Canadian House of Commons
- List of Clerks of the Canadian House of Commons
- List of Deputy Clerks of the Canadian House of Commons
- List of Law Clerks and Parliamentary Counsel of the Canadian House of Commons
- List of Clerks Assistants of the Canadian House of Commons
- List of Sergeants-at-Arms of the Canadian House of Commons
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Procedure
Like the Senate, the House of Commons meets on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. The Commons Chamber is modestly decorated in green, in contrast with the more lavishly furnished red Senate Chamber. The arrangement is similar to the design of the Chamber of the British House of Commons. The seats are evenly divided between both sides of the Chamber, three sword-lengths apart (about three metres).[8] The Speaker's chair (which can be adjusted for height) is at the north end of the Chamber. In front of it is the Table of the House, on which rests the ceremonial mace. Various "Table Officers"—clerks and other officials—sit at the Table, ready to advise the Speaker on procedure when necessary. Members of the Government sit on the benches on the Speaker's right, while members of the Opposition occupy the benches on the Speaker's left. Government ministers sit around the Prime Minister, who is traditionally assigned the 11th seat in the front row on the Speaker's right-hand side. The leader of the Official Opposition sits directly across from the prime minister and is surrounded by a shadow cabinet, or critics for the government portfolios. The remaining party leaders sit in the front rows. Other Members of Parliament who do not hold any kind of special responsibilities are known as "backbenchers".
The House usually sits Monday to Friday from late January to mid-June and from mid-September to mid-December according to an established calendar, though it can modify the calendar if additional or fewer sittings are required.[1] During these periods, the House generally rises for one week per month to allow members to work in their constituencies. Sittings of the House are open to the public. Proceedings are broadcast over cable and satellite television and over live streaming video on the Internet by CPAC, the Cable Public Affairs Channel, owned by a consortium of Canadian cable companies. They are also recorded in text form in print and online in Hansard, the official report of parliamentary debates.
The Constitution Act, 1867 establishes a quorum of twenty members (including the member presiding) for the House of Commons. Any member may request a count of the members to ascertain the presence of a quorum; if, however, the Speaker feels that at least twenty members are clearly in the Chamber, he or she may deny the request. If a count does occur, and reveals that fewer than twenty members are present, the Speaker orders bells to be rung, so that other members on the parliamentary precincts may come to the Chamber. If, after a second count, a quorum is still not present, the Speaker must adjourn the House until the next sitting day.
During debates, members may only speak if called upon by the Speaker (or, as is most often the case, the deputy presiding). The Speaker is responsible for ensuring that members of all parties have an opportunity to be heard. The Speaker also determines who is to speak if two or more members rise simultaneously, but his or her decision may be altered by the House. Motions must be moved by one member and seconded by another before debate may begin. Some motions, however, are non-debatable.
Speeches[1] may be made in either of Canada's official languages (English and French). Members must address their speeches to the presiding officer, not the House, using the words "Mr. Speaker" ("Monsieur le Président") or "Madam Speaker" ("Madame la Présidente"). Other members must be referred to in the third person. Traditionally, Members do not refer to each other by name, but by constituency or cabinet post, using forms such as "the honourable member for [electoral district]" or "the Minister of..."
No member may speak more than once on the same question (except that the mover of a motion is entitled to make one speech at the beginning of the debate and another at the end). Moreover, tediously repetitive or irrelevant remarks are prohibited, as are written remarks read into the record (although this behaviour is creeping into modern debate). The presiding officer may order a member making such remarks to cease speaking. The Standing Orders of the House of Commons prescribe time limits for speeches. The limits depend on the nature of the motion, but are most commonly between ten and twenty minutes. However, under certain circumstances, the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Official Opposition, and others are entitled to make longer speeches. Debate may be further restricted by the passage of "time allocation" motions. Alternatively, the House may end debate more quickly by passing a motion for "closure".
When the debate concludes, the motion in question is put to a vote. The House first votes by voice vote; the presiding officer puts the question, and members respond either "yea" (in favour of the motion) or "nay" (against the motion). The presiding officer then announces the result of the voice vote, but five or more members may challenge his or her assessment, thereby forcing a recorded vote (known as a division, although, in fact, the House does not divide for votes the way the British House of Commons does). First, members in favour of the motion rise, so that the clerks may record their names and votes. Then, the same procedure is repeated for members who oppose the motion. There is no formal means for recording an abstention, though a member may informally abstain by remaining seated during the division. If there is an equality of votes, the Speaker has a casting vote.
