two separate days, on each PMB item before the first vote. It is recommended that Ministers seek Cabinet approval of their proposed Government strategy before the second hour of debate in order to put the Government’s position on the record before the vote.

In the minority context, the Government will need to obtain support from at least one opposition party to defeat or amend Private Members’ Bills and Senate Public Bills in the House.

The support of at least one opposition party will also be required to defeat a Private Member’s Motion. Amending a Private Member’s Motion requires the agreement of the sponsor. If the sponsor perceives that the amendment alters the policy objective of the motion, it is likely to be refused.

It will be important to maintain the support of caucus on PMB items given the 2015 and 2019 mandate letter commitments to promote free votes.

During a minority government, more PMB items sponsored by opposition parties tend to pass than during a majority government. PMB items can pass that are inconsistent with the Government’s agenda or that draw attention away from its priorities.

In the 43^rd Parliament, eight PMB items advanced past the first vote despite the Government’s opposition, including Bill C-208 (inter-generational transfer of family businesses) which received Royal Assent and amended the Income Tax Act to facilitate the transfer of family businesses between generations. Bill C-208 was passed with opposition support and the support of some LPC Members.

Items the Government opposed in the 43^rd Parliament but were not adopted could be reintroduced in the new Parliament. Senate Public Bills are routinely reintroduced from one Parliament to another, given that the composition of the Senate does not change as a result of an election.

It is expected that senators will expedite reintroduced Senate Public Bills to the stage they were at when Parliament was dissolved. A number of Senate Public Bills could be referred to the House early in the 44^th Parliament. This could include Bill S-203 (online access to sexually explicit material), Bill S-204 (trafficking in human organs), Bill S-222 (use of resources by charities) and Bill S-230 (granting citizenship).

Opposition parties could use PMB items to advance their platform commitments. In the 43^rd Parliament, BQ and NDP items typically aligned with the parties’ priorities. While some CPC items aligned with party platforms, CPC members also introduced items that addressed personal or constituents’ priorities.

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See Annex G for additional information on managing Private Members Business and Annex F for information on financial limitations on Private Members’ Bills and Senate Public Bills.

Committees

Committee role and powers

Parliamentary committees perform the important functions of reviewing legislation and estimates, undertaking policy and program studies that can inform government decision-making or criticize it, as well as reviewing Order-in-Council appointments. Their reports and recommendations, if concurred in by the House, can become orders of the House.

Committees have considerable autonomy and procedural tools at their disposal. In a minority context, where opposition parties hold the majority of seats on committees, they can use their majority to their advantage.

Committee Chairs have important decision-making powers including ruling on the procedural admissibility of motions (rulings which can be overturned by a majority vote of the committee), and maintaining decorum. Chairs do not vote, except in order to break a tie.

Given committee stage is where the House makes the majority of its amendments to bills, it is here that the opposition can most significantly alter Government legislation, and thus its substantive policy agenda. This is true whether the opposition’s objective is to frustrate or delay Government legislation, or to make constructive changes including those that make the difference in whether it supports the bill.

Despite these significant powers, the ultimate impact of a single committee’s decisions are limited, as most committee decisions must be ratified by the House (e.g., changes to estimates, recommendations that the Government or individuals be found in contempt, etc.) or can be reversed by the House (e.g., legislative amendments at report stage).

Motions requesting papers & summoning people

Committees can subpoena any person they choose, although this is only enforceable by the House. They can also adopt motions requesting the production of papers from either the government or private entities.

The adoption of motions requesting papers from the government is more common in minority parliaments as opposition parties collaborate to pass them. The 43^rd Parliament saw an increase in the number of motions adopted by House committees compared to previous minorities.

The tension between Parliament’s assertion that it has a Constitutional authority to request and receive unlimited documentation, and the Executive Branch’s various legal obligations to protect certain information from disclosure will likely continue in the next Parliament.

Parliamentarians, particularly in opposition, (advised by the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel, and supported by precedent) take the view that the Constitutional power of the House is greater than the powers conferred by legislation.

[ * ]

Many of the motions in the last Parliament requested very broadly scoped sets of documents, creating significant operational challenges for departments and agencies to collect, vet and translate the documents by the imposed deadlines.

[ * ]

It is possible opposition parties will revive the opposition day motion adopted on October 26, 2020, requesting documents related to the pandemic response and/or a new motion for documents on this topic. They may also revive requests for unredacted copies of the COVID-19 vaccine contracts.

The House Orders for documents respecting the transfer of viruses to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and Dr. Xiangguo Qiu and Dr. Keding Cheng, dissolved with the previous Parliament. However, the Speaker of the House of Commons stated in the House on June 23, 2021, that outstanding questions of privilege will carry over into the 44^th Parliament. The question of privilege regarding the transfers of viruses could be raised in the new Parliament if it is called forth by a member of parliament at the earliest opportunity (i.e., Day 1 or Day 2). The Government could take the opportunity to address these questions again in the new Parliament before the Speaker rules. It is also possible opposition parties will collaborate to adopt a motion requesting these documents again in the 44^th Parliament.

More information on committee requests for papers, including with respect to any actual motions that may be adopted, can be provided under separate cover.

Committee Review of Estimates

Once the Government tables the estimates in the House they are deemed referred to standing committees for their reviews. Committees considering estimates may invite witnesses to appear; these typically include the Minister, along with their deputy minister and other senior officials, and stakeholder representatives.

As a last step, each budgetary item, or ‘vote’, is voted on as a distinct motion. For each item, the committee can approve it, reduce its amount, or not approve (negative) its entire amount (it may not raise any amounts, including by moving funds between votes, as this would infringe on the financial prerogative of the Crown, nor can it reduce its amount to $0). Once committees take these votes, they may be reported back to the House.

A committee is under no obligation to report the estimates back to the House. However, in the case of main estimates, committees that do not report are deemed to have done so on May 31 and, in the case of supplementary estimates, are deemed to have done so on the third sitting day before the last allotted day or the last sitting day in the supply period.

• The rules provide for one exception to the May 31 reporting deadline for main estimates. The Leader of the Opposition may give, not later than the third sitting day prior to May 31, notice of a motion to extend the committee consideration of the main estimates of a named department or agency for up to 10 sitting days.

The estimates, as reported or deemed reported, must be concurred in by the House in order for the government to introduce the appropriation bill authorizing the necessary withdrawals from the Consolidated Revenue Fund. Should a committee have reduced or negatived a vote or votes in the estimates, the government may move that they be restored or reinstated.

Committees and/or the House have successfully reduced or negatived estimates more frequently during minority governments (although, this never occurred in the 43^rd Parliament). Most often, these were for relatively small amounts to serve symbolic purposes, rather than an attempt to eliminate funding for an entire department or program. While there are examples of committees doing this during majority governments, minority governments have been less successful in reversing committee decisions, and restoring its estimates.

