Question Period
Encyclopedia
Question Period, known officially as Oral Questions occurs each sitting day in the Canadian House of Commons
. According to the House of Commons
Compendium, “The primary purpose of Question Period is to seek information from the Government and to call it to account for its actions.”
, before rules had been established providing for formal questions. According to the record of debates for November 29, 1867, a question was posed to Chairman of the Printing Committee before Orders of the Day were called.
In the absence of formal rules, the Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada exerted great control over form, nature, and admissibility of questions. The first codification of formal rules to govern Question Period occurred in April 1964, and subsequent rule changes have been adopted; however, the opinion of the Speaker carries the most weight, as the actions of the Speaker set precedents when a new Point of Order
or questions arises about practices during Question Period.
For a detailed discussion, see Robert Marleau
and Camille Montpetit’s House of Commons Procedure and Practice.
".
Questions may be posed to either the Prime Minister
, or any Minister
of the Cabinet of Canada
, who will answer the question unless the Speaker rejects the question under established rules or accepted custom. For example, although it is not codified, questions on current legal matters before the courts are not acceptable questions.
to ask the lead question. It is possible for the question to be asked by a designee of the Leader of the Opposition, yet this Member of Parliament
must be a member of the Official Opposition
. Following the answer to the lead question, the lead questioner has two more questions permitted, referred to as supplementary questions. These questions may be asked by the same Member of Parliament to follow up on the answer provided to the lead question, or they may be given to another member of the Official Opposition.
When the Official Opposition has exhausted its initial three questions, the lead questioners of the other officially-recognized opposition parties are permitted an initial question and one supplementary question each, in order of size. Given the composition of the current 41st Canadian Parliament
, once the Official Opposition, the New Democratic Party
, is finished, the next question comes from the only other officially-recognized opposition party, the Liberal Party
.
Throughout the remainder of Question Period, Members of officially recognized parties ask questions in rotation based upon party representation in the House. Members of the governing party may occasionally pose a question to one of their own. Members of political parties not officially recognized in the House and independent Members may also be recognized to ask questions, though not as often as Members of officially-recognized opposition parties. Ministers and
Parliamentary Secretaries do not ask questions.
, and must ask their questions in a specific order, predetermined by their party leadership
for that day on a list given to the Speaker.
Questions and responses are all timed as well, in order to prevent excessive speeches, and the Speaker of the House has the ability to cut the microphones of members speaking after the specified time has elapsed. The parties may negotiate a maximum time limit for each question and answer; currently this limit is 35 seconds for each.
As with other parliamentary procedures in the House, members of opposition parties must place questions through the Speaker, addressing them only indirectly to the minister responsible for the issue at hand. Furthermore, there is no obligation for the minister addressed in the question to actually respond, and often the minister's parliamentary secretary
or a fellow cabinet member will rise to answer the question. This is particularly true when the minister addressed is not actually present in the House during Question Period, and arguably occurs most often when the Prime Minister is addressed on a specific issue for which one of his ministers has more information.
, Question Period is bilingual. Questions may be posed in either English
or French
and responses may be in either official language
. Although English was the primary language in parliament in its early days, French is now spoken somewhat more than English. It is also common, as in most other phases of Commons debate, for some MPs to switch between English and French in the midst of a question. This is likely because of improved respect for official bilingualism among most federal parties and the Quebec-based Bloc Québécois
' policy to speak only French on the Commons floor. Simultaneous interpretation is provided on English and French broadcasts of Question Period, on many news networks, as well as the Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC). Transcripts of Question Period are published in both official languages in the Canadian Hansard
, as with any other proceedings in the House of Commons and its committees.
There is no guarantee that the answer will be provided in the same language as the question, and a Member relying on the simultaneous interpretation may respond to something differing slightly from the actual question asked. For the most part, bilingual Members respond to the question in the language in which it was asked.
The simultaneous translation provided to Members in the Chamber as well as visitors in the gallery is also available over the internet on either the website of the Parliament of Canada
, or through services such as CPAC.
Question Period in Canada
is similar to the Prime Minister's Questions
practice of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
; however it is important to note that the Canadian version occurs daily as opposed to weekly, runs 45 minutes instead of 30 and questions may be asked to any cabinet member, not just the Prime Minister.
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
. According to the House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
Compendium, “The primary purpose of Question Period is to seek information from the Government and to call it to account for its actions.”
History
The first oral question occurred during the 1st Canadian Parliament1st Canadian Parliament
The 1st Canadian Parliament was in session from November 6, 1867 until July 8, 1872. The membership was set by the 1867 federal election from August 7 to September 20, 1867, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections until it was prorogued prior to the 1872 election.It was...
, before rules had been established providing for formal questions. According to the record of debates for November 29, 1867, a question was posed to Chairman of the Printing Committee before Orders of the Day were called.
In the absence of formal rules, the Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada exerted great control over form, nature, and admissibility of questions. The first codification of formal rules to govern Question Period occurred in April 1964, and subsequent rule changes have been adopted; however, the opinion of the Speaker carries the most weight, as the actions of the Speaker set precedents when a new Point of Order
Point of order
A point of order is a matter raised during consideration of a motion concerning the rules of parliamentary procedure.-Explanation and uses:A point of order may be raised if the rules appear to have been broken. This may interrupt a speaker during debate, or anything else if the breach of the rules...
or questions arises about practices during Question Period.
For a detailed discussion, see Robert Marleau
Robert Marleau
Robert Marleau is a former Canadian federal public servant and Information Commissioner of Canada.Beginning in 1970, Marleau served 31 years in the Parliament of Canada, 13 of which were as the Clerk of the House of Commons from July 1987 to July 2000....
and Camille Montpetit’s House of Commons Procedure and Practice.
Current practice
Question Period lasts 45 minutes pursuant to Standing Order 30(5), beginning no later than 2:15 pm or 11:15 am, as the case may be. Typically, 2:15 pm is the start time for Question Period Monday through Thursday, with Question Period starting at 11:15 on Fridays. On Wednesday, Question Period starts slightly after 2:15 due to the 2:00 pm singing of the National Anthem, "O CanadaO Canada
It has been noted that the opening theme of "O Canada" bears a strong resemblance to the "Marsch der Priester" , from the opera Die Zauberflöte , composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and that Lavallée's melody was inspired by Mozart's tune...
".
Questions may be posed to either the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
, or any Minister
Minister (government)
A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....
of the Cabinet of Canada
Cabinet of Canada
The Cabinet of Canada is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada...
, who will answer the question unless the Speaker rejects the question under established rules or accepted custom. For example, although it is not codified, questions on current legal matters before the courts are not acceptable questions.
Format
At the start of a typical Question Period, the Speaker recognizes the Leader of the OppositionLeader of the Opposition (Canada)
The Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition , or simply the Leader of the Opposition is the leader of Canada's Official Opposition, the party with the most seats in the House of Commons that is not a member of the government...
to ask the lead question. It is possible for the question to be asked by a designee of the Leader of the Opposition, yet this Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
must be a member of the Official Opposition
Official Opposition (Canada)
In Canada, Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition , commonly known as the Official Opposition, is usually the largest parliamentary opposition party in the House of Commons or a provincial legislative assembly that is not in government, either on its own or as part of a governing coalition...
. Following the answer to the lead question, the lead questioner has two more questions permitted, referred to as supplementary questions. These questions may be asked by the same Member of Parliament to follow up on the answer provided to the lead question, or they may be given to another member of the Official Opposition.
When the Official Opposition has exhausted its initial three questions, the lead questioners of the other officially-recognized opposition parties are permitted an initial question and one supplementary question each, in order of size. Given the composition of the current 41st Canadian Parliament
41st Canadian Parliament
The 41st Canadian Parliament is the current Parliament of Canada, with the membership of its House of Commons having been determined by the results of the 2011 federal election held on May 2, 2011...
, once the Official Opposition, the New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
, is finished, the next question comes from the only other officially-recognized opposition party, the Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
.
Throughout the remainder of Question Period, Members of officially recognized parties ask questions in rotation based upon party representation in the House. Members of the governing party may occasionally pose a question to one of their own. Members of political parties not officially recognized in the House and independent Members may also be recognized to ask questions, though not as often as Members of officially-recognized opposition parties. Ministers and
Parliamentary Secretaries do not ask questions.
Rules
Question Period has a reputation for being quite chaotic due to the commonplace cat-calling and jeering from non-participating MPs, but notwithstanding the heckling, Question Period is actually tightly-regulated. Parties are only allowed to ask a predetermined number of questions based on the size of their caucusCaucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...
