Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Canada. Parliament. House of Commons
Guide to the Canadian House of Commons
3rd ed.
Text in English and French on inverted pages.
Title on added t.p.: Guide de la Chambre des communes du Canada.
Cover title.
Available also on the Internet.
ISBN 0-662-68678-0
Cat. no. X9-26/2005
1. Canada. Parliament. House of Commons.
I Canada. Parliament. House of Commons. Office of the Speaker.
JL161C32 2005

328.3'2'0971

C2005-980040-2E

House of Commons
Chambre des communes

Every day, there is something in the news about the House of Commons. It may
be about a bill that was passed, an issue raised in Question Period, or a statement
by a Member of Parliament. Yet for all the attention the House receives, many
Canadians still have questions about what happens there and the role that
Members of Parliament play.
The idea behind this guide is to answer some of those questions. It explains how
the House of Commons fits into Canada's parliamentary system of government. It
also describes the work done in the Commons and gives a look at the day-to-day
life of a Member of Parliament.
The House of Commons is a fascinating place. It is a forum where all Canadians
have a direct link to the governing of the country. In the Commons Chamber, thenation's most critical issues are debated, and Members can express the views of
the people they are elected to represent. By understanding how the House ofCommons works, Canadians will be in a better position to judge the performanceof their representatives and to see how they themselves can participate in oursystem of government.

Peter Milliken, M.P.
Speaker of the House of Commons

1

THE CANADIAN PARLIAMENTur system of government is part of
the reason why Canada is known
around the world as a good place tolive. Canada's parliamentary system isopen and democratic. It offers theopportunity for people to give their input
and it is designed to make sure proposals
for laws are carefully considered.

O

Canada's Parliament consists of three parts:
the Queen, the Senate and the House ofCommons. They work together to make thelaws for our country. The executive branch
consists of the Queen, the Prime Ministerand Cabinet, and the departments ofgovernment. They implement the laws. The
legislative branch makes the laws, and the
judicial branch — which is not part ofParliament — applies them.

CANADA’S PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM
QUEEN
Represented in Canada by
the Governor General
EXECUTIVE
BRANCHSENATE
Appointed on the Prime Minister’s
recommendation

PRIME MINISTER
AND CABINET
HOUSE OF COMMONSElected by voters

JUDICIAL
BRANCH

SUPREME COURT OF CANADAFEDERAL COURT
OF CANADA

2LEGISLATIVE
BRANCH

Guide to the Canadian House of CommonsPROVINCIAL
COURTS

THE QUEEN
Canada is a constitutional monarchy. This means that the laws governing Canada
recognize the Queen as the formal Head of State. All federal laws are made in the
Queen's name. She also performs many important ceremonial duties when
visiting Canada.

THE GOVERNOR GENERALThe Governor General’sStandard is a symbol of the
Crown’s sovereignty in Canada

The Governor General is the Queen's representative in
Canada. The Queen appoints the Governor General on theadvice of the Prime Minister. The Governor General usually
serves for five years. One of the most important roles of theGovernor General is to ensure that Canada always has a
Prime Minister. For example, if no party had a clear
majority after an election, or if the Prime Minister were todie in office, the Governor General would have to choose a
successor.

The Governor General acts on the advice of the Prime
Minister and Cabinet. The duties of the Governor General include the following:
summoning, opening and ending sessions of Parliament; reading the Speech fromthe Throne; giving Royal Assent to bills; signing state documents; and dissolving
Parliament for an election.

DISTRIBUTION OF
SENATE SEATSAREATHE SENATE
SEATS

Ontario24

Quebec24

Maritimes

24

Nova Scotia

10

New Brunswick

10

Prince Edward Island

4

Western provinces

24

Manitoba

6

British Columbia

6

Saskatchewan

6

Alberta6Additional representation

One of the duties of the Senate is to represent
the interests of Canada's regions, provinces,
territories and minority groups. Seats in the
Senate are distributed to give each major
region of the country equal representation.
9

Newfoundland and Labrador 6
Northwest Territories

1

Yukon Territory

1

Nunavut

1

TOTAL

The Senate studies, amends and either rejects
or approves bills passed by the House ofCommons. It can also introduce its own bills,
except those to spend public money or impose
taxes, which must be introduced in the Houseof Commons. No bill can become law until it
has been passed by the Senate. Senators also
study major social, legal and economic issues
through their committee work.