As precedents have shown, the government losing a vote on a single item in the estimates does not automatically result in the defeat of the government. This is because the Government has the opportunity to adjust its draft appropriation bill before it is introduced to reflect any altered amounts concurred in by the House. Therefore, the confidence convention would only be triggered if a government lost a vote on an appropriation bill, although this has never been tested.

See Annex A for more information on the parliamentary procedure for the business of supply.

Committee reports, Government Responses and concurrence debates

Under the Standing Orders, House committees may request that the Government provide a response to their reports within 120 calendar days and under the Rules of the Senate, Senate committees can request a response within 150 days.

The Minister responsible for a Government Response to a committee report must obtain Cabinet approval of it prior to it being tabled in Parliament.

Legislation and House Planning (PCO) supports this process by working with you and your office to determine and assign ministerial responsibility for each Government Response and for preparing and presenting their Memorandum to Cabinet seeking a decision on the response. PCO coordinates the scheduling of Cabinet discussions so that a decision can be made in time for deadlines to be respected. 

Once a committee report has been tabled in the House, any member can move concurrence in the committee report during routine proceedings, provided that the notice requirements have been met. Debates to concur in committee reports are subject to a maximum of three hours of debate, followed by a vote. If debate is not completed on the day the motion is moved, the motion is transferred to Government Orders and is resumed on another day designated by the Government at the ordinary hour of daily adjournment within 10 sitting days of its adjournment or interruption. Further details on this process are discussed along with Routine Proceedings in Annex B.

The House Leader is responsible for liaising with responsible Ministers and the Whip to ensure that Government speakers are prepared to respond to any such motions.

Because time spent debating concurrence to a committee report can use up time otherwise devoted to debating government legislation, the opposition may use concurrence debates as a tactic to disrupt the advancement of the Government’s agenda in Parliament.

Managing committee business: Strategic recommendations

Responsibility for managing committee issues is shared between members of the Government’s House leadership team and Ministers. The Chief Government Whip is responsible for managing caucus issues and committee attendance. Ministers are responsible for substantive issues in the standing committees related to their portfolios.

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Parliamentary Returns

You are responsible for coordinating the Government’s responses to written questions, public petitions and notices of motions for the production of papers, as well as to senators’ written questions and delayed answers.

The Legislation and House Planning Secretariat (PCO), in consultation with your office, ensures that requests for parliamentary returns are assigned to the appropriate departments, agencies and Crown corporations, prepares the tabling packages of responses, and supports you in tabling the responses.

Compliance with the prescribed deadlines is necessary. If Government responses to public petitions or priority written questions are not tabled on time (i.e., 45 calendar days), the matter is automatically referred to the appropriate standing committee, which must meet within five sitting days to investigate the failure of the Ministry to respond.

You may wish to continue the practice of dedicating an employee in your office or in the office of the Parliamentary Secretary for the management of parliamentary returns and to act as a liaison with the PCO Secretariat.

Challenges – Tabling and deadlines

There are two primary challenges that will require your attention when managing parliamentary returns. The first is procedural, and the second has to do with respecting the deadlines.

Procedurally, parliamentary returns are tabled last during routine proceedings in the House of Commons (see Annex B for more information on Routine Proceedings). Matters can arise during routine proceedings that lead to the time provided for tabling parliamentary returns not coming up. [ * ]

The volume of parliamentary returns continues to increase over time (See Annex H). With this added complexity, the PCO Secretariat has noted that departments have increasingly been submitting responses after the internal PCO deadline, which reduces or eliminates the time needed to play a challenge function, do necessary issues management, and effectively prepare the responses for tabling. PCO can work with your office on how best to engage Minister’s Offices to express the need to have responses prepared in a timely manner.

Office for the Coordination of Parliamentary Returns

The Office for the Coordination of Parliamentary Returns (OCPR), in PCO’s Legislation and House Planning Secretariat, supports you on parliamentary returns matters. OCPR, in consultation with your office, ensures that requests for parliamentary returns are assigned to the appropriate departments, agencies and Crown corporations.

OCPR also supports your office and the office of the Parliamentary Secretary in the preparation for tabling responses in the House.

Electronic transmission of responses to written questions

In the last session, as part of a motion putting in place modified sitting procedures in the context of the pandemic, the House of Commons allowed the electronic transmission to Journals Branch of responses to written questions instead of paper copies. This process was in effect until June 23, 2021, when the motion expired.

Electronic tablings proved to be an efficient process by providing staff with the ability to work remotely and by reducing the paper burden. [ * ]

V. Strategies and support for carrying out the role of the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Support from the Privy Council Office

The Legislation and House Planning Secretariat (PCO) provides departmental support to you including on short-term and long-term management of the Government’s agenda in Parliament, such as by:

• ensuring that Ministers propose realistic and effective parliamentary strategies for Government legislation;
• preparing draft presentations to Cabinet and Cabinet committees on the strategic legislative plan;
• preparing weekly materials for the possible Parliamentary Strategy Meeting which you could chair;
• preparing notes for you outlining parliamentary considerations of other Ministers’ proposals being considered by Cabinet and Cabinet committees on which you sit;
• preparing interventions on House procedural matters;
• preparing materials to support the Bill Review Meeting for Government and Private Members’ bills;
• coordinating the preparation of parliamentary returns across government; and
• preparing responses to correspondence on matters that fall within your ministerial responsibilities. Your office will process personal and political correspondence separately.

Paul MacKinnon is Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet (Governance). He is your Deputy Minister. He is supported by the Secretariat which provides advice and operational support on Cabinet, parliamentary, and legislative business. The Secretariat is headed by Maia Welbourne, Assistant Secretary, Legislation and House Planning. She will work closely with your office to provide day-to-day support and coordination between your office and the Secretariat on parliamentary and legislative issues.

PCO staff assigned to the Minister’s Office provide non-partisan departmental and administrative assistance. The Departmental Assistant is responsible for liaising between your office and PCO, and for managing the sharing of information and documents.

PCO will provide you with support for hiring and ongoing human resources support for your ministerial exempt staff and for departmental staff assigned to your office. The Departmental Assistant will work with PCO Human Resources and PCO Security to ensure the Minister’s hiring decisions are processed in an expedited manner. Detailed briefings on this are provided under separate cover.

Matthew Shea, Assistant Deputy Minister for Corporate Services, PCO, is responsible for administrative support for the Government House Leader’s Office. Working with the Deputy Secretary’s office, PCO Corporate services will provide you separately with detailed briefings on:

• budgets;
• human resources and staffing;
• technical services such as phones, and information technology;
• your website;
• accommodation;
• procurement and contracting; and
• correspondence services.

