By the Book: Official Rules

Reference Library

CRTO Schedule B of By-Law 2 RULES OF ORDER OF THE COUNCIL AND COMMITTEES

These rules govern the order and procedure of Council and Committees. Unless otherwise specified, they take precedence over Robert's Rules. Click on any rule below to see the exact wording.

Rule 1.01 How to get the floor

"When any Council or Committee Member wishes to speak, they shall so indicate by raising their hand, and shall address the presiding officer and confine themself to the question under discussion."

Rule 1.02 Recognizing a speaker

"When two (2) or more Council or Committee Members raise their hand to speak, the presiding officer shall call upon one Member to speak first."

Rule 1.03 No interrupting

"No Council or Committee Member, shall interrupt another Council or Committee Member except to raise a point of order. The interrupting Council or Committee Member shall confine themself strictly to the point of order."

Rule 1.04 What happens if you break the rules

"Any Council or Committee Member in speaking or otherwise who transgresses these rules, if called to order either by the presiding officer or on a point raised by another Council or Committee Member, shall immediately cease speaking while the point is being stated, after which they may explain and shall then obey the decision of the presiding officer."

Rule 1.05 The "Speak Once" rule

"A Council or Committee Member may speak only once upon any question, except:

a) in explanation of a material point of their speech which may have been misquoted or misunderstood, but then they are not to introduce any new matter or argument;
b) the proposer of a substantive motion, who shall be allowed a reply which shall close the debate, or
c) with the permission of the presiding officer."

Rule 1.06 The 7-minute limit

"No Council or Committee Member may speak longer than seven (7) minutes upon any question except with the permission of the presiding officer."

Rule 1.07 Splitting a complex question

"When the question under discussion contains distinct propositions, any Council or Committee Member may require the vote upon each proposition to be taken separately."

Rule 1.08 Stopping debate for the vote

"When the presiding officer puts the question, no Council or Committee Member shall enter or leave the chamber, and no further debate is permitted."

Rule 1.09 The 6-month rule

"Any question when once decided by the Council or Committee Members shall not be reintroduced within six (6) months except by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the members in attendance."

Rule 1.10 Moving and seconding before debate

"All motions shall be recorded and seconded, before being debated. When a motion is seconded, it may be re-read by the presiding officer or their designate. When the question under discussion has not been printed and distributed, any Council or Committee Member may require it to be at any time during the debate, but not so as to interrupt a member while speaking."

Rule 1.11 Withdrawing a motion

"A Council or Committee Member who has made a motion may withdraw the same without the permission of the seconder or the consent of the Council or Committee. Rule 1.10 does not prevent another Council or Committee Member from making the same motion."

Rule 1.12 Chair's role in keeping order

"The presiding officer shall preserve order and decorum, and shall decide questions of order, subject to an appeal to the Council or Committee without debate. In explaining a point of order or practice, they shall state the rule or authority applicable to the case."

Rule 1.13 Permitted secondary motions

"When a question is under debate, no motion is received except to amend it, to postpone it (which may be indefinitely or to a day or time certain), to put the question, to adjourn the debate, to adjourn the meeting, or to refer the question to a Committee."

Rule 1.14 Voting on amendments first

"A motion to amend the main question shall be disposed of before the main question is decided and, where there is more than one motion to amend, they shall be decided in the reverse order to which they were made."

Rule 1.15 Ruling a motion out of order

"Whenever the presiding officer is of the opinion that a motion offered to the Council or Committee is contrary to these rules or the By-Law, they shall apprise the Council or Committee thereof."

Robert's Rules of Order (RONR) Newly Revised (12th Edition)

When the CRTO By-Laws are silent, decision-making falls back to Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (12th Edition). These are the most common rules you'll need.

RONR 41:32 Consent Agenda

What it is: Also called the "Consent Calendar" in Robert's Rules. This allows an assembly to group routine or non-controversial matters together to be adopted without debate.

"If any single member objects to considering a matter on the consent calendar, it is automatically removed from the consent calendar and placed on the regular agenda for consideration."

RONR 12:6-7 Germane Amendments

What it is: You cannot use an amendment to introduce a completely unrelated topic. An amendment must involve the same question that is raised by the motion to which it is applied.

Three Ways to Amend (Rule 12:7):

Insert or Add words.
Strike out words.
Strike out and Insert (Substitution).

"An amendment must be germane to be in order. To be germane, an amendment must in some way involve the same question that is raised by the motion to which it is applied."

RONR 10:9 In Principle and Other Vague Motions

What it is: An "In Principle" motion is often too vague to be actionable. This rule ensures the assembly only votes on actionable business.

"A motion whose only effect is to propose that the assembly express its opinion or 'agree in principle' without proposing any specific action... is generally out of order because it is vague or fails to propose a specific action."

RONR 23 Point of Order

What it is: Used when a member believes the rules are being broken. The member raises the issue promptly, and the Chair rules on the point.

"A point of order is a demand that the rules be enforced and that a breach of order or a violation of the rules be corrected."

RONR 19 Question of Privilege

What it is: Used when comfort, safety, audibility, or other conditions affect the assembly's ability to function. In plain teaching language, this is often called a point of privilege.

"Questions of privilege are urgent matters affecting the rights and privileges of the assembly or of an individual member."

RONR 33 Request for Information

What it is: A request for factual information relevant to the business before the assembly. It is for clarification, not debate or argument.

"A request for information is a request directed to the chair, or through the chair to another officer or member, for information relevant to the business at hand."

RONR 4:58 Unanimous Consent

What it is: Used for routine business. The Chair can often act without a formal vote to save time if no one objects.

"In cases where there seems to be no opposition in routine business or on questions of little importance, time can often be saved by the procedure of unanimous consent, or as it is also called, general consent. The action is taken by the chair's stating that, 'If there is no objection...'"