The Senate has 105 members. Senators areappointed by the Governor General on therecommendation of the Prime Minister andhold office until age 75.

105
3

THE HOUSE OF COMMONS
DISTRIBUTION OF
HOUSE OF COMMONS SEATS
AREA

SEATS

Ontario106

Quebec75

Nova Scotia

11

New Brunswick

10

Manitoba

14

British Columbia

36

Prince Edward Island

4

Saskatchewan

14

Alberta28

Newfoundland and Labrador

7

Northwest Territories

1

Yukon Territory

1

Nunavut

1

TOTAL

308

4

The House of Commons is the major law-making
body in Parliament. In the Commons Chamber,
Members devote most of their time to debating
and voting on bills. The Chamber is also a place
where Members represent constituents' views,
discuss national issues and call on the government
to explain its actions.
How do you become a Member of Parliament(MP)? By running in a federal election, which isheld about every four years. In each of thecountry's 308 constituencies, or ridings, thecandidate who gets the most votes is elected to theHouse of Commons, even if he or she gets lessthan half of the total votes.
Seats in the House of Commons are distributedroughly in proportion to the population of eachprovince and territory. In general, the more people
in a province or territory, the more Members it hasin the House of Commons. Every province or
territory must have at least as many members in
the Commons as it has in the Senate.

Guide to the Canadian House of Commons

WHO’S WHO IN THE HOUSE
hen you think of Canada's Parliament, you might think of the
Parliament Buildings — one of Canada's best known symbols and theplace where Parliament's work is done. Parliament is a place and aprocess, but it is also about people, each doing a different job to make the wholesystem run well.

W

THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

13
Interpreters1 Speaker
14
Press Gallery2 Pages
15
Public Gallery3 Government Members*
16
Official Gallery
4 Opposition Members*
517
 Leader of the Opposition’s Gallery
 Prime Minister
6
18
Members’ Gallery Leader of the Official Opposition
19
Members’ Gallery
7 Leader of the Second Largest Party in Opposition 
20
Members’ Gallery8 Clerk and Table Officers
21
Speaker’s Gallery9 Mace10
22
Senate Gallery
Hansard Reporters


11
23
T.V. Cameras
Sergeant-at-Arms


12
12
 The Bar* Depending on the number of MPs elected from each political party, government Members may
be seated on the opposite side of the Chamber with opposition Members (or vice versa).
5THE SPEAKER
After each general election, the Members of the House of Commons elect a Speakerfrom among MPs by secret ballot. The Speaker presides over the House of Commonsand ensures that everyone respects its rules and traditions. The Speaker must be
impartial and apply the rules to all Members equally.
The Speaker represents the Commons in dealings with the Senate and the Crown.
The Speaker is also responsible for the administration of the House and its staff
and has many diplomatic and social duties.

THE PRIME MINISTER
The Prime Minister is the leader of the party in power and is the Head ofGovernment. A Prime Minister's duties include presiding over Cabinet meetings,
meeting official foreign delegations to Ottawa and answering questions in theHouse of Commons. Since the Prime Minister is usually a Member of Parliament(two Prime Ministers who held office in the 1890s were Senators), he or she also
spends time helping constituents.

THE CABINET
The Prime Minister chooses the Cabinet Ministers, and the Governor Generalformally appoints them. Most are MPs, and there is always at least one
representative from the Senate. The Prime Minister and Cabinet meet regularly to
discuss and decide on important issues affecting Canada. These issues concern
government spending, ideas for bills, and new policies, programs and services.
Most Cabinet Ministers are in charge of a government department and they reporton their department's activities to Parliament.
A key feature of Cabinet is the concept of collective responsibility, which meansthat all Ministers share responsibility for the administration of government andfor the government's policies. They must all support a Cabinet decision. They may
not agree with it, but they have to support it in public. If a Minister cannot
support a decision, he or she must resign from Cabinet.
Another important feature of our parliamentary system is responsible
government. This means that the government must have the support of the
majority of Members in the House of Commons to stay in power. In the British
tradition, if the government loses a vote on a major measure, or on any motion of
non-confidence, it is expected to resign or to ask the Governor General to call ageneral election.

