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The Work They represent… Key Roles in the Chambers "How does a Bill become Law?" They legislate... They investigate... They oversee ... Parliamentarians, whether they are Senators or Members of the House of Commons, must fulfill many roles — not only do they represent their constituents and act as loyal party members, they act as ombudsmen, law-makers and as watchdogs on the Government and the bureaucracy. On a typical day, a parliamentarian might meet with the media, members of the public or colleagues; find time to respond to a mountain of correspondence and telephone messages; prepare speeches for the Chamber; and review background documents for their work in committees. It is a job that takes them on a well-worn path between the Senate Chamber or the House of Commons, caucus and committee rooms, and their parliamentary and constituency office. For most, it involves long hours. One of the “constants” in parliamentarians’ work — whether it is in the Senate or in the House, in caucus or in committee — is the careful deliberation and debate of issues. This is the fundamental guarantee that decisions are thoroughly considered and that key issues are brought to the attention of the Canadian public. Parliamentarians put the principle of representative government to work by listening to the views of their fellow citizens, acting as intermediaries on their behalfs, as well as advocating views and suggesting policy initiatives. However, most parliamentarians belong to a political party and, as such, they also support their party’s policies and participate in party activities. In the Senate: Senators are appointed and perform duties in their senatorial divisions in a different way than Members of the House of Commons perform duties in their constituencies. Under the law, Senators must reside in the province from which they are nominated. Senators are expected to take an interest in the regional impact of legislation and policies. Some also adopt informal constituencies — focusing their attention on groups or regions whose rights and interests are often overlooked. The young, the poor, seniors, veterans — these are some of the groups who have benefitted from having a public forum through Senate investigations. In the House of Commons: As elected representatives, Members of the House of Commons are expected to take into account the interests of constituents as they carry out their responsibilities. They also serve as ombudsmen, responding to phone calls and letters from their constituents with problems they want taken up with government departments and agencies. These concerns are wide ranging, and include employment insurance, social welfare cases, pensions, immigration matters, farming and business issues. Members also attend a multitude of events and functions, in their communities and elsewhere in the country. To accommodate the various needs of their constituents, Members maintain offices both in their constituencies and in Ottawa. The Speaker of the Senate is appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister to preside over the deliberations of the Chamber. The Speaker ensures the orderly flow of debate and, subject to an appeal to the full Senate, rules on any procedural issues. The Speaker’s Chair is on a raised platform in front of the thrones reserved for the Sovereign or the Governor General and their consort. The Speaker of the House of Commons is chosen by fellow Members by secret ballot to preside over the deliberations of the House and to act as the spokesperson for the Commons. The Speaker ensures that all rules and procedures are followed. Because the position is non-partisan, the Speaker debates or votes, only to break a tie. The rulings of the Speaker are final and may not be challenged. As the Chair of the Board of Internal Economy, the Speaker oversees the administration of the House of Commons. The Clerk of the Senate who is also the Clerk of the Parliaments is appointed by the Governor in Council as the Senate’s chief executive officer and is ultimately responsible for its day-to-day operation. In the Chamber, the Clerk manages various aspects of the legislative process, from swearing-in of new Senators to advising the Speaker on parliamentary procedure and interpretation of the rules. As Clerk of the Parliaments, the Clerk is the custodian of all original Acts and certifies the authenticity of copies of these Acts. The Clerk of the House of Commons is appointed by the Governor in Council as the chief executive officer of the House of Commons and serves as Secretary to the Board of Internal Economy. The Clerk advises the Speaker and Members of the House of Commons on parliamentary procedure and practice, and keeps the official record of proceedings. The Usher of the Black Rod, acting as a royal messenger, delivers all summons calling the House of Commons to hear the Speech from the Throne, which inaugurates a new Parliament or session, or to observe the Royal Assent ceremony, the final parliamentary step in making bills law. The title of the position comes from the ebony cane carried by the Usher and is a symbol of the office, designed specifically to knock on doors such as those of the House of Commons. The Sergeant-at-Arms is the officer of the House of Commons responsible for security within the Chamber at the direction of the Speaker. He bears the Mace — symbol of the authority of the House — when accompanying the Speaker in the daily parade into the Chamber and to the Senate at various times. Behind the scenes: In addition to supplying financial and materiel office support, administration staff ensure that parliamentarians are able to communicate efficiently — both within the parliamentary precinct and with constituency offices or various interest groups. Staff explore and implement technological solutions, such as the Internet and E-mail services, and keep users well trained in the operation and application of new systems. Administration staff have also introduced monitoring aids to help parliamentarians track how their budgets are being used and to identify cost-saving opportunities including for example, reduced travel costs and materiel management efficiencies. Window on the Constituency Office
