摘要：Challenging the Chair Tim Mercer Impartiality is a prime prerequisite for occupants of the Chair in Westminster style parliaments but there are some cases in Canada and in other Commonwealth jurisdictions that have resulted in famous challenges to the authority of the Speaker. The most notable of these occurred during the so-called Pipeline Debate in the House of Commons in 1956. Centered around the federal governments proposal to assist in the construction of a natural gas pipeline from Alberta to Quebec, the acrimonious and disorderly debate lasted eighteen days and produced twenty-five appeals from rulings of the Speaker and Chair of Committee of the Whole. It resulted in the first and only motion of censure, albeit unsuccessful, of a Speaker in the history of the Canadian Parliament. Although appeals have been abolished in most legislatures this article looks at other avenues open to Members when they feel the Chair has erred in his or her interpretation of the rules or, more seriously, rendered a decision based on partisan or personal interests.
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