Minister’s office staff

As outlined in “Open and Accountable Government”, your Ministerial “exempt staff” (persons appointed to positions in the office of a Minister under section 128 of the Public Service Employment Act) are appointed to provide you with advisors who share your political commitment and who can complement the non-partisan advice and support of the public service. They hold public office and are paid with public funds, but are not public servants. They are subject to a broad range of terms and conditions set by the Treasury Board and by the same statutory conflict of interest and post-employment regime and ethical guidelines as Ministers and deputy ministers. 

Their work could include reviewing briefings and other departmental advice, assisting you in developing policy positions and political strategies, preparing and delivering politically oriented communications, liaising with other Ministers’ offices and caucus and providing advice as specialists in a particular field, including parliamentary procedure and tactics.

They can ask departmental officials for information, transmit your instructions or be informed of decisions in order to address communications and strategic issues (or parliamentary strategy). However, they do not have a role in departmental operations and have no legal basis for exercising the delegated authority of Ministers.

They are also subject to the Code of Conduct for Ministerial Exempt Staff in Annex I of “Open and Accountable Government”.

Managing time effectively: Possible weekly schedule of meetings

The many demands on you as a Minister, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and a Member of Parliament place a premium on managing your time effectively in order to balance your obligations to participate in and prepare for Cabinet meetings, manage House business, and attend to constituency matters. 

Cabinet and Cabinet Committee meetings

PCO will provide you with information on the scheduling of Cabinet meetings for which you are a member.

Meetings to manage the Government’s Parliamentary Agenda

The Secretariat will provide support in the preparation for a weekly cycle of regular meetings which you may wish to convene in order to manage the Government’s parliamentary agenda. The scheduling of some of these meetings can be adjusted to accommodate your Cabinet obligations or other preferences. 

Parliamentary strategy meeting

What: meeting on House and Senate strategy for the week ahead to review the Government’s management and handling of votes, bills, Opposition day motions, committee management, Private Members’ Business items and communications issues and coordination of the Government’s Parliamentary team.

Who: you chair the meeting. Attendees could include: the Deputy House Leader and your Parliamentary Secretary; the Chief Government Whip and Deputy Government Whip; political staff from your office, the office of the Whip and the Prime Minister’s Office; the Senate leader and political staff from their office should one be appointed; and officials from the Secretariat who support you.

When: Monday morning to plan for the week ahead.

Support: The Secretariat provides secretariat support for the meeting and can prepare a scenario note. PCO will work with your office to prepare a calendar for distribution at the meeting outlining plans for House and Senate consideration of government legislation and motions, Private Members Business and other business. 

Daily tactics meeting

What: meeting to discuss strategy, tactics and operational issues in the House.

Who: you chair the meeting. Attendees could include: the Deputy House Leader and your Parliamentary Secretary; the Chief Government Whip and Deputy Government Whip; political staff from your office, the office of the Whip and the Prime Minister’s Office; the Government Representative in the Senate should one be appointed, and political staff from their office.

When: Tuesday through Friday mornings prior to the opening of the House (no meeting required on Mondays due to Parliamentary Strategy Meeting).

Support: Your Ministers’ office staff. The Whip’s office will provide information on attendance and votes. 

Daily Question Period preparation session

What: meeting to coordinate, with the Prime Minister’s Office, the preparation and the handling of issues that may arise during Question Period. 

Who: you could coordinate this meeting, which could be attended by the political staff from the Prime Minister’s Office and your office. 

When: Monday to Thursday from 1:00 to 2:00 pm; Fridays from 10:00 - 11:00 am.

Support: political staff from the Prime Minister’s Office and your office identify issues that require review. PCO can provide non-partisan public service information and advice on issues related to your Ministerial responsibilities. 

House Leaders’ meeting

What: meeting with House Leaders to discuss the handling of Government business in the House, including the scheduling of debates and votes on Government bills, the scheduling of Opposition days, and the handling of other House issues.

Who: you chair the meeting, and participants include: the Chief Government Whip; Opposition House Leaders and Whips; Government and Opposition political staff; and the Clerk of the House.

When: Tuesday afternoon. 

Support: your political staff could liaise with the other House Leaders’ offices to schedule the meetings, prepare an agenda and related documentation. Your political staff may draw on non-partisan background information on specific legislation and on the House calendar for Government bills which are prepared by Secretariat officials.

You may also wish to schedule a pre-meeting with members of the Government’s parliamentary team and political staff in order to prepare for the House Leaders’ meeting.

Caucus meetings

What: meeting of the Government’s caucus at which you may be called on to discuss House business, and at which Ministers may discuss Government legislation with caucus members. You may also need to refer to the views of caucus members when reviewing the Ministers’ parliamentary strategies and when preparing the overall legislative plan.

Who: members of the Government’s caucus.

When: National Caucus meetings are usually Wednesdays at 10:00 am. Other caucus groups meet at other times and information will be provided by your political staff.

Support: your political staff can provide you with support for this political meeting. If required, they may draw on non-partisan background information on specific legislation and on the House calendar for Government bills.

You may also wish to schedule a pre-meeting with members of the Government’s parliamentary team and political staff in order to prepare for caucus meetings.

Board of Internal Economy meeting

What: meeting to discuss House administration. Further details are provided in Annex C.

Who: chaired by the Speaker, you attend along with another Minister, the Chief Government Whip, the House Leader of the Opposition and members of all recognized parties.

When: weekly when the House is sitting, usually Mondays from 11:30 am – 1:00 pm. 

Support: your political staff can provide you with support for this. PCO can provide you with non-partisan background material on issues that may arise.

Meetings with the Prime Minister

You and the other leaders of the Government’s parliamentary team (e.g., Whip, Caucus Chair) may wish to seek regular meetings with the Prime Minister to discuss caucus and parliamentary issues.

Meetings with PCO

You could establish a regular meetings with PCO: a bilateral meeting with your Deputy Minister; and a meeting with senior political staff and PCO to discuss the organization of key government issues in the House for the week ahead and to ensure preparations for Cabinet, Cabinet committees and other ministerial meetings. You or your office could discuss logistics for such a meeting with your Deputy Minister.

Annex A: The business of supply

The business of supply is divided into two phases: a general debate phase and a legislative phase.

In the general debate phase, the House considers opposition motions on allotted days. Opposition motions may address any matter within the administrative responsibilities of government and, as an order of the House, these debates take precedence over other business.

The legislative phase deals with the consideration of supply bills to implement the estimates, which authorize withdrawals from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

At the beginning of each session, the House adopts the continuing order of supply, which initiates the supply process in a session. The adoption of the motion allows the Government to propose supplementary estimates and the corresponding scheduling of allotted days.

The House considers supply on 22 allotted days distributed over three supply periods:

• seven days in the supply period ending December 10;
• seven days in the supply period ending March 26; and,
• eight days in the supply period ending June 23.

