Speaker’s Rulings — Personal Reflections and Unparliamentary Language—Offensive Language in Quotations

Yesterday during question time I indicated that I would look at the use of a quotation cited by Sue Bradford that included an unparliamentary expression. There is no actual list of unparliamentary words. The Speaker must judge the context in which the expression is used and will intervene if the remark is offensive to the dignity of the House as a whole. Reflecting on this matter, I say that the remark was entirely unparliamentary, and even though it was used in the context of a quotation, it was offensive to the House. Members cannot use the device of quoting to overcome the rules of the use of unparliamentary expressions. Quotation should be free from unparliamentary language, as the members’ own speech should be.