MINISTER OF STATE
Sworn to the Privy Council and a member of the Cabinet, a Minister of State is
assigned to assist a Cabinet Minister in a specific area within his or her portfolio.
These areas often concern government priorities, such as health, infrastructureand human resources development.

6

Guide to the Canadian House of Commons

PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY
Parliamentary secretaries are appointed by the Prime Minister to help Cabinet
Ministers. They table documents or answer questions for a Minister, participate indebates on bills, speak to committees on government policies and proposals, andserve as a link between parliamentarians and Ministers. As members of the Privy
Council, parliamentary secretaries attend some Cabinet meetings as well.

LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION AND CRITICS
The role of the Official Opposition is to challenge government policies, hold thegovernment accountable for its actions and give voters an alternative in the next
election. Generally, the Leader of the Opposition is the leader of the party with thesecond largest membership in the Commons. This person leads opposition
debates and suggests changes to government legislation or alternative proposals.
Each opposition party in the Commons has its own leader and appoints critics
from among its members. Each critic handles a certain subject, such as health or
defence. They present their party's policies on the subject and comment on
government policies.

HOUSE LEADERS
Each recognized party appoints one member to be its House Leader (a recognizedparty is one that has a minimum of 12 seats in the House of Commons). The
House Leaders of all the parties meet regularly to discuss upcoming business in
the Commons, how long bills will be debated and when special issues will be
discussed.

WHIPS
Each recognized party also has a Whip. The Whips ensure that enough party
members are in the Chamber for debates and votes. Given the many
responsibilities MPs have, this is not always easy. The Whips also determine
which committees a party member will sit on, assign offices and seats in theHouse, and discipline members who break party ranks.

HOUSE OFFICERS
Seated at a long table in front of the Speaker are the Clerk and other procedural
officers of the House. They advise the Speaker and Members on the rules to befollowed in the Commons. The Clerk is the senior official of the House ofCommons Administration and keeps the official record of proceedings. At the endof the table lies the Mace, the symbol of the authority of the House of Commons.
At the end of the Chamber, opposite the Speaker, sits the Sergeant-at-Arms. This
person is responsible for the security and maintenance of the Parliament Buildings
and has ceremonial duties. House officers and Members are assisted by theparliamentary pages, who carry messages to the Members in the Chamber.

7

A WORKING DAY IN THE COMMONS CHAMBER
working day in the Commons
starts when the bells ring to call
MPs to the House. The Speaker
and the Clerks march through the Hall of
Honour to the Commons Chamber, with
the Sergeant-at-Arms leading the way
carrying the Mace. The Speaker goes to theraised chair at the far end of the Chamber.
After he leads the House in a brief prayer,
the House is called to order and the day
begins.

A

The House of Commons meets for about
130 days a year. Each day the House meetsis called a sitting. When it is in session, theHouse sits Monday through Friday.
A day in the House is divided into
different parts so that Members can discuss all the business at hand.

MEMBERS’ STATEMENTS
A 15-minute period is set aside each day for any Member who is not a Cabinet
Minister to make a statement on a subject of national, regional or local
importance. Each statement lasts a maximum of one minute.

ORAL QUESTIONSThis closely watched 45 minutes is best known as Question Period. It is a chancefor opposition Members, and sometimes government Members, to ask questionsof the Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers. It is an exercise in accountability.

PRIVATE MEMBERS’ BUSINESSMembers can ask Ministers any question about their area of responsibility,
without giving advance notice.
For one hour each day, Members who are not Cabinet Ministers can have theirbills and motions debated by the House. There are special procedures for selecting
which bills and motions will come to the attention of the House.

