Canadian Parliamentary Review articles from June 2005

Canadian Parliamentary Review archives from June 2005

Democracy in the 21st century: where have all the ideas gone?(Guest Editorial)
June 22, 2005... I want to advance the proposition that we need to make more room for ideas in our parliamentary and legislative instituions. I believe that the absence of ideas--and the creative forum for their elaboration and discussion within our...

The case for mandatory voting in Canada.
June 22, 2005... The decline in voter turnout over the last several elections is of great concern to everyone interested in politics and parliamentary government. Many ideas have been put forth about how to address this problem including a recent Bill that...

The responsibility crisis in Canada.
June 22, 2005... Over the last two years the federal government's sponsorship programme has been the subject of a study by the Auditor General, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts and most recently by a Public Inquiry headed by Justice John Gomery....

The National Assembly committee on public administration.
June 22, 2005... One of the three roles that Members fulfill is to act as overseers of government activity. In the Westminster parliamentary system, and more particularly at the National Assembly of Quebec, Members have numerous means at their disposal to carry...

Constitutional conventions and parliament.
June 22, 2005... There are many of formal rules that govern Parliament. Some are statutory, some common law, and others are found in the Standing Orders of the House of Commons and the Rules of the Senate. But all of these formal rules together, give only a...

Round table on the process to be used for electoral reform.
June 22, 2005... In November 2004 the House of Commons adopted an amendment to the Throne Speech requiring the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs to study and recommend a process that engages citizens and parliamentarians in an examination of the...

Translating the Laws of Canada: 1841-1935.
June 22, 2005... The first Parliament of the Province of Canada was called into session in June 1841. It was not altogether clear that the laws would be translated. The Union Act provided that: "... from and after the said Re-union of the said Two Provinces......

Electoral reform proposals in Quebec, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.
June 22, 2005... Led by New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec, several provinces are considering a change front plurality elections to mixed member proportionality (MMP). With New Zealand's nine years of experience with MMP in its Westminster-style...

Assemblee nationale: Quebec.(Legislative Reports)
June 22, 2005... On February 18, 2005, the Premier of Quebec announced an important Cabinet shuffle in which new departments were established (Economic Development, Innovation and Export Trade, Tourism, Government Services--including a sector responsible for...

Senate.(Legislative Reports)(Canadian Parliament)
June 22, 2005... While Senate committees continued to work on special studies, business in the Chamber was quiet during the early months of 2005. The regular flow of legislation from the House of Commons to the Senate was slowed by the dynamics of the minority...

Alberta.(Legislative Reports)
June 22, 2005... On March 1, 2005, the Members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta met to elect presiding officers for the 26th Legislature. Ken Kowalski was acclaimed for the second time as Speaker of the Alberta Legislative Assembly in what is his third...

House of Commons.(Legislative Reports)
June 22, 2005... Since the House resumed on January 31, 2005 the government has been under continual attack from the opposition as the testimony of witnesses before the Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities ("Gomery...

Manitoba.(Legislative Reports)
June 22, 2005... The Third Session of the Thirty-Eighth Legislature resumed on March 7, 2005. The Minister of Finance Greg Selinger (NDP--St. Boniface) delivered his fifth budget address on March 8. The total operating expenditure for the 2005-2006 Budget came...

Saskatchewan.(Legislative Reports)
June 22, 2005... The Spring session of the Assembly opened on March 14th. The session was a resumption of the 1st session that began in 2004 and continued during a short Fall sitting. The 2005 sitting began with statements of condolence in remembrance of the...

Northwest Territories.(Legislative Reports)
June 22, 2005... The Third Session of the Fifteenth Legislative Assembly prorogued on March 10, 2005. Noteworthy House business included the passage of the 2005-2006 Budget, the third and final Bill establishing self-government for the Tlicho people of the...

Prince Edward Island.(Legislative Reports)
June 22, 2005... The Legislative Assembly opened for the Second Session of the Sixty-second General Assembly on November 18, 2004. It adjourned to the call of the Speaker on December 16, 2004, after 17 sitting days, and was recalled on April 6, 2005. ...

Ontario.(Legislative Reports)
June 22, 2005... The House returned early from the winter recess and started its spring session on February 14, 2005. John Tory, Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party in Ontario won the by-election held in the riding of Dufferin-Peel-Wellington-Grey...

New Brunswick.(Legislative Reports)
June 22, 2005... The Second Session of the Fifty-fifth Legislature resumed Wednesday, March 30, 2005, when Finance Minister Jeannot Volpe (Madawaska-les-Lacs) brought down the 2005-2006 Budget. The budget focused on the five objectives set out in last...

British Columbia.(Legislative Reports)
June 22, 2005... The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia was convened on the morning of February 8, 2005 for the prorogation of the fifth session of the Thirty-Seventh Parliament. The sixth session was opened that afternoon with the Speech from the Throne...