The outcome of most votes is largely known beforehand, since political parties normally instruct members on how to vote. A party normally entrusts some Members of Parliament, known as whips, with the task of ensuring that all party members vote as desired. Members of Parliament do not tend to vote against such instructions, since those who do so are unlikely to reach higher political ranks in their parties. Errant members may be deselected as official party candidates during future elections, and, in serious cases, may be expelled from their parties outright. Thus, the independence of Members of Parliament tends to be extremely low, and "backbench rebellions" by members discontent with their party's policies are rare. In some circumstances, however, parties announce "free votes", allowing Members to vote as they please. This may be done on moral issues.
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Committees
The Parliament of Canada uses committees for a variety of purposes. Committees consider bills in detail, and may make amendments. Other committees scrutinize various Government agencies and ministries.
Potentially, the largest of the Commons committees are the Committees of the Whole, which, as the name suggests, consist of all the members of the House. A Committee of the Whole meets in the Chamber of the House, but proceeds under slightly modified rules of debate. (For example, a member may make more than one speech on a motion in a Committee of the Whole, but not during a normal session of the House.) Instead of the Speaker, the Chairman, Deputy Chairman, or Assistant Deputy Chairman presides. The House resolves itself into a Committee of the Whole to discuss appropriation bills, and sometimes for other legislation.
The House of Commons also has several standing committees, each of which has responsibility for a particular area of government (for example, finance or transport). These committees oversee the relevant government departments, may hold hearings and collect evidence on governmental operations and review departmental spending plans. Standing committees may also consider and amend bills. Standing committees consist of between sixteen and eighteen members each, and elect their own chairmen.
Some bills are considered by legislative committees, each of which consists of up to fifteen members. The membership of each legislative committee roughly reflects the strength of the parties in the whole House. A legislative committee is appointed on an ad hoc basis to study and amend a specific bill. In addition, the Chairman of a legislative committee is not elected by the members of the committee, but is instead appointed by the Speaker, normally from among his deputies. Most bills, however, are referred to standing committees rather than legislative committees.
The House may also create ad hoc committees to study matters other than bills. Such committees are known as special committees. Each such body, like a legislative committee, may consist of no more than fifteen members. Other committees include joint committees, which include both members of the House of Commons and senators; such committees may hold hearings and oversee government, but do not revise legislation.
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Legislative functions
Although legislation may be introduced in either House, most bills originate in the House of Commons.
- Further information: Act of Parliament
In conformity with the British model, the Lower House alone is authorised to originate bills imposing taxes or appropriating public funds. This restriction on the power of the Senate is not merely a matter of convention, but is explicitly stated in the Constitution Act, 1867. Otherwise, the power of the two Houses of Parliament is theoretically equal; the approval of each is necessary for a bill's passage.
In practice, however, the House of Commons is the dominant chamber of Parliament, with the Senate very rarely exercising its powers in a way that opposes the will of the democratically elected chamber. The last major bill defeated in the Senate came in 1991, when a bill passed by the Commons restricting abortion was rejected in the Upper House by a tied vote.
A clause in the Constitution Act, 1867 permits the Governor General (with the approval of the Queen) to appoint up to eight extra senators to resolve a deadlock between the two houses. The clause was invoked only once, in 1990, when Prime Minister Brian Mulroney advised the appointment of an additional eight senators in order to secure the Upper House's approval for the Goods and Services Tax.
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Relationship with the Government
Though it does not elect the Prime Minister, the House of Commons indirectly controls the premiership. By convention, the Prime Minister is answerable to, and must maintain the support of, the House of Commons. Thus, whenever the office of Prime Minister falls vacant, the Governor General is supposed to appoint the person most likely to command the support of the House—normally, the leader of the largest party in the Lower House, although the system allows a coalition of two or more parties. This has not happened in the Canadian federal parliament, but has occurred in Canadian provinces. The leader of the second-largest party usually becomes the Leader of the Official Opposition. Moreover, the Prime Minister is, by unwritten convention, a member of the House of Commons, rather than of the Senate. The only two Prime Ministers who governed from the Senate were Sir John Abbott (1891–1892) and Sir Mackenzie Bowell (1894–1896). Both men got the job following the death of a Prime Minister, and did not contest elections.
The Prime Minister may only stay in office as long as he or she retains the confidence of the House of Commons. The Lower House may indicate its lack of support for the Government by rejecting a motion of confidence, or by passing a motion of no confidence. Important bills that form a part of the Government's agenda are generally considered matters of confidence, as is any taxation or spending bill and the annual budget. When a Government has lost the confidence of the House of Commons, the Prime Minister is obliged to either resign, or request the Governor General to dissolve Parliament, thereby precipitating a general election. The Governor General may theoretically refuse to dissolve Parliament, thereby forcing the Prime Minister to resign. The last instance of a Governor General refusing to grant a dissolution was in 1926.