GOVERNMENT ORDERS
Government orders are any items of business (such as motions or bills) that the
government puts on the House of Commons' agenda.

8

Guide to the Canadian House of Commons

NOTICES OF MOTION FOR THE PRODUCTION
OF PAPERS
embers can ask the government to present certain documents to theHouse of Commons. The government can respond to the requests at this
time.

M

ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS
Routine proceedings can cover manydifferent subjects:•

Ministers and parliamentary
secretaries table committee
reports, responses to petitions
and other documents;•

Ministers make shortannouncements or talk about
government policy, and the
opposition parties reply;•

Members present petitions to theHouse, and committees table
their reports;•

Government bills are introduced
and given first reading, andMembers introduce their Private
Members' bills for first reading.

ADJOURNMENT PROCEEDINGSA Member who is dissatisfied with an answer given in Question Period can ask,
in writing, for the matter to be raised again during the adjournment proceedings
at the end of the day. A Cabinet Minister or parliamentary secretary responds.

9

PARLIAMENTARY HIGHLIGHTS
THRONE SPEECH
When a session of Parliament opens, the House of Commons is invited to the
Senate Chamber to hear the Speech from the Throne. The speech sets out the
government's proposed legislative agenda — the policies and bills it plans to
introduce during the session. It is read by the Governor General or sometimes the
Queen.

BUDGET SPEECH
Each year, the Minister of Finance makes a statement known as the Budget
Speech. It details the government's economic policy and its plans for collecting
and spending public money.

ROYAL ASSENT
A bill must receive Royal Assent before it can become law. The Governor Generalor one of her deputies (the Chief Justice of Canada or other justices of theSupreme Court of Canada) gives Royal Assent to a bill in writing. At least twice ayear, Royal Assent must be given in a ceremony held in the Senate Chamber with
Senators and Members of Parliament present.

10

Guide to the Canadian House of Commons

MAKING CANADA’S LAWS
HOW A BILL BECOMES LAW
THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESSFIRST READINGThe bill is considered readfor the first time and is
printed.

SECOND READING
Members debate thebill’s principle.

COMMITTEE STAGE
Committee members study
the bill clause by clause.

REPORT STAGE
Members can makeother amendments.

THIRD READING
Members debate andvote on the bill.

SENATEThe bill follows asimilar process.

ROYAL ASSENT

hen you fly in an airplane, visit anational park or buy a product in astore, you are doing something thathas probably been touched by a law made in
Parliament.

W

An idea to make a new law or to change anexisting law starts out as a "bill." Each bill goes
through several stages to become law. At firstreading, the bill is considered read for the firsttime and is printed. There is no debate. At
second reading, Members debate the principleof a bill — Is the idea behind it sound? Does itmeet people's needs? If a bill passes at second
reading, it goes to a committee of the House.
Committee members study the bill carefully.
They hold hearings to gather information. They
can ask for government officials and experts tocome and answer questions. The committee canpropose amendments, or changes, to the bill.
When a committee has finished its study, it
reports the bill back to the House. The entire
House can then debate it. During report stage
debate, Members can suggest otheramendments to the bill.
Once report stage is over, the bill is called forthird reading debate. Members who voted forthe bill at second reading may sometimes
change their minds at third reading after seeing
what amendments have or have not been madeto the bill. After a bill has passed third readingin the House of Commons, it goes through asimilar process in the Senate. Once both
Chambers pass the bill in the same form, it isgiven Royal Assent and becomes law.
The chart shows the usual path followed bygovernment bills introduced in the House ofCommons.

The bill receives Royal
Assent after being passed
by both Houses.

11THE ROLE OF A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT
Member's job is as varied as the many regions of Canada and the people
who live here. To understand their role, it helps to look at the different
places where Members work.

A

IN THE CHAMBER
Television and the Internet bring theCommons Chamber into homes andschools across the country. This is where
Members help to make Canada's laws by
debating and voting on bills. The Chamber
is also a place where MPs can put local,
regional or national issues in the spotlight.
They represent their constituents' views by
presenting petitions, making statements
and asking questions in the House.
With such a high profile, it is easy to thinkthat Members do most of their work in the
Chamber. Actually, Members spend agreat deal of the working day — and many
evenings — in committee rooms, atmeetings and wherever their constituentsgather.

IN COMMITTEE
Committee work is an important part of a Member's job and the law-making
process. Members can look at bills in greater depth than is possible in the
Chamber, where there is a large group of people involved and a full timetable. In
committee, Members also study important issues such as finance and health, andthe spending plans of federal departments. With the range of committees and subcommittees that operate, Members may sit on more than one. Committees can sit
from 4 to 40 hours a week and sometimes travel across the country to hear frompeople.

IN CAUCUS
Activities in the Chamber do not start until 2 p.m. on Wednesdays so that
Members can attend party caucus meetings. At these meetings, Senators andMembers of Parliament from the same party determine policies and parliamentarystrategy. They ask questions of their leaders and explain the views of theirconstituents. MPs from the same area also discuss common issues at regional
caucus meetings.
12

Guide to the Canadian House of Commons

IN THE OFFICE
To meet their constituents' needs, MPs have an office in Ottawa and one or morein their riding. Their offices are often the first stop for people who need help.
Members act as "ombudsmen," helping constituents with questions about visas,pension benefits, income tax — anything that is the business of the federal
government. Members and their staff are good resources because they understandhow federal departments are organized and where to find answers.
Aside from time in the Chamber and committee meetings, a typical day in the lifeof a Member of Parliament is filled with meetings, activities and other duties.
Journalists call for an interview on a bill being studied by the Member'scommittee. A visiting constituent wants to talk about a federal program. A
meeting is scheduled with parliamentarians from another country. A constituent
is in Ottawa to accept an award and extends an invitation to attend the ceremony.
Time has to be set aside to prepare a speech to give in the House. Plus there areletters, phone messages and e-mails to answer. Fortunately, Members havededicated staff to help them in their work.
They return to their ridings as often as possible. For many Members, the trip
home covers several thousand kilometres. But being in the riding lets Members
talk to constituents face to face and attend local activities. Opening a new
business, speaking to a civic group, laying a wreath on Remembrance Day,
attending a high school graduation — these are many of the events that
Canadians invite their Members of Parliament to attend. Travel time plus thisbusy schedule means less time for their families and themselves.

13

BEING PART OF PARLIAMENT
he House of Commons provides a link between Canadians and their
Parliament. The people we elect to represent us — farmers, teachers,
lawyers, business people and others — bring their ideas and experience tobear on their work. Members make a difference by creating laws and helping theirconstituents with problems. They work within the structure of Parliament andtheir parties to make decisions in the interest of Canada. We may or may not likewhat they do. The system gives us the chance to show our approval or
displeasure at every federal election.

T

Electing Members of Parliament gives Canadians a voice in the affairs of ourcountry and in holding the government to account for its actions. When we vote,when we tell our Member of Parliament what we are thinking, or when we ask
questions about the system, we help the system to be stronger and serve us better.

FINDING OUT MORE
The Library of Parliament has more information about Canada's House of Commons.
Information Service
Library of Parliament
Parliament Hill
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A9
Telephone:Toll-free 1-866-599-4999
National Capital Region (613) 992-4793
The Parliament of Canada Web site carries webcasts of Chamber proceedings and televisedcommittees as well as the audio of other public committee meetings. You can also tune into
Commons debates and some committee meetings on the Cable Public Affairs Channel andWeb site.

These Web sites offer information on other aspects of Parliament.
Parliament of Canada – www.parl.gc.ca

Elections Canada – www.elections.ca

Governor General of Canada – www.gg.ca

Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC) –www.cpac.ca

Public Works and Government Services
Canada – www.parliamenthill.gc.ca
Supreme Court of Canada – www.scc-csc.gc.ca
Department of Justice – www.justice.gc.ca

14

Government Information Services –www.communication.gc.ca
National Capital Commission – www.capcan.ca

Guide to the Canadian House of Commons