Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, as I read into the record under reports of standing and special committees, there were a number of issues that were referred by Caucus to the Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and Privileges. Actually, there were four specific issues.
One is the rules requiring a Member to stand when speaking in the House, that they might affect a person with a physical disability.
Secondly, procedures regarding the recognition of visitors in the gallery.
Thirdly, the options paper prepared by the Chairs' Liaison Committee on the operation and accountability of standing committees.
Lastly, the recall legislation.
Review Of The Rules Regarding Standing When Speaking In The House
With regard to the first item, Mr. Chairman, on November 24, our committee received a referral from Caucus concerning the rules regarding standing as they might affect a disabled person. Some Members, at that time, felt that our rules should permit Members to remain seated if "disabled or in discomfort." Caucus also shared the concerns stated by these Members. Currently, rule 21 states: "Every Member recognized to speak shall stand in his or her place and address the Speaker." There are other rules that also require Members to stand, for instance, for recorded votes and also at the time of adjournment.
When Caucus first considered this matter, it was agreed that the Speaker should seek unanimous consent to permit a Member with a physical disability to remain seated when speaking during formal session. This was to be an interim measure pending the results of the review by our standing committee.
When we looked at this issue and examined the procedures that are used in other jurisdictions, we found that each jurisdiction handles these situations on a case-by-case basis.
During our review, our committee felt that asking for unanimous consent to waive the rules would draw attention unnecessarily to the fact that the Member is disabled. Committee Members also considered the fact that there may be a Member elected who had a permanent disability, or that a Member may suffer from an injury during the course of his or her term that might also make them unable to stand as required by our current rules. Members may not wish to bring attention to the disability and therefore, it was felt that an alternative method should be developed. Our committee agreed that Members who suffer from permanent or temporary physical disability which would require the waiving of the rules for standing, should request in writing to the Speaker their need to waive the rules which govern standing, and the Speaker, after due consideration, will indicate to the House at the first opportunity that the rules have been waived for that Member for a specified period of time.
Recommendation 1
Our committee recommended that rule 18 be amended to add:
(3) Notwithstanding rule 18(1) does not apply to rule 6(1), rule 21 and rule 61(2) if the Member has been granted approval by the Speaker to waive those rules for a specified period of time.
Mr. Chairman, so that Members could get into debate, I would like to move recommendation number one.