Canadian Parliamentary Review articles from March 2005

Canadian Parliamentary Review archives from March 2005

Democracy in the 21st Century: the need for codification of parliamentary privilege.(Guest Editorial)
March 22, 2005... The current adherence of our House of Commons and all other Canadian parliamentary assemblies to the body of law known as "Privilege" is neither convention nor happenstance. Privilege is an essential component of our parliamentary democracy....

Two proposals for reform in the Quebec National Assembly.
March 22, 2005... Just a few months ago, in June 2004, the National Assembly of Quebec launched an important exercise in parliamentary reform, when two documents containing numerous proposals were tabled almost simultaneously. One of these was prepared by the...

Observations on monitoring the Ukrainian election.
March 22, 2005... In December 2004 some 500 Canadians were involved in monitoring the Presidential Election in Ukraine. This election was called after the results of the previous presidential election were declared invalid by the Supreme Court of Ukraine. This...

Parliamentarians and the new code of ethics.
March 22, 2005... The Act to Amend the Parliament of Canada Act (Ethics Commissioner and Senate Ethics Officer) and other Acts in Consequence, received royal assent on March 31, 2004, and was proclaimed two months later, on May 17. It has already made vast...

Parliament and public money: players and police.
March 22, 2005... This paper begins from the premise that until Parliament increases its ability to influence the Estimates and the supply process, real scrutiny and accountability of government will be impossible. It reviews the record of frustration for...

The primacy of Parliament and the duty of a parliamentarian.
March 22, 2005... Since adoption of the Charter of Rights in 1982 the primacy of Parliament in the Canadian constitutional framework has been challenged, particularly as the result of Charter decisions by the courts. This article argues that legislators must try...

The BC Citizens' Assembly: the public hearings and deliberations stage.
March 22, 2005... The Final Report of the British Columbia Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform was presented to the Government on December 10, 2004. A previous article (Summer 2004) covered the establishment of the Assembly, the random selection process for...

Paradise lost? The gender parity plebiscite in Nunavut.
March 22, 2005... Prior to the creation of Canada's newest Territory of Nunavut in 1999 a proposal was developed by the Nunavut Implementation Commission to promote gender equality in the new territorial legislature by creating electoral districts that would...

Legislative scrutiny and the Charter of rights: a review of senate practices and procedures.
March 22, 2005... This article examines how the Senate of Canada attempts to ensure that rights are protected when it examines proposed legislation. While some believe that the Senate is uniquely situated to deal with minority rights protection, its...

22nd Canadian Presiding Officers' Conference.(CPA Activities: The Canadian Scene)
March 22, 2005... The twenty-second Canadian Presiding Officers Conference was held in Halifax from January 20-23, 2005. The host for the Conference was Speaker Murray Scott of Nova Scotia. Other presiding officers in attendance were: Speakers Peter Milliken...

Assemblee Nationale: Quebec.(Legislative Reports)
March 22, 2005... When proceedings adjourned on December 16, 2004, Members of the Quebec National Assembly had passed 22 public bills and 10 private bills since the resumption of proceedings last October 19. The adoption of a motion to suspend certain rules...

Alberta.(Legislative Reports)
March 22, 2005... On October 25, 2004, Premier Ralph Klein announced that he had sought the dissolution of the 25th Legislature and that a provincial general election would be held on November 22, 2004. The main campaign issues were health care and...

Northwest Territories.(Legislative Reports)
March 22, 2005... The Third Session of the Fifteenth Legislative Assembly adjourned on Friday, October 29, 2004 until Wednesday, February 9, 2005. Finance Minister Floyd Roland will be introducing his second budget of the Fifteenth Assembly when the Third...

New Brunswick.(Legislative Reports)
March 22, 2005... The Second Session of the Fifty-fifth Legislature opened on Thursday, December 2, 2004, instead of on the traditional Tuesday. Hermenegilde Chiasson, who was appointed the Province's 29th Lieutenant-Governor in August of 2003, delivered his...

Senate.(Legislative Reports)
March 22, 2005... Much of what happened in the Senate during the early months of the First Session of the Thirty-eighth Parliament took place, not in the Senate Chamber, but in its committee rooms. A light legislative calendar permitted Senators to begin...

Manitoba.(Legislative Reports)
March 22, 2005... The Third Session of the Thirty-Eighth Legislature began on November 22, 2004 with the NDP government's seventh Speech from the Throne. This event marked the first opportunity for Lieutenant-Governor John Harvard to deliver such an address to...

British Columbia.(Legislative Reports)
March 22, 2005... Four committee reports have been released since our last update. In November, the Select Standing Committee on Education, chaired by MLA Richard Stewart (Coquitlam-Maillardville), deposited its report A Future for Learners: The Path to Renewal...

Ontario.(Legislative Reports)
March 22, 2005... The fall session of the Ontario Legislative Assembly began on October 12, 2004 and adjourned on December 16, 2004. In terms of legislation, the Legislature passed the Audit Statute Amendment Act, an Act that was 15 years in the making and...

House of Commons.(Legislative Reports)
March 22, 2005... Throughout November and December, the House continued to navigate its way through a new Parliament and the unfamiliar terrain of minority government. While there was undoubtedly a great deal of negotiating among the House leaders, events in the...