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Canadian Government Policy: Parliamentary Proceedings (Details)

This Guide will assist you in researching Federal Government policy in Canada using both governmental and non-governmental sources

Introduction

The Canadian Parliament is a bicameral institution and researchers should therefore be prepared to trace all Bills (and most other matters) through both Chambers (the House of Commons and the Senate). 

Parliament dissolves itself when a government falls or an election is called. Each election brings forth a new, numbered, "Parliament" which is then broken down into numbered "Sessions." It is important to know the Parliament and the Session before beginning to conduct research as matters, bill numbering for instance, generally start afresh with each new session. 

  • List of Parliaments and Sessions since Confederation (Library of Parliament)
    Dates and basic information.
  • Guide to Canadian Ministries since Confederation (Privy Council Office)
    List of Ministries (governments), including Prime Ministers and members of the Cabinet.
  • Throne Speeches since Confederation (Library of Parliament)
    Each session begins with a Speech from the Throne outlining the Government's intentions for that session. The speeches are published in a number of places, for instance, the Journals and Debates of both chambers, but have also been gathered together and reproduced here by the Library of Parliament.
  • Cabinet Conclusions (Library and Archives Canada, 1944-1979)
    Cabinet Conclusions are documents that summarize the proceedings of and conclusions reached at cabinet meetings. Policy initiatives often begin here before being made public. Formal recording began in 1944. Currently, 1944-1979 are available to the public in digital format. 
  • Electronic Manifestos Canada (Dept. of Political Science, Laval University)
    Properly speaking, political party platforms are not government information. They are, however, useful for policy research and are often, in the case of victorious parties, the first place where what will eventually become government policies are announced. 

Legislation (Bills)

Bills are proposed pieced of legislation, To become law, they must be 'read' (considered) three times by each chamber. They are also considered by a Committee, normally between their second and third reading. This must be done in both chambers and so researching a bill's passage involves looking at four sets of proceedings (House of Commons, Commons Committee, Senate, Senate Committee). 

Types of bills

  • Government Bills (C-2 to 200 or S-2 to 200)
    Government Bills are public bills (applying to everyone) that are introduced by the Government (collectively, the Cabinet). If they do not pass, the Government is deemed to have lost the confidence of the House and must resign.
  • Private Members' Public Bills (C-201 to 1000 or S-201 to 1000)
    Private Members' Public Bills are public bills (applying to everyone) introduced by members or Senators who are not members of the Government (backbenchers from all parties). Very few of these bills pass and become law. 
  • Private Bills (C-1001+ or S-1001+)
    Private bills are bills aimed at specific individuals (people, institutions, or corporate entities). They generally pass but are currently rare.

Sources 

  • LEGISINFO (1994+)
  • Status of House Business (CAN 2 P23.2 B55 SC-GOV-REF, YUL has 1986 (33rd Parl., 2nd Session) to 2009 (4)th Parl., 2nd Session).
  • Progress of Legislation (YUL does not hold this item. Use the Senate Journals or ask for assistance).

Parliamentary Chamber Proceedings

Parallel sets of documents exist for each of the two Chambers. Key publications include the following:

  • Journals
    The official record of proceedings in minutes form. Votes, motions, times convened and adjourned, notice of documents tabled in the chamber, and so on. The Journals do not contain verbatim accounts of the debates. 
  • Debates
    Popularly called by some Hansards. The Debates contain much of what appears in the Journals along the transcribed, edited and corrected record of what is said in the Chamber and in a Committee of the Whole. 
  • Order Paper and Notice Paper
    Two documents published together. The Order Paper is the official agenda of the House, produced for each sitting day, and listing everything that may be brought forward in the Chamber on that day. The Notice Paper contains notices of items which may be brought before the Chamber. Certain matters require advance notice (Bills, for instance, require 48 hours' notice). These items appear first on the Notice Paper before being transferred to the Order Paper where they await being called. 
  • Status of House Business (House of Commons) and Progress of Legislation (Senate)
    Cumulative information on the status of business before the Chamber. For the House, the Status of House Business provides information on bills, motions and written questions. For the Senate, the Progress of Legislation, lists Bills (Commons and Senate) under consideration or passed by the chamber. 

House of Commons (Current)

  • Parliamentary Business 
    The Journals, Debates, and Order Paper and Notice Paper are presented grouped together by sitting day. Default information and navigation is for the current session only. To find previous sessions, select a date (it does not matter which one) and click on the calendar. A window will pop up enabling navigation by date and by parliamentary session going back to the 35th Parliament, 1st Session.
  • Status of House Business 
    Cumulative for the current session with access to previous, final, versions (called Status of House Business at Dissolution or Status of House Business at Prorogation)

Senate (Current)

  • Journals 
    From the 35th Parliament, 2nd Session to the present.
  • Debates 
    From the 35th Parliament, 2nd Session to the present.
  • Progress of Legislation 
    From the 35th Parliament, 1st Session to the present.

House of Commons and Senate (Historical)

  • Canadian Parliamentary Historical Resources (Library of Parliament and Canadiana.org)
    Digitized English and French Journals and Debates for both Chambers from the 1st Parliament, 1st Session to the 35th, Parliament, 1st Session (start of the Parliamentary Website coverage detailed above).