An Overview of the Legislative Process 1 - Passage through
the first House The process in each Chamber is similar:
2 - Passage through the second House 3 - Royal Assent by the Governor General makes the bill law * NOTE: Together, Senators and Members of the House of Commons scrutinize legislative proposals, contributing their ideas and energy to the creation of Canada’s laws. In fact, most of the daily debate in the chambers and much of the work in parliamentary committees concerns legislative initiatives. Drawing on the opinions of their constituents and other interested parties, conducting in-depth research, consulting with their party caucus and guided by their personal convictions, parliamentarians take part in an ongoing process of hearing, debating and revising the Government’s legislation and considering the merits of the specific legislative issues before them. As shown in “How Does a Bill Become a Law?”, both the Senate and the House of Commons must pass a bill in identical form before it receives Royal Assent and becomes law. The Power of the Purse Each year, the Minister of Finance makes a statement about the details of the Government’s financial intentions. Known as the “Budget Speech”, this statement sets out the Government’s broad plans and projects for the upcoming year, including the amount of money needed to finance these activities and how this money will be obtained. To raise the money called for in the Budget Speech, the Minister of Finance puts forward “Ways and Means motions”, which are authority for bringing in a taxation bill. The “Business of Supply” refers to the process of estimating expenditures, examining and debating these estimates, and authorizing expenditures. The full package of proposed government expenditures (the Main Estimates) undergoes committee review and debate in the House of Commons and in the Senate. A bill based on the Estimates, known as an appropriation bill, is always considered first by the House of Commons, then in the Senate, before it receives Royal Assent. Other opportunities are also provided by the Standing Orders for discussion and debate on matters related to spending. In the House of Commons: Generally, the Government controls the legislative agenda, except on opposition days, with the Cabinet responsible for approving legislative proposals before they are tabled in the House of Commons. Legal specialists in the Department of Justice draft the details of a bill working from instructions. The Bill eventually goes to the full House of Commons and the relevant committee to be challenged and reviewed. Party discipline is generally held firm in the Chamber of the House of Commons. The governing party expects that its members will vote to pass the legislation on its agenda and the opposition parties generally present an organized challenge to the Government’s proposals. Window on the Caucus
(The word “caucus” is thought to come from the Algonquin Native term, cau’-cau-as’-u, meaning “advisor”.) In the Senate: Before they become law, all bills must be approved by the Senate, where they pass through a process similar to that of the House of Commons. The Senate enjoys a more flexible timetable and less rigid rules about party discipline than the House of Commons. Senators can engage in lengthy and free-ranging debate, using their considerable expertise and diverse backgrounds in a detailed assessment of a bill and often making substantive or clarifying amendments to the proposed legislation. Bills — other than those involving money — can also be initiated in the Senate. While the Senate has the authority to reject legislation of the House of Commons, this power is seldom used. Behind the scenes: The administrations of both the Senate and House of Commons provide comprehensive services to support the legislative process. Procedural and legal specialists research and review draft legislation. As well, specialists at the Library of Parliament provide research and advice on policy aspects of legislation, as well as analysis and background information on government bills. Administrative personnel explore and implement initiatives designed to reduce paper and increase efficiency — including distribution of committee notices and documents by electronic mail, data links between the two Chambers and the translation bureau, digital audio recording in Chamber and in committee, and electronic distribution of documents. Security officers in the Senate and the House of Commons ensure the safety of parliamentarians, their staff and visitors, access current employee and visitor data at their posts, and issue temporary passes for employees and business visitors. An essential element of parliamentarians’ work is the study and examination of issues, policies and programs. Much of this investigative work is done in committee, a forum which allows Senators and Members of the House of Commons to study issues in considerably more depth than is possible in either Chamber. In the Senate: In addition to their work on legislation in committees, Senators undertake a broad range of investigative work. Senators possess diverse backgrounds and interests — scan the ranks of the Senate and you will see business people, lawyers, teachers, surgeons, Aboriginal leaders and journalists, as well as experts in a range of areas, such as the environment, manufacturing, economics and, of course, politics. The longer tenure of Senators (up to age 75) allows them to build up significant expertise in their areas of investigative interest. Individual Senators can raise an issue in the Senate for debate — a process that sometimes leads to an “Order of Reference” or even establishment of a Senate committee. In this way, Senators can undertake studies of major social and economic issues that may not be a part of the Government’s legislative agenda. Overall, Senate committees tend to be less partisan than Commons committees and allow more time for exhaustive analysis of important issues. In the House of Commons: As part of their committee work, Members hear individuals and groups daily who have views about the legislative proposals and policies of the Government. Approximately four-fifths of all House of Commons committee studies are self-initiated and, unlike Senate committees, do not require an official “Order of Reference” before they are undertaken. Through briefs, letters and appearances at hearings, committees give members of the public and experts an opportunity to provide their input into governance. Opposition committee members use this forum to ask specific questions to Ministers and senior public servants about the management of departments and Crown corporations. Lobby groups attend committee sessions to present their constituents’ views and establish contact with the country’s decision-makers. Behind the scenes: Library staff respond to about 100,000 queries each year and support the work carried out in committees, through issue briefings, background analysis, proposals for studies and report drafting, along with more conventional information products. The Senate and House of Commons administration provide a range of services — giving procedural research and advice to committee Chairs and members; coordinating stakeholder submissions and appearance of witnesses; preparing agendas, minutes and reports; distributing documents reviewed or produced by committees; drafting amendments to bills and recording and transcribing proceedings. In a parliamentary system of government, Cabinet’s authority to govern is balanced by its accountability to the legislature. One of the major roles of parliamentarians is to protect the public interest by carefully scrutinizing government activity. Close monitoring by the Opposition ensures that important issues are raised and made public. Review of government legislation is one example of parliamentarians’ surveillance role. In the House of Commons: The best known form of surveillance is Question Period, which is often the focus of strong media interest. On any given day, Ministers must be ready to set out and defend their positions on a wide range of issues, from child poverty to taxation policy, from a crisis in a northern community to an international trade dispute. Question Period gives the Opposition opportunities to challenge the Government’s actions and Cabinet Ministers the chance to defend them. During the budget debate, four days are set aside in the House of Commons for discussion of the Government’s taxation and general financial policy. Members of the House of Commons also play an important surveillance role in the post-audit stage of government spending, by calling attention to any examples of waste and inefficiency revealed in the Auditor General’s reports to the House of Commons. Another special debate — one not confined to budgetary matters — takes place following the Speech from the Throne, in which the Government outlines its major legislative initiatives for the upcoming session of Parliament. In the Senate: As the House of “sober, second thought”, the Senate fulfills an important “watchdog” role in Parliament, carefully scrutinizing the Government’s policy and legislation. In some cases, the existence of the Senate may act as a check on the Government initiatives which may not withstand close Senate examination. During Question Period, Senators seek information from the Leader of the Government in the Senate about government actions and policies. Behind the scenes: A whole range of administrative services ensure the smooth functioning of parliamentarians’ work. Staff prepare and distribute information on the agenda, status and minutes of both Senate and House of Commons business. In addition to recording debates and decisions, and providing procedural support to officers in each Chamber, administration personnel oversee the televising and transcription of proceedings and ensure that appropriate security measures are applied. Library staff produce compilations, offer electronic news monitoring service, recent articles and in-depth studies on issues relevant to the work of parliamentarians. |
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Library of Parliament - November 2002 |