Under the Standing Orders, the Government must table its main estimates for the coming fiscal year on or before March 1. The government also presents supplementary estimates to Parliament to address unanticipated spending needs or items announced in the budget. Typically, supplementary estimates A are presented in May, Supplementary Estimates B in November and Supplementary Estimates C in February.

Main and supplementary estimates are referred to the relevant standing committees, which have the opportunity to examine and vote on them. Standing committees usually invite ministers to appear on their estimates. If there is insufficient time during the fall sitting for committee review, consideration could be given to referring the Supplementary Estimates B to a Committee of the Whole for parliamentary scrutiny.

Committees may vote to reduce an estimates vote by an amount equal to an amount listed in the estimates for a program or activity. Committees may also vote down an estimates vote.

No later than May 1, the Leader of the Opposition may select the main estimates of two departments for consideration in two Committees of the Whole for up to four hours on separate sitting days. You must schedule the sitting days for the two Committees of the Whole no later than May 31. These estimates are deemed reported to the House after consideration at the Committees of the Whole.

On the final supply day of each period after the proceedings on the opposition day motion are completed, the House of Commons votes on whether it agrees, or concurs, with the estimates and the associated appropriation bills.

In order to authorize spending during the period in the new fiscal year before the House considers main estimates, the Government proposes interim supply and an interim supply bill on the last allotted day of the supply period ending March 23. Interim supply is generally in the amount of three-twelfths of main estimates. The main estimates are reduced by a corresponding amount.

Scheduling of allotted days

As the Government House Leader, you will designate the allotted days in the spring, fall and winter supply periods as well as identify lead ministers for opposition motions in consultation with the Prime Minister’s Office.

If the House sits fewer days than provided for in the House calendar, the Speaker will reduce the number of allotted days in a supply period by a proportionate amount.

In a minority parliament, opposition parties can unite to adopt motions to increase the number of allotted days. For example, there was one additional allotted day in the winter 2020 supply period and two additional allotted days in the fall 2020 supply period as a result of a CPC allotted day motion adopted in March 2020 and a subsequent motion on House business during the pandemic adopted in April 2020.

The scheduling of allotted days is at the discretion of the Government. However, the Standing Orders provide that no more than one-fifth of allotted days in any calendar year may fall on a Wednesday and no more than one-fifth on a Friday.

You designate allotted days in the House, which is usually done in the Business Statement on Thursdays. Allotted days may be rescheduled at any time by notifying the House or writing to the Speaker and informing opposition House leaders.

Opposition parties must give 48 hours’ notice of allotted day motions. Opposition parties indicate to your office the motion they will select for debate around the time of Question Period the day before the allotted day. 

Annex B: Routine proceedings in the House

Routine Proceedings is a time in the daily schedule when transactional business is considered, providing members with an opportunity to bring a variety of matters to the attention of the House, generally without debate. The House opens on Tuesday and Thursday with Routine Proceedings, and it occurs after Question Period on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The Leader of the Government in the House of Commons should plan to be in the House for Routine Proceedings.

This segment of the daily program consists of separate rubrics called by the Speaker each day and considered in succession. These rubrics include:

• “Tabling of Documents”;
• “Introduction of Government Bills”;
• “Statements by Ministers”;
• “Presenting Reports from Interparliamentary Delegations”;
• “Presenting Reports from Committees”;
• “Introduction of Private Members’ Bills”;
• “First Reading of Senate Public Bills”;
• “Motions”;
• “Presenting Petitions”; and
• “Questions on the Order Paper”.

Notice of motion for the Production of Papers

On Wednesdays, following Questions on the Order Paper, the Speaker calls for Notices for the Production of Papers. This rubric allows for members to move a motion, after 48 hours written notice, requesting that certain papers or documents be compiled or produced and tabled in the House. If the motion is agreed to, the House orders the production and subsequently a return is made pursuant to the Order. The Legislation and House Planning Secretariat, Privy Council Office (PCO) prepares the return, and you or your Parliamentary Secretary are responsible for tabling it in the House, and there is no debate on the matter.

Alternatively, the member proposing the motion or any Minister can indicate that they wish to have the motion debated, and have it transferred to the Order Paper under Private Members’ Business. In this case, it is important to have a Minister in the House during this rubric to request a debate on the motion. The motion would then be eligible for debate only if selected by the sponsoring member for inclusion in the Order of Precedence.

Motions to concur in committee reports

Motions to concur in committee reports are moved under the rubric “motions”, and, provided that the 48 hours’ notice has been met, immediately give rise to a three hour debate on whether to concur in a committee report. Only one such motion may be moved on any given day.

Should the House not complete the debate, whether it is because there was insufficient House time (Wednesday) or because the debate was adjourned, the motion is not transferred to Government Orders. Instead, it is transferred to the section “Concurrence in Committee Reports” under “Orders of the Day” on the Order Paper. The Debate then resumes at the ordinary hour of daily adjournment on a day designated by the Government (which is announced in the House), after consultations with the other parties, and which may not be more than 10 sitting days after the initial debate was interrupted or adjourned.

When concurrence debates are completed on the day they are moved, the House resumes consideration of “motions” under Routine Proceedings. If moved on a Wednesday and the debate continues until votes or Private Members’ Business, the House does not consider Government Orders. The rubric of Routine Proceedings “Questions on the Order Paper” is therefore not being called which does not allow for tabling of Government responses to Questions on the Order Paper.

See page 39 for more information on managing the Government’s response to motions to concur in committee reports.

Requests for emergency debates

Requests for emergency debates are also considered after Routine Proceedings. The Standing Orders provide members with an opportunity to raise a pressing matter by seeking to move a debatable adjournment motion. A member may request leave from the Speaker “to make a motion for the adjournment of the House for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter requiring urgent consideration”. 

Written notice must be provided to the Speaker at least one hour prior to making the request. The matter “must relate to a genuine emergency” and, if the request is granted by the Speaker, the House is permitted to debate the topic at an early opportunity without notice. Such debates are scheduled by the Speaker and are usually held in the evening on the day of the request, or in the evening of the next sitting day. 

Matters of chronic or continuing concern such as the economic conditions, unemployment rates and constitutional matters have tended to be set aside by the Speaker, whereas topics acceded to by the Speaker have included work stoppages, natural disasters and international crises and events. The Speaker is not obliged to give reasons for his or her decision.

Introduction of Government Bills

The Standing Orders prescribe that the rubric “Introduction of Government Bills” must be called each sitting day. When proceedings under “Introduction of Government Bills” are not completed on a Tuesday or Thursday prior to Statements by Members, Routine Proceedings is resumed immediately after Question Period, until the proceedings under this rubric are completed.

Annex C: The Board of Internal Economy

Board of Internal Economy

The Board of Internal Economy has responsibility for the House and its Members’ financial and administrative matters (including security). The Board makes policies and rules governing the funds, staff, goods, services and premises provided to the House, its committees and members.

