Garry Breitkreuz, M.P. Yorkton-Melville

News Release

Speaker's Ruling Denies M.P.'s Rights for the 4th Time in a Row
"Political parties should not control M.P.s’ rights and privileges in Parliament."

For Immediate Delivery

November 27, 1997

Ottawa -- Today, Garry Breitkreuz, M.P. for Yorkton-Melville, expressed his disappointment with the Speaker’s ruling against the Question of Privilege he raised in the House of Commons on October 21, 1997. "This is the fourth Question of Privilege on this important issue that the Speaker has ruled against in the last month," reported Breitkreuz. "Members of Parliament are being treated like second class citizens with few, if any, individual rights. The Speaker’s ruling suggests that our rights to legal advice and assistance in the House are a consequence of the political party we belong to," said Breitkreuz. "I commend the Speaker for temporarily reinstating lawyers from Legislative Counsel to draft our amendments and private member’s bills. However, I take great exception to his opinion that each Member’s right to have confidential, independent, expert, legal advice is simply a basic administrative issue."

Speaker Gib Parent put on hold a unilateral decision by House of Commons bureaucrats to have procedural clerks, rather than lawyers, draft Member’s amendments to government bills. But the Speaker failed to address the main point raised in Breitkreuz’ intervention that only the Members of the House of Commons can change the rules of the House. "We found out about this change in a leaked internal memorandum. What other things are they smoking by M.P.s that we never find out about?" asked Breitkreuz. The Speaker also failed to rule on a question of privilege regarding a breach of solicitor-client confidentiality when Roger Gallaway’s (MP for Sarnia-Lampton) private member’s bill was sent to the University of Ottawa legislative drafting school. "The government has lawyers to draft their amendments and bills, individual M.P.s and their constituents deserve nothing less. We need a permanent solution, not a temporary one. This is a decision for M.P.s to make in the House of Commons, not by party officials behind closed doors."

"Once elected, M.P.s have certain fundamental rights and privileges established in common law and centuries of parliamentary tradition. We not only represent those citizens who voted for us but everyone who lives in our riding," said Brietkreuz. "I maintained in my Question of Privilege that Members of Parliament have a right to make the rules under which the House of Commons operates when it comes to issues of services which are essential to fulfilling our primary duties as legislators and representing our constituents’ wishes. The Speaker ruled that the partisan-based, politically motivated Board of Internal Economy has this right. I strongly disagree," exclaimed Breitkreuz. "Party representatives may do what they think is in the best interests of their M.P.s but I have to do what’s in the best interests of my constituents. We shouldn’t have to belong to a group to have rights. As an MP I deserve to have proper support so I can properly represent all the people in my riding."

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For more information, please contact:

Garry Breitkreuz, M.P.