, and must ask their questions in a specific order, predetermined by their party leadership
Party leader
In politics, the party leader is the most powerful official within a political party.The party leader is typically responsible for managing the party's relationship with the general public. As such, he or she will take a leading role in developing and communicating party policy, especially election...
for that day on a list given to the Speaker.
Questions and responses are all timed as well, in order to prevent excessive speeches, and the Speaker of the House has the ability to cut the microphones of members speaking after the specified time has elapsed. The parties may negotiate a maximum time limit for each question and answer; currently this limit is 35 seconds for each.
As with other parliamentary procedures in the House, members of opposition parties must place questions through the Speaker, addressing them only indirectly to the minister responsible for the issue at hand. Furthermore, there is no obligation for the minister addressed in the question to actually respond, and often the minister's parliamentary secretary
Parliamentary Secretary
A Parliamentary Secretary is a member of a Parliament in the Westminster system who assists a more senior minister with his or her duties.In the parliamentary systems of several Commonwealth countries, such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, it is customary for the prime minister to...
or a fellow cabinet member will rise to answer the question. This is particularly true when the minister addressed is not actually present in the House during Question Period, and arguably occurs most often when the Prime Minister is addressed on a specific issue for which one of his ministers has more information.
Bilingual nature
Reflecting the nature of Bilingualism in CanadaBilingualism in Canada
The official languages of Canada are English and French, which "have equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the Parliament and Government of Canada" according to Canada's constitution...
, Question Period is bilingual. Questions may be posed in either English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
or French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and responses may be in either official language
Official language
An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. However, official status can also be used to give a...
. Although English was the primary language in parliament in its early days, French is now spoken somewhat more than English. It is also common, as in most other phases of Commons debate, for some MPs to switch between English and French in the midst of a question. This is likely because of improved respect for official bilingualism among most federal parties and the Quebec-based Bloc Québécois
Bloc Québécois
The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...
' policy to speak only French on the Commons floor. Simultaneous interpretation is provided on English and French broadcasts of Question Period, on many news networks, as well as the Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC). Transcripts of Question Period are published in both official languages in the Canadian Hansard
Hansard
Hansard is the name of the printed transcripts of parliamentary debates in the Westminster system of government. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard, an early printer and publisher of these transcripts.-Origins:...
, as with any other proceedings in the House of Commons and its committees.
There is no guarantee that the answer will be provided in the same language as the question, and a Member relying on the simultaneous interpretation may respond to something differing slightly from the actual question asked. For the most part, bilingual Members respond to the question in the language in which it was asked.
The simultaneous translation provided to Members in the Chamber as well as visitors in the gallery is also available over the internet on either the website of the Parliament of Canada
Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her governor general—the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and...
, or through services such as CPAC.
Additional notes
Each of the provincial legislatures also conducts its own form of question period.Question Period in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
is similar to the Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime minister's questions is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom that takes place every Wednesday during which the prime minister spends half an hour answering questions from members of parliament...
practice of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
; however it is important to note that the Canadian version occurs daily as opposed to weekly, runs 45 minutes instead of 30 and questions may be asked to any cabinet member, not just the Prime Minister.
See also
- Prime Minister's QuestionsPrime Minister's QuestionsPrime minister's questions is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom that takes place every Wednesday during which the prime minister spends half an hour answering questions from members of parliament...
in the British House of CommonsBritish House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members... - Question HourQuestion HourQuestion Hour is the first hour of a sitting session of India's Lok Sabha devoted to questions that Members of Parliament raise about any aspect of administrative activity. The concerned Minister is obliged to answer to the Parliament, either orally or in writing, depending on the type of question...
in the Lok SabhaLok SabhaThe Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India... - Question TimeQuestion TimeQuestion time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers , which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be cancelled in exceptional circumstances...
in the Parliament of AustraliaParliament of AustraliaThe Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, largely modelled in the Westminster tradition, but with some influences from the United States Congress... - Question and Answer SessionQuestion TimeQuestion time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers , which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be cancelled in exceptional circumstances...
in Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour... - Question Period, a Canadian political news series on CTVCTV television networkCTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
which takes its name from this practice.
External links
- CPAC, Canada's parliamentary channel; broadcasts Question Period online.
- Parliament of Canada Compendium article on Question Period
- Chapter on Questions from House of Commons Procedure and Practice by Robert Marleau and Camille Montpetit