The Board is authorized by the Parliament of Canada Act to make by-laws governing members’ use of the funds, goods, services, and premises made available to them. When the Board makes a by-law, it must be tabled in the House within 30 days, or deposited with the Clerk when the House is not sitting.

Its membership includes the Speaker, who acts as Chair, and Members from all recognized parties in the House. The Clerk of the House of Commons serves as Secretary to the Board.

The Prime Minister chooses the Government’s representation on the Board.

The Parliament of Canada Act requires that two members of the Ministry be appointed to the Board by the Governor in Council on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. Recent practice has been for these positions to be filled by the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, along with another Minister.

Additional members of the Government caucus (Ministers and/or backbench members) are appointed so that the total membership results in an equal number of Government and opposition members, apart from the Speaker. This has usually included the Chief Government Whip.

The Speaker normally announces the membership of the Board to the House on the day of the Speech from the Throne.

As of 2017, amendments to the Parliament of Canada Act have opened up meetings of the Board to members of the public, except when it is discussing matters related to security, employment, staff relations, tenders, and other matters prescribed by Board by-laws, or, when all members of the Board at the meeting agree that it be held in camera.

Given the sensitive nature of some issues discussed at the meetings (e.g., security, employment, staff relations, tenders), each member is required to take an oath or affirmation “of fidelity and secrecy”. 

The Board meets weekly when the House sits. Five members, including the Speaker, constitute a quorum. Official minutes are tabled in the House and posted on the Parliament of Canada website as soon as they have been approved by the Board. Standing Order 148(1) requires the Speaker to table at the beginning of a new session of Parliament a report of decisions of the Board for the previous session.

The Board designates two spokespersons from its membership: a member of the Government and a member of the Official Opposition. They respond to questions related to the Board's business during Question Period and to enquiries from the media.

As one of the Government members on the Board you will play a key role in representing and advocating for the Government’s views with respect to the financial and administrative matters of the House of Commons and its members.

When Parliament is dissolved, members of the Board retain their functions until they are replaced, to ensure continuity in House administration.

One issue that the Board will be engaged on, on an ongoing basis, is the implementation of the Parliamentary Precinct Long Term Vision and Plan which is rehabilitating, reconstructing the parliament buildings, including to modernize their accommodations as both a workplace and site visited by the public.

PCO support

Your staff could provide you with support in the preparation for Board meetings.

PCO provides you and your office with non-partisan background and technical material on issues that may arise at Board meetings, as needed.

Annex D: Government legislation: Cabinet and legislative process

Developing Government Bills

Legislative forecast

As recommended above, you could write to Ministers two to three times per year asking that they submit to you a list of legislation they forecast introducing in the coming months, while Legislation and House Planning, Privy Council Office (PCO) would make a similar request to Deputy Ministers.

For each legislative initiative, the following information would be requested:

• a summary of the initiative and its objectives;
• whether the items are included in the Government’s campaign platform;
• whether the items would support Speech from the Throne priorities;
• whether the item implements any policy or other statements made publicly by a minister;
• whether the item has been approved by Cabinet, or when a submission to Cabinet is anticipated;
• whether the item is a priority as identified by the department and why;
• any operational or external requirements that have created the need for the legislation, such as, as a result of court decisions or international agreements;
• initial assessment of the complexity of the item, including with respect to drafting (is it a new Act, a major or minor revision of existing legislation, the repeal of an existing Act, or a technical/administrative amendment);
• whether consultations with third parties or co-development are required;
• any deadlines the legislation should be introduced and passed by;
• whether a Royal Recommendation may be required;
• whether a Ways and Means motion may be required;
• possible legislative vehicle;
• whether the bill could be included in a budget implementation act and why; and,
• expected opposition support.

The forecast will support effective legislative planning by capturing both political and operational priorities. It will also help departments plan their policy development work to ensure sufficient time for both the Cabinet decision-making process and legislative drafting by the Department of Justice, which drafts all Government legislation, with the exception of appropriation acts.

Memorandum to Cabinet development

The implementation of policies that require legislation begins with responsible Ministers seeking Cabinet approvals of the policy through a Memorandum to Cabinet (MC) that includes drafting instructions that guide the Department of Justice in drafting Government bills, as well as an annex setting out the parliamentary strategy for passing the bill. MCs are drafted by departments and approved by Ministers.

The existing approach to the parliamentary strategy annex in MCs outlines the:

• Parliamentary environment with respect to the issue, including known or anticipated positions of the opposition and Government caucus members;
• Previous policy positions taken by the Government on the issue;
• Engagement with Parliamentarians that has already taken place;
• Strategy for advancing the bill in Parliament and building support for it;
• Key steps proposed for the legislative process (in what chamber it will be introduced, which committee it will be referred to, etc.); and
• Role of the Parliamentary Secretary in implementing the strategy and an attestation that they have approved the annex.

The parliamentary strategy annex is drafted in part by departmental staff, but requires input from Ministers’ exempt staff regarding political considerations such as caucus and Senate considerations and the Minister’s parliamentary strategy (for legislation in particular). 

During the development of an MC, departments undertake consultations with other departments and central agencies. As part of this process, PCO policy analysts review the proposals. The PCO Secretariat is consulted as part of this process to review the parliamentary strategy and drafting instructions in particular, and can brief you and your staff on issues that may be of interest to you.

Once Ministers have signed the MC, it is submitted to PCO who schedules its consideration by a committee of Cabinet. The lead Minister may make a presentation to the committee, or it is considered without discussion, as is appropriate. If approved-in-principle at a committee of Cabinet, the MC is then considered by Cabinet.

Recommended Process: Cabinet decision-making on legislation in the minority context

To enable effective Cabinet decision-making, and support the successful advancement of the Government’s legislative program in Parliament, the following strategies should be considered (should you wish to pursue these, or any other approaches, the PCO Secretariat will provide you further advice under separate cover):

[ * ]

Drafting legislation

Typically, following Cabinet approval, the Legislation Section of the Department of Justice drafts legislation based on the Cabinet-approved drafting instructions.

In some cases, the scheduling of an MC for Cabinet may leave insufficient time for drafting before a target introduction date for the resulting legislation. In such circumstances, Deputy Ministers may seek permission from the PCO Secretariat for pre-drafting authority so that the bill can be drafted before or concurrent with Cabinet consideration of the MC. Permission for pre-drafting is always considered in the context of the Government’s overall legislative priorities and of the items Cabinet has already approved.

The PCO Secretariat is in regular contact with Justice to establish priorities for drafting to ensure that the implementation of the Government’s legislative agenda is on track.

Department of Justice drafters work with the PCO Secretariat to resolve any issues related to the interpretation of drafting instructions, in order to ensure that the draft legislation conforms with Cabinet’s decision.

