Chapter 2 - Business of the Assembly

Prayers and Daily Routine

11(1) The Speaker shall offer prayers at the start of every sitting day.

(2) The ordinary Daily Routine in the Assembly shall be as follows:

(3) On the Ministerial Statement, as listed in Standing Order 11(2), a Minister may make an announcement or statement on government policy or a matter of public interest. Such announcement or statement shall not last longer than four minutes. A member for each of the parties in opposition to the government may comment thereon for not more than four minutes and a Minister may then give a reply of not more than four minutes.

(3.1) One Ministerial Statement or Cabinet Commission Statement shall be allowed per sitting day.

(4) On the Ministerial Statement, as listed in Standing Order 11(2), a member who has been designated as a Cabinet commissioner may make an announcement or statement related to his or her Commission. Such announcement or statement shall not last longer than four minutes. A member for each of the parties in opposition to the government may comment thereon for not more than four minutes and the Cabinet commissioner may then give a reply of not more than four minutes.

(5) During Oral Question Period, a member who has been designated as a Cabinet commissioner may answer questions respecting the activities of his or her Commission.

Order of Precedence

12(1) All items standing on the Orders of the Day, except government business, shall be taken up according to their precedence on the Order Paper unless otherwise ordered. (2) When government business has precedence, that business may be called in such sequence as the government chooses. (3) A motion or bill that is under consideration at the conclusion of an order of business shall stand first on the Orders of the Day for the next sitting day at which similar motions or bills are considered.

Business not proceeded with

12.1 Subject to Standing Order 33, a motion made under the heading Motions other than Government Motions, Motions Respecting Committee Reports or Bills other than Government Bills not proceeded with when called shall, upon the request of a member, be allowed to stand on the Order Paper.

Order of Government Business

13(1) After the Daily Routine, the order of business on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday shall be as follows:

(2) When the Assembly resolves into Committee of the Whole on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, the order of business shall be as follows:

(3) A motion for concurrence in the report of a Committee may be called as government business if the Government House Leader or designate gives the Assembly at least twenty-four hours' oral notice.

Establishing the order of Private Members' Business

13.1 There are two different methods by which the order of private members' business may be established:

Order of Private Members' Business

14(1) After the Daily Routine, on the first Wednesday of a Session that private members' business is to be considered, and every second Wednesday thereafter, the order of business shall be as follows:

Opposition private members' business:

Motions Respecting Committee Reports
Government Designated Business
Government private members' business:

(2) After the Daily Routine, on the second Wednesday of a Session that private members' business is to be considered, and every second Wednesday thereafter, the order of business shall be as follows:

Government private members' business:

Government Designated Business
Motions Respecting Committee Reports
Opposition private members' business:

(3) When the Assembly resolves into Committee of the Whole on the first Wednesday of a Session that private members' business is to be considered, and every second Wednesday thereafter, the order of business shall be as follows:

Opposition private members' business:

Motions Respecting Committee Reports
Government Designated Business
Government private members' business:

(4) When the Assembly resolves into Committee of the Whole on the second Wednesday of a Session that private members' business is to be considered, and every second Wednesday thereafter, the order of business shall be as follows:

Government private members' business:

Government Designated Business
Motions Respecting Committee Reports
Opposition private members' business:

Calling Bills other than Government Bills on Wednesday

14.1(1) On the first Wednesday of a Session that private members' business is to be considered, and every second Wednesday thereafter, at 4:30 p.m., Bills other than Government Bills shall be called if there are any on the Order Paper standing in the name of Opposition private members.

(2) On the second Wednesday of a Session that private members' business is to be considered, and every second Wednesday thereafter, at 4:30 p.m., Bills other than Government Bills shall be called if there are any on the Order Paper standing in the name of Government private members.

(3) The provisions of this Standing Order do not apply if the procedures set out in Standing Order 14.2 are used to determine the order of business on Wednesdays.

