Question Period

Question Period (French: période des questions), known officially as Oral Questions (French: questions orales) occurs each sitting day in the House of Commons of Canada. 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.”

At the Legislative Assembly of Ontario (as well as in several other provinces) questions raised are referred as Oral Questions. In Quebec the QNA term is Oral Questions and Answers.

The first oral question occurred during the 1st Canadian Parliament, 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.

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 Canada".

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