The PCO Secretariat can keep you up to date on the status of drafting legislative priorities, and arrange a separate briefing on the drafting process.

Managing Government Bills in the legislative process

Bill review and introduction

As the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, the Prime Minister has delegated the authority to you to approve introduction of Government bills in either the House of Commons or the Senate.

Once drafting is complete, you, your Parliamentary Secretary or your staff convene a Bill Review meeting to assess the sponsoring Minister’s parliamentary and communications strategies and determine whether, when, and in which Chamber the bill should be introduced. During the pandemic, in the last Parliament, there was a shift to holding these meetings virtually, with questions being sent to the office of the lead minister in advance to help support more targeted discussions.

The purpose of the meeting is to make sure that the lead Minister is ready for the bill to be introduced, and that they have considered how the bill will be received in Parliament, as well as by stakeholders and the general public. It will be important to ensure that the Minister has an effective parliamentary and communications strategy for the bill. This meeting can also be used to ensure that the bill aligns with what Cabinet approved, and determine whether there are any timing concerns that would require passage of the bill by a certain date.

As well, for financial legislation, you can discuss the timing of the vote on a ways and means motion before the bill is introduced (See Annex F for further details on ways and means motions and Royal Recommendations).

The meeting could be attended by yourself, your political staff (and Parliamentary Secretary or Deputy House Leader should you so choose), supported by officials from the PCO Secretariat. The responsible minister and/or their political staff (and Parliamentary Secretary should they so choose) could attend, along with an official from the department to answer technical questions, if necessary. 

The PCO Secretariat will prepare briefing materials for you in support of these meetings, including a selection of possible questions to consider. 

Managing Bills during the legislative process

Once you have approved a bill for introduction, the PCO Secretariat officials prepare Notice and Introduction paperwork for the bill, as well as secure a Royal Recommendation from the Governor General if the bill authorizes spending for a new purpose.

Following introduction, you are responsible for scheduling debate on Government bills at each legislative stage in the House and managing relations with the parties to advance the Government’s legislative program in the House. 

Various strategies and two procedural tools are available to expedite the advancement of Government legislation, including time allocation and closure (See Annex E for more information). The uses of time allocation and closure are much more prevalent during majority governments, when the support of at least one opposition party is not needed for them to pass. In the last two majority governments, time allocation was used an average of 76.5 times, and closure was used an average of 11 times. By comparison, in the last four minority parliaments time allocation was used an average of 2.75 times, and closure was used an average of 2.5 times.

Charter Statements

As of December 13, 2019, the Department of Justice Act requires that the Minister of Justice table a Charter Statement in Parliament for every new Government bill. Charter Statements are drafted by the Department of Justice, in consultation with the legal services units of the lead department, and to date have been tabled by the Minister of Justice in the chamber where the bill is introduced, though on occasion they have been tabled in both the House and the Senate.

Charter Statements identify the provisions in the bill that could affect rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter) both positively and negatively and, where relevant, explains the Government’s rationale for why the bill is compliant with the Charter. The Minister of Justice has final sign-off on the statement.

While there is no set timeframe for tabling prescribed in the Department of Justice Act, the department has made best efforts to table Charter statements before the conclusion of second reading in the House of Commons.

Royal Assent

Once a bill has been adopted by both chambers of Parliament in the same form, the bill must then be assented to by the Governor General, on behalf of the Queen. Only once Royal Assent has been received will the bill become an Act of Parliament, and have the ability to come into force. A bill can come into force immediately upon Royal Assent, on a specific date specified in the bill, or at a date to be determined by the Governor-in-Council.

Royal Assent of a bill can be conveyed in two ways: by traditional ceremony in the Senate chamber, or by written declaration. Royal Assent occurs only once both Houses are notified that Royal Assent has been signified. In the case of a Royal Assent by written declaration, letters signed by Secretary to the Governor General confirming that Royal Assent was signified are delivered to the Speakers of both Houses by the Clerk of the Senate where they are read or inserted into the respective Journals.

The PCO Secretariat liaises with the Senate administration and with Rideau Hall to ensure the preparation of the necessary documentation and to assist in coordinating both the ceremonies and written declaration for Royal Assent, as well as to provide briefing information on the bills presented for Royal Assent. 

Royal Assent ceremony

When a ceremony is to take place, members of the Governor General’s staff inform the Speaker of the House of the date and time at which the Governor General will attend the Senate to give Royal Assent to bills. The Speaker then relays the message to the House. At the appointed time, the Usher of the Black Rod informs the House that the Governor General desires the presence of members of the House in the Senate Chamber. While the Speaker of the House and members of the House gather at the Bar of the Senate, the Usher of the Black Rod approaches the Governor General and calls out “Order”. A clerk at the Table of the Senate reads the titles of the bills that are to receive Royal Assent. The Clerk of the Senate displays the bills and states “In Her Majesty’s name, His/Her Excellency the Governor General doth assent to these bills.” The Governor General consents to the enactment of the bills by nodding his or her head, which is the action by which Royal Assent is officially conveyed.

Normally, the process lasts no more than 20 minutes. However, the first ceremony to take place in the new Senate of Canada building in June 2019 took longer as the message was physically transported to the House in West Block.

When the Prime Minister is unable to attend Royal Assent ceremonies in the Senate Chamber, he may ask you to attend in his stead.

The date on which Royal Assent is to be signified by written declaration is determined by the Government. The written procedure process is normally held at Rideau Hall, but the Royal Assent Act does not specify a location, so the location of the process is determined by the Government.

The Royal Assent Act requires that Royal Assent be granted at least twice per calendar year via a ceremony bringing together all three elements of Parliament. To date in 2021, Royal Assent has been provided by written procedure rather than by ceremony, as a result of pandemic public health measures. If Parliament were to open in 2021, depending on the date, there may not be enough time for a bill to pass, and to receive Royal Assent (with the exception of an appropriation act (supply), which is normally adopted at all stages quickly). Opening Parliament in 2022 would mean that the requirement to hold a Royal Assent ceremony would not have been fulfilled for 2021.

[ * ] The Royal Assent Act came into effect in 2002. Since then, there has been one year in which only one ceremony was held (2005), and one year when no ceremonies were held (2020), when the written procedure was always used, as a result of pandemic public health measures.

Royal Assent by written procedure

The Governor General, or her deputy; the Clerk of the Parliaments (i.e., the Clerk of the Senate); and representatives of PCO Secretariat are present for the signing of a written declaration for Royal Assent, as is a House Table officer in the case of a supply bill. PCO’s role is to provide information on the bills presented for Royal Assent and to answer any factual questions relating to the bill that the Governor General may pose. It is not necessary for the Prime Minister or you to attend.

Annex E: Managing debate (including procedural tools)

The Standing Orders provide the Government with procedural tools that can be used to limit debate on Government business. In a minority context, support from at least one opposition party is necessary to use these tools.