Order of Private Members' Business on Wednesdays

14.2(1) The order of private members' business on Wednesdays may be determined as set out in this Standing Order.

(2) At the beginning of each Session a roster shall be established for the purpose of determining the order of business on Wednesdays when Opposition private members' business has precedence. The roster shall be set in the following manner:

(3) When Opposition private members' business has precedence, no later than the time at which the Assembly proceeds to Orders of the Day on the sitting day preceding the call of Opposition private members' business:

An item identified under this Standing Order may be chosen from any of the following headings:

(4) When Opposition private members' business has precedence, the items identified under Standing Order 14.2(3) shall be called according to the order of the roster established under Standing Order 14.2(2).

(5) After an item standing in the name of an Opposition private member has been dealt with, the position held in the roster by that member's party or group shall drop to the bottom of the roster.

(6) On Opposition private members' day, an item on which debate has not begun by 5:00 p.m. and on which debate has been adjourned, shall be called first on the next day on which Opposition private members' business is called if the item is identified pursuant to Standing Order 14.2(3); otherwise, the item shall be considered dealt with and the roster changed in the manner set out in Standing Order 14.2(5).

(7) When Government private members' business has precedence, the Government House Leader or designate, no later than the time at which the Assembly proceeds to Orders of the Day on the sitting day preceding the call of Government private members' business, may, on behalf of the Government private members, identify the order in which the items standing on the Order Paper or on the Notice Paper in the name of Government private members shall be called.

(8) An item shall be considered dealt with when it comes to a vote, when debate is adjourned, except as provided for in Standing Order 14.2(6), or when a member asks for and receives unanimous consent for it to be allowed to stand.

Unanimous consent to waive rules

14.3 The Assembly may, by unanimous consent, suspend its Standing Orders or waive procedural requirements and precedents.

Motion to Adjourn the Assembly

15 A motion to adjourn, except when made for the purpose of discussing a matter of urgent public importance, shall always be in order, but no second motion to adjourn shall be made until after some intermediate proceeding has taken place.

Matter of Urgent Public Importance

16(1) Leave to make a motion for the adjournment of the ordinary business of the Assembly to debate a matter of urgent public importance must be requested after the Daily Routine and before Orders of the Day.

(2) A member wishing to move "That the ordinary business of the Assembly be adjourned," shall give to the Speaker and House Leaders, at least two hours prior to the opening of a sitting day, a written statement of the matter proposed to be discussed and any relevant background material. If the urgent matter has not come to the attention of the member at least two hours prior to the sitting day, the member shall give the written statement to the Speaker and the House Leaders as soon as possible before the opening of the sitting day.

(3) If two or more written statements have been received pursuant to this Standing Order, the Speaker shall decide the order in which they shall be presented to the Assembly.

(4) The member requesting leave and one member from each of the other parties in the Assembly may speak to the request for not more than five minutes each.

(5) The Speaker shall then rule whether the request for leave is in order and of urgent public importance and, if the Speaker rules that the request for leave is in order and of urgent public importance, the Speaker shall ask the Assembly whether the member has the leave of the Assembly.

(6) If three or more members rise in their places, the Speaker shall call upon the member who requested leave.

(7) If fewer than three members rise in their places, the question whether the member has leave to move the adjournment of the ordinary business of the Assembly shall be put immediately, without debate or amendment.

(8) If the Assembly determines to set aside the ordinary business of the Assembly to discuss the matter of urgent public importance, each member who wishes to speak in the discussion shall be limited to fifteen minutes, and the debate will conclude

(9) If all members who wish to take part in the debate have spoken and the Assembly has not reached the normal hour of adjournment, the Assembly shall then proceed, without question put, to the Orders of the Day.

(10) A debate on a matter of urgent public importance does not entail any decision by the Assembly.

(11) The right to move the adjournment of the ordinary business of the Assembly under this Standing Order is subject to the following restrictions: