Parliament

Parliamentary Procedure

Procedure in the House of Commons

The Commons Chamber is modestly decorated in green, in contrast with the more lavishly furnished red Senate Chamber. There are benches on two sides of the Chamber, divided by a centre aisle which is two "sword lengths" apart. This arrangement reflects the design of Chamber of the British House of Commons. The Speaker's chair is at one 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 and important Opposition leaders sit on the front rows, and are known as "frontbenchers." Other Members of Parliament, in contrast, are known as "backbenchers" - or Private Members.

The House usually sits from Mondays to Fridays, but not on weekends. Sittings of the House are open to the public. Debates are broadcast on the radio, and on television by CPAC (Cable Public Affairs Channel, a consortium of Canadian cable companies) and webcast on the Internet. They are also recorded 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 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 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, using forms such as "the honourable member for (electoral district)."

The Speaker enforces the rules of the House, and may warn and punish Members who deviate from them. Disregarding the Speaker's instructions is considered a severe breach of the rules of the House, and may result in the suspension of the offender from the House.

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; 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). 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 or Deputy Speaker has a casting vote. If the number of members voting, plus the presiding officer, does not total twenty, then a quorum is not present, and the vote is invalid.

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.

Procedure in the Senate

Like the House of Commons, the senate meets on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. The Senate Chamber is lavishly decorated and coloured red, in contrast with the more modest green Commons Chamber. There are benches on two sides of the Chamber, divided by a centre aisle. The Speaker's chair is at one end of the Chamber; in front of it is the Table of the House. Various 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.

The Senate Chamber is the site of the opening of Parliament, a formal ceremony held at the beginning of each new parliamentary session. During the ceremony, the Governor General, seated on the throne in the Senate Chamber and in the presence of both Houses of Parliament, delivers a speech outlining the Government's agenda for the upcoming parliamentary session. If the Sovereign is present in Canada, she or he may make the Speech from the Throne instead.

The Senate normally sits from Mondays to Fridays, but not on weekends. Sittings of the House are open to the public. Debates are broadcast on the radio, and on television by CPAC (Cable Public Affairs Channel, a consortium of Canadian cable companies) and webcast on the Internet. They are also recorded in Hansard, the official report of parliamentary debates.

The Constitution Act, 1867 establishes a quorum of fifteen members (including the member presiding) for the Senate. Any senator may request the Speaker to ascertain the presence of a quorum; if it does not appear that one is present, the Speaker orders bells to be rung, so that other senators on the parliamentary precincts may come to the Chamber. If a quorum still does not appear, the Speaker must adjourn the Senate until the next sitting day.

During debates, the first senator to rise is entitled to make the next speech. The Speaker may settle disputes over which senator rose first, but his or her decision may be altered by the House. Motions must be moved by one senator and seconded by another before debate may begin; some motions, however, are non-debatable.

Speeches may be made in either of Canada's official languages (English and French). Members must address their speeches to the other senators as a whole, using the phrase "honourable senators." Individual members must be referred to in the third person, not as "you." The Speaker enforces the rules of the Senate during debate. Disregarding the Speaker's instructions is considered a severe breach of the rules of the Senate.

No senator 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). The Standing Orders of the Senate prescribe time limits for speeches. The limits depend on the nature of the motion, but are most generally about fifteen minutes. However, the Leaders of the Government and Opposition in the Senate are not subject to such time constraints. Debate may be further restricted by the passage of "time allocation" motions. Alternatively, the Senate may end debate more quickly by passing a motion "for the previous question." If such a motion carries, debate ends immediately, and the Senate proceeds to vote. Debate may also end if no senator wishes to make any further remarks.

When the debate concludes, the motion in question is put to a vote. The Senate 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 two or more senators may challenge his or her assessment, thereby forcing a recorded vote (known as a division). First, members in favour of the motion rise, so that the clerks may record their names and votes. The same procedure is then repeated for members who oppose the motion, and thereafter repeated again for those who wish to abstain. In all cases, the Speaker holds a vote; a tied vote results in the motion's failure. If the number of members voting, including the presiding officer, does not total fifteen, then a quorum is not present, and the vote is invalid.

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Related Links

• Parliament of Canada Official Website
• Guide to the House of Commons (PDF)
• House of Commons Compendium of Procedure
• Chamber Business
• Senators and Members
• How'd They Vote?