One of the fundamental principles of parliamentary procedure is that debate in the House must lead to a decision within a reasonable period of time.

The Standing Orders set out the maximum duration of debate of some House business (e.g. Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne, Budget debate, Private Member’s Business, concurrence motions on committee reports). However, the Standing Orders do not limit the duration of debate of Government bills or Government motions.

In practice, the amount of time needed for debate of Government legislation and motions is negotiated between House leaders.

When there is no agreement on what constitutes a reasonable amount of time for debate, there are two procedural tools available to the Government to limit debate and keep its agenda on track: closure and time allocation. 

The use of closure and time allocation is normally criticized by the opposition because it limits the opportunity for their members to participate in debate on Government business.

Closure and time allocation are used less frequently by minority governments. In a minority context, the Government must secure the support of at least one opposition party to adopt time allocation and closure motions. Getting the support of at least one party to use time allocation generally occurs after substantial debate has already occurred on an item.

In the 43^rd Parliament, there was agreement to use curtailment motions to advance Government legislation such as Bill C-7, medical assistance in dying; Bill C-10, Broadcasting Act amendments; Bill C-12, net-zero emissions; and, Bill C-29, Port of Montreal labour legislation.

Legislation and House Planning, Privy Council Office (PCO) officials are available to support you on the use of curtailment motions and any other tools for bringing motions to a vote in the House.

Closure

Closure is set out in Standing Order 57. Closure is a procedural tool that brings debate on a question (motion) to an end by a majority decision of the House even if there are members who wish to continue speaking on the matter. It requires that the House decide on the question at the end of the sitting in which the closure motion is adopted.

Notice for a closure motion may be given orally only by a minister and only after debate has begun on the question. The motion can then be moved by a minister at any future sitting of the House.

A closure motion is not debatable or amendable. Once the closure motion is moved, Standing Order 67.1 provides for a question and answer period of not more than 30 minutes to allow members to question a minister on the use of closure. Immediately afterward, the House votes on the closure motion.

After a closure motion is adopted, debate on the question cannot be adjourned and the question for the closured motion must be put no later than 8:00 p.m. or soon thereafter if a member is bringing his or her speech to a close at that time.

Time allocation

Time allocation is set out in Standing Order 78. Time allocation provides for a specific amount of time (in days or hours) to be allocated for the consideration of one or more stages of a public bill. 

Standing Order 78 provides three models for time allocation that correspond to the degree of agreement among all parties to allocate time. This section outlines the model in Standing Order 78(3) where there is neither all-party nor majority party agreement for the measure.

Notice for time allocation under Standing Order 78(3) must be given orally only by a minister and only after debate has begun on the stage of the bill to which the time allocation motion is to apply. The time allocation motion can then be moved by a minister at any future sitting of the House.

The time allocation motion must specify the sitting days or hours being allocated for debate. The minimum number of hours is five, which is the average length of a sitting in a week.

A time allocation motion is not debatable or amendable. Once the time allocation motion is moved under Standing Order 78(3), Standing Order 67.1 provides for a question and answer period of not more than 30 minutes to allow Members to question a minister on the use of time allocation. After the question and answer period, the House votes on the time allocation motion.

After a time allocation motion is adopted, debate on the bill becomes subject to the time limits imposed by the motion.

Annex F: Ways and means motions and royal recommendations

Legislation that increases taxation or that proposes new and distinct spending must satisfy specific procedural requirements under the Standing Orders.

The Legislation and House Planning Secretariat, Privy Council Office (PCO) will ensure that these requirements are met and that you and your office are regularly briefed on these matters.

Ways and means motions

There are two categories of ways and means motions.

• The first category relates to the presentation of the budget. The motion proposes that the House approve in general the budgetary policy of the Government. It is this motion that becomes subject to an amendment and a subamendment which are voted on Day 2 (subamendment), Day 3 (amendment) and Day 4 (main motion) of the four days of debate set aside for the consideration of the Budget.
• The second category seeks the House’s approval to consider specific tax changes that either propose a new tax, maintain an expiring tax, increase a tax or extends the application of a tax to a new class of taxpayer.

A bill that increases taxation must be proceeded by the adoption of a ways and means motion which may only be proposed by a minister.

The adoption of a ways and means motion stands as an order of the House to bring in a bill based on the provisions of the motion, provided that notice requirements for the bill have been met.

The PCO Secretariat works closely with the Department of Finance on the timing and content of ways and means motions.

Royal Recommendations

Two types of bills require a Royal Recommendation: appropriation acts that authorize charges against the Consolidated Revenue Fund and bills that authorize new and distinct charges not anticipated in an existing statute.

Bills that establish new programs, government bodies or public office holders require a Royal Recommendation as they propose new and distinct spending.

A Royal Recommendation fixes the maximum allowable charge, its objects, purposes, conditions and qualifications. A new Royal Recommendation is required where the authorization to spend is altered or increased.

A Royal Recommendation can only be provided by the Governor General on the advice of a minister. Governments generally submit a Royal Recommendation when giving notice for a bill. However, a Royal Recommendation can be provided at any point before a vote at third reading in the House.

An amendment that proposes new and distinct spending or that alters an authorization to spend requires a Royal Recommendation and can only be moved at report stage in the House, since ministers do not sit on committees.

A bill or amendment that requires a Royal Recommendation cannot be introduced or moved in the Senate, unless the bill includes a non-appropriation clause.

A Royal Recommendation is not required for a bill that includes a non-appropriation clause, which specifies that the bill cannot be brought into force until a separate appropriation is adopted. The actual appropriation would follow in a supply bill that is accompanied by a Royal Recommendation.

In the 43^rd Parliament, the Government used a non-appropriation clause to introduce Bill S-4, Parliament of Canada Act in the Senate.

• The PCO Secretariat identifies Government bills and amendments that require a Royal Recommendation and obtains the Royal Recommendation from the Governor General on your behalf.

Financial limitations on Private Members’ and Senate Public Bills

A Private Member’s Bill cannot increase taxation, as it would need to be preceded by the adoption of a ways and means motion. In such cases, the Speaker rules the bill to be inadmissible and it is ordered dropped from the Order Paper. The sponsor is able to substitute a new item.

A Private Member’s Bill that proposes new and distinct spending requires a Royal Recommendation. If the Government does not provide a Royal Recommendation before the vote at third reading, the Speaker will not put the question and will order that the bill will be dropped from the Order Paper.

Senate Public Bills with a non-appropriation clause have frequently been introduced and, in some cases, passed. Private Members’ and Senate Public Bills with a non-appropriation clause can be voted on at third reading in the House, since a non-appropriation clause disclaims authorization by Parliament to expend public funds for the purposes of the bill and the government would need to bring in an appropriation bill accompanied by a Royal Recommendation to effect the expenditure.