- Further information: King-Byng Affair
Except when compelled to request a dissolution by an adverse vote on a confidence issue, the Prime Minister is allowed to choose the timing of dissolutions, and consequently the timing of general elections. The time chosen reflects political considerations, and is generally most opportune for the Prime Minister's party. However, no parliamentary term can last for more than five years from the first sitting of Parliament; a dissolution is automatic upon the expiry of this period. Normally, Parliaments do not last for full five-year terms; Prime Ministers typically ask for dissolutions after about three or four years. The 2006 Conservative government introduced a bill to set fixed election dates every four years. This bill was approved by Parliament and has now become law.
Whatever the reason—the expiry of Parliament's five year term, the choice of the Prime Minister, or a Government defeat in the House of Commons—a dissolution is followed by general elections. If the Prime Minister's party retains its majority in the House of Commons, then the Prime Minister may remain in power. On the other hand, if his or her party has lost its majority, the prime minister may resign, or may attempt to stay in power by winning support from members of other parties. A Prime Minister may resign even if he or she is not defeated at the polls (for example, for personal health reasons); in such a case, the premiership goes to the new leader of the outgoing Prime Minister's party.
The House of Commons scrutinizes the Government through "Question Period", a daily forty-five minute period during which members have the opportunity to ask questions of the Prime Minister and of other Cabinet ministers. Questions must relate to the responding minister's official Government activities, not to his or her activities as a party leader or as a private Member of Parliament. Members may also question Committee Chairmen on the work of their respective committees. Members of each party are entitled to a number of questions proportional to the party caucus' strength in the House. In addition to questions asked orally during Question Period, Members of Parliament may also make inquiries in writing.
In times where there is a majority government, the House of Commons' scrutiny of the government is weak. Since the first-past-the-post electoral system is employed in elections, the governing party tends to enjoy a large majority in the Commons; there is often limited need to compromise with other parties. (Minority governments, however, are not uncommon.) Modern Canadian political parties are so tightly organised that they leave relatively little room for free action by their MPs. In many cases, MPs may be expelled from their parties for voting against the instructions of party leaders. As well, the major parties require candidates' nominations to be signed by party leaders, thus giving the leaders the power to, effectively, end a politician's career. Thus, defeats of majority governments on issues of confidence are very rare. Paul Martin's Liberal minority government lost a vote of no confidence in 2005; the last time this had occurred was in 1979, when Joe Clark's Tory minority government was defeated after a term of just six months.
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Current composition
- See also: Current members of the Canadian House of Commons, Party Standings in the Canadian House of Commons, and List of federal by-elections in Canada
The current composition of the House is:
| Affiliation | Members |
|
|---|---|---|
| Conservative Party | 127 | |
| Liberal Party | 96 | |
| Bloc Québécois | 48 | |
| New Democratic Party | 30 | |
| Independent |
4 | |
| Vacant |
3 | |
| Total |
308 | |
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See also
- Canadian federal election results since 1867
- Elections Canada
- List of Canadian federal parliaments
- List of Members of the Canadian House of Commons with military service
- Members of the Canadian House of Commons
- Monarchy in Canada
- 39th Canadian Parliament
- Political parties of Canada
- Party standings in the Canadian House of Commons
- Canadian Senate
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Notes
- ^ a b c d e f Guide to the Canadian House of Commons. Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication. canada. Parliament. House of Commons. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
- ^ Members of the House of Commons - Current List - By Name. Parliament of Canada. Government of Canada. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
- ^ Members of Parliament. Parliament of Canada. Government of Canada. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
- ^ Elections Canada On-Line. Electoral Insight (2006-11-21). Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
- ^ The Statute of Westminster, 1931 - History - Intergovernmental Affairs. Privy Council Office. Government of Canada (2007-09-13). Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
- ^ The Constitution Act, 1982. The Solon Law Archive. W.F.M.. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
- ^ Elections Canada (2004). Federal Representation. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
- ^ Tuesday, June 20, 1995 (222). ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS. Parliament of Canada. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
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References
- Department of Justice. (2004). Constitution Acts, 1867 to 1982.
- Dawson, W. F. (1962). Procedure in the Canadian House of Commons, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1962.
- Forsley, Eugene (1904-1991). (1st edition published 1980, 6th edition, 2005). "How Canadians Govern Themselves."
- House of Commons Table Research Branch. (2006). Compendium of Procedure.
- The Parliament of Canada. Official Website.
- Canada’s House of Commons from The Canadian Encyclopedia
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