Editing Question Period (section)

===Rules===
Question Period has a reputation for being quite chaotic due to the commonplace [[Street harassment|cat-calling]] and jeering from non-participating MPs, but notwithstanding the heckling, Question Period is actually tightly regulated. Parties are only allowed to ask a predetermined number of questions based on the size of their [[caucus]] and must ask their questions in a specific order, predetermined by their [[Party Leader|party leadership]] for that day on a list given to the Speaker.

Questions and responses are all timed as well, to prevent excessive speeches, and the Speaker of the House can cut the microphones of members speaking after the specified time has elapsed. The parties may negotiate a maximum time limit for each question and answer; currently, this limit is 35 seconds for each.

As with other parliamentary procedures in the House, members of opposition parties must place questions through the Speaker, addressing them only indirectly to the minister responsible for the issue at hand. When asking questions, members address the Speaker as "Mr. Speaker" or "Madam Speaker" (''"Monsieur le président"'' or ''"Madame la présidente"'' in [[French language|French]]). There is no obligation for the minister referred to in the question to respond, and often the minister's [[parliamentary secretary]] or a fellow cabinet member will rise to answer the question. This is particularly true when the minister addressed is not present in the House during Question Period, and arguably occurs most often when the Prime Minister is addressed on a specific issue, for which one of his ministers has more information.

Members are also not allowed to rise on [[Point of order|Points of Order]] during Question Period and must first wait until Question Period has ended to raise them to the speaker.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.ourcommons.ca/procedure/procedure-and-practice-3/index-e.html |title=House of Commons Procedure and Practice |year=2017 |editor-last=Gagnon |editor-first=André |edition=3rd |chapter=Chapter 13: Rules of Order and Decorum |editor-last2=Bosc |editor-first2=Mark |chapter-url=https://www.ourcommons.ca/procedure/procedure-and-practice-3/ch_13-e.html}}</ref>