Parliament

The Parliamentary Cycle: The Standing Orders

The Standing Orders of the House of Commons are the permanent written rules under which the House of Commons regulates its proceedings. There are currently more than 150 Standing Orders, which provide a detailed description of the rules governing the legislative process, the role of the Speaker, the parliamentary calendar and the work of committees and private Members' business among others. The Standing Orders also include, as an appendix, the Conflict of Interest Code for Members.

A change in the rules brought about by the adoption of a new Standing Order may represent the creation of a new rule reflecting a long-standing practice of the House of Commons or the permanent adoption of a provisional, sessional or special order. A rule change may also come about as the result of an incident or event that convinced the House to seek a way to avoid its repetition.

Statutory Debate on the Standing Orders

At the beginning of each Parliament, a debate must be held on the following motion: "That this House takes note of the Standing Orders and procedures of the House and its committees". This allows Members of the House of Commons at the beginning each new Parliament an opportunity to review, reflect upon and debate whether there is a need to change, delete or add to the Standing Orders of the House of Commons.
Committee Review of the Standing Orders

In addition, the permanent mandate of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs includes "the review of and report on the Standing Orders, procedure and practice in the House and its committees". The Committee can make recommendations to change the rules as part of its mandate or as the result of a specific order of reference from the House of Commons. In order for these recommended changes to take effect, the House must adopt the Committee’s report.

Over the years, several special committees have been established to review and suggest revisions to the rules and to report their recommendations to the House. The Standing Orders may also be amended either through unanimous consent of the House of Commons or the adoption of a government or private Member’s motion.

Suspension of the Standing Orders

Some Standing Orders explicitly allow the House of Commons to suspend the operation of other Standing Orders. It is also common for the House of Commons, at any given time, to set aside its rules with the unanimous consent of all Members present in order to do something which would otherwise be inconsistent with the Standing Orders. The House does this, for example, when it wants a bill to pass all stages in one day, a procedure that usually contravenes the rules.

Just as statutory provisions cannot set aside constitutional provisions, the Standing Orders cannot set aside procedural provisions enacted through statutory law, such as the Parliament of Canada Act. Only Parliament can enact or amend statutory provisions.

Annotated Standing Orders

In addition to the Standing Orders, the House of Commons publishes a related guide called the Annotated Standing Orders of the House of Commons. This document provides a focused and thorough examination of the written rules of the House of Commons. With numerous references and examples, each Standing Order is accompanied by a brief commentary explaining the current interpretation of the rule followed by an historical summary describing significant changes made to the rule since its adoption.

Provisional, Sessional and Special Orders

In addition to the permanent Standing Orders, the House of Commons may adopt other written rules for a limited period.

Provisional Standing Orders are written rules adopted for a specific period that does not correspond to the duration of a Parliament or a parliamentary session. Once adopted, they may then be extended provisionally, dropped, or eventually made permanent.

Sessional orders are intended to be temporary and remain in effect only for the duration of the session in which they are adopted. They may be renewed from session to session, and some eventually become Standing Orders.

The House of Commons may also adopt special orders for the conduct of its business. Special orders do not modify the written Standing Orders. Since they usually concern the business of the House and are often moved without notice following consultations between the political parties, special orders are usually adopted without debate by unanimous consent. They may apply to a single occasion or to a specific period. The House of Commons can adopt a special order to supersede one that was previously adopted. Some special orders eventually become Standing Orders.

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Related Links

• Standing Orders of the House of Commons