The PCO Secretariat will identify Private Members’ Bills and Senate Public Bills that may be inadmissible based on financial limitations and support you in making interventions in the House.

Annex G: Private Members' business

Recommended process

In advance of the establishment or replenishment of the Order of Precedence, your office would contact caucus members whose names will be added to the Order of Precedence to ensure that they are engaging the appropriate minister.

Where feasible, ministers, supported by their departments, would provide feedback to mitigate potential flaws while maintaining the policy objective.

Similar engagement could be undertaken with opposition members who wish to work collaboratively with the Government on their item.

As bills and motions are selected for the Order of Precedence, you would identify a lead minister responsible for proposing a Government position and strategy to Cabinet and for implementing that strategy in Parliament.

Activities to identify problematic items and develop a strategy to manage them would begin once the Order of Precedence is established or replenished, to allow departments to address these concerns in the lead Minister’s Memorandum to Cabinet.

Typically, problematic items fall into three categories: bills and motions that conflict with the Government’s agenda, have majority support despite the Government’s opposition, or raise sensitive issues that could divide caucus.

Once leads are identified, the Legislation and House Planning Secretariat, Privy Council Office (PCO) would task departments with a position paper that summarizes the item and outlines the minister’s proposed position and rationale. The position paper would be due a week after leads are identified.

At the same time, the PCO Secretariat would provide you a written briefing on problematic items to support you in discussing the new bills and motions with the appropriate Cabinet committee. The discussion would allow the committee to begin considering how problematic items can be managed, and inform the scheduling of MCs.

Your office would schedule bill review meetings with lead ministers to discuss challenges in implementing the strategy to ensure that the Minister’s proposed approach is reasonable and achievable. The PCO Secretariat would provide a bill review note to support your participation at the meeting.

The PCO Secretariat will provide you advice to support the Subcommittee on Private Members’ Business decision-making on votability. To be designated votable, an item must not violate the Constitution, must fall within federal jurisdiction, and must not be similar to an item already voted on by the House of Commons in the current session of Parliament or similar to an item already on the Order Paper or Notice Paper.  

Memorandum to Cabinet

As the MC is prepared, ministers would consult caucus, opposition critics and key stakeholders for their views on the bill or motion in order to inform the Government’s position and strategy. This engagement should shape the options proposed in the MC and the parliamentary and communications strategies.

For example, if there appeared to be sufficient support among caucus and opposition parties to pass a bill that the minister wished to oppose, the MC could include an alternate option to support the bill with amendments to mitigate the most problematic elements of the bill. Legislation and House Planning analysts will work with other parts of PCO and implicated departments to ensure that Memoranda to Cabinet present achievable options.

Cabinet approval is not required for items that propose tax changes. The Minister of Finance has authority to decide a position on tax policy in consultation with the Prime Minister. However, the minister would present and discuss her position and strategy to the appropriate Cabinet committee. 

[ * ]

Legislation and House Planning Secretariat (PCO) will support your participation in Cabinet and Cabinet committee discussions on PMB items, and identify unresolved issues as necessary.

Annex H: Parliamentary Returns

House of Commons

Written questions

Written questions are placed on the Order Paper by members of parliament to seek detailed, lengthy or technical information from the Government relating to public affairs.

The Standing Orders governing written questions are set out to:

1. provide a limit of four questions per member on the Order Paper at any one time;
2. permit member to request that the Government provide a response within 45 days; and
3. provide the Clerk of the House with the authority to ensure that questions placed on the Notice Paper are coherent and concise.

In the House of Commons, there has been a continual increase in the number of written questions submitted. In the 38^th Parliament, there was an average of 1.6 questions placed on the Order Paper per sitting day and in the 39^th, there was an average of 2.2 questions. Over the course of the 40^th, 41^st and 42^nd Parliaments, the number of written questions increased to an average of 5.6 per sitting day.

In the 43^rd Parliament, the average number jumped to 8.5 questions per sitting day.

There has also been a comparable increase in the complexity of questions being asked, requiring more time to prepare a comprehensive response. 

Petitions

Petitions are typically used to draw Parliament's attention to an issue of public interest or concern, or to request that the government take a certain action within its authority.

• As petitioners are not permitted to address the House of Commons directly, groups and individuals wishing to present petitions must enlist the aid of an member to have their petitions certified and presented.
• All petitions require a response within 45 calendar days. If the House of Commons is not sitting on the 45^th calendar day, the response must be tabled at the next sitting of the House.

As of the 43^rd Parliament, all petitions, both paper and electronic, are available for viewing on the Parliament of Canada website.

The average number of petitions per sitting day has been overall consistent. Legislation and House Planning, Privy Council Office (PCO) observed that in the 41^st Parliament the number of petitions per sitting day had increased significantly. Various factors can influence the number of petitions received including emerging issues, causing repeated petitions.

Notices of Motions for the Production of Papers

Notices of Motions for the Production of Papers are requests by members for the Government to produce and table certain documents.

They do not have a fixed deadline but can be called for debate. If the motion is adopted, it becomes an Order of the House that the documents be produced.

Senate

Written questions

Senate written questions are placed on the Order Paper by senators to seek detailed, lengthy or technical information from the Government relating to public affairs.

From the 38^th to the 43^rd Parliament, the average number of new written questions per sitting day increased from 0.4 to 3.1.

• While responses to Senate written questions do not have a set deadline, they should be submitted to PCO within a reasonable time (usually 35 calendar days). The government aims to table these within 45 calendar days. Responses are tabled by the Government Representative in the Senate.
• There is no limit to the number of written questions a senator can submit.

Senate Delayed Answers (SDA)

Oral questions in the Senate can be taken on notice by the Government Representative in the Senate and a written response can be provided at a later time.

• Presently, there are no provisions within Senate rules that provide specified tabling requirements. However, they should be submitted to PCO within 20 days as the government aims to table Senate Delayed Answers in the Senate within 30 calendar days.

As of the 42^nd Parliament, Legislation and House Planning’s (PCO) Office for the Coordination of Parliamentary Returns was given responsibility to administer the Senate delayed answers process in collaboration with the Government representative in the Senate. Since then, the average number has been 2.3 questions per sitting day. 

Annex I: Key procedural resources

Standing Orders of the House of Commons

The Standing Orders are the permanent written rules under which the House of Commons regulates its proceedings. The Conflict of Interest Code for Members and the Code of Conduct for Members of the House of Commons: Sexual Harassment Between Members, are appendices.

Annotated Standing Order of the House of Commons, 2005 Edition

This document provides commentary and historical information on each Standing Order.

House of Commons Procedure and Practice, Third Edition, 2017

The key procedural authority, this contains complete descriptions of the rules, practices and precedents developed and established since Confederation in 1867.