Government ministers remain free to speak irrelevantly

The House defeats an NDP proposal

<p>Paul Calandra, Parliamentary Secretary to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, stands in the House of Commons during question period on Parliament in Ottawa Friday, May 2, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand</p>

(Fred Chartrand/CP)

Chris Wattie/Reuters
Chris Wattie/Reuters

The NDP’s motion to impose a standard of relevancy on responses in question period has been defeated in the House by a vote of 144-132.

The government opposed the motion and, by unofficial counts, only three Conservatives voted in favour: Michael Chong, James Rajotte and Brian Storseth. Paul Calandra voted nay.