Speaker’s Rulings — Parliamentary Privilege—Application

I now have a ruling which I indicated that I would consider at the end of the last session. In the last sitting period and during the adjournment, members raised with me the application of parliamentary privilege to a range of activities outside of proceedings of the House. Privilege belongs to the whole House and is asserted by the House and interpreted by the courts. The Speaker does not define the extent of parliamentary privilege. However, it may be useful for me to comment on its application when members raise matters of privilege under Standing Order 402.

A significant aspect of privilege is members’ freedom of speech, as encapsulated by article 9 of the Bill of Rights 1688, which states that “The freedom of speech and debates or proceedings in Parliament ought not to be impeached or questioned in any court or place outside of Parliament.”

Another element of parliamentary privilege is the House’s right to regulate its own proceedings. What constitutes proceedings has been the subject of significant dialogue between the House and the courts. In 2014, the Parliamentary Privilege Act was passed by this House to confirm that parliamentary proceedings are “all words spoken and acts done in the course of, or for purposes of or incidental to, the transacting of the business of the House or of a committee” (section 10(1)).

Parliamentary privilege confers certain rights, responsibilities, and immunities on members in connection with proceedings of the House and its committees. Privilege does not extend to all the duties and activities of members of Parliament. For example, statements made in public, party business, and constituency business would not usually be covered by privilege unless they intersected in some way with proceedings of the House or its committees. Members may wish to refer to McGee, chapter 44, or Erskine May, chapter 15.

Clearly, parliamentary privilege does not apply to every activity that a member may undertake. When I consider matters of privilege, members will need to show that the matter they raise is one that relates to the proceedings of the House or its committees.

I will circulate this ruling and I have asked the Clerk to offer parties or individual members training on parliamentary privilege, if they so desire.