Canadian Parliamentary Review articles from March 2007

Canadian Parliamentary Review archives from March 2007

Democracy in the 21st century: accountability and prosperity.(Guest Editorial)
March 22, 2007... The developed world spends nearly $60 billon US annually in aid to developing countries and yet there appears to be no end to the poverty and despair which the aid is supposed to alleviate. The slogans continue--"Make Poverty History", "Cut...

Reflections on the Office of Deputy Speaker.
March 22, 2007... In comparison to the Office of Speaker little has been written about the role of Deputy Speaker. In this article Canada's longest serving parliamentarian and current Deputy Speaker reflects upon the different perspective that comes from...

Parliamentary scrutiny and redress of grievances.
March 22, 2007... Parliament is a political forum in which a small group of partisan politicians called the Prime Minister and Cabinet is given the authority and resources to define and implement public policy. They do this subject to the requirement that they...

The Ombudsman in Manitoba.
March 22, 2007... The role of the Ombudsman is to protect the rights of members of the public. This article looks at the office of the Ombudsman from two perspectives--its relationship to government and the services provided to the public. ********** ...

The impact of Senate reform on the functioning of committees.
March 22, 2007... In May 2006, the Government introduced Bill S-4 to limit the tenure of Senators to eight years instead of to age 75. A Special Senate Committee considered the subject matter of this bill and presented its report in October 2006. In December the...

The role of legislative officers in Alberta.
March 22, 2007... This article focuses on the roles played by Legislative Officers in the provinces and especially Alberta. Annual opinion polls say Canadians do not trust politicians. Do Legislature Officers offer services that will help to change this...

Measuring the effectiveness of a minority parliament.
March 22, 2007... Canada's plurality electoral system often allows parties earning less than half of the popular vote to receive a majority of Parliamentary seats. Several analysts have suggested that this problem should be corrected by changing the electoral...

Canada's Chief Electoral Officer: responsibilities and independence.
March 22, 2007... There are two significant dates in the history of Canadian elections. The first was 1874 when changes ensuring the secret ballot and simultaneous voting were approved. The second was the creation of the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer in...

Equal voice: electing more women in Canada.
March 22, 2007... Canada's international ranking on the Inter-Parliamentary Union, "List of Women in National Parliaments," has recently slipped to 47th in the world. Despite enjoying economic prosperity and political stability, Canada now has fewer women in...

Plain English in Quebec legislation.
March 22, 2007... Why is it that the average person, even a well-educated one, setting out to read a bill or law for the first time, half if not fully expects to have trouble cutting through the language to get to the meaning? It could be argued that bills and...

CPA activities: the Canadian scene.(Canadian Presiding Officers' Conference)
March 22, 2007... Twenty-fourth Annual Canadian Presiding Officers' Conference Greg Deighan, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island was host to the 24th Annual Canadian Presiding Officers' Conference in Charlottetown, Prince Edward...

Manitoba.(Legislative Reports)
March 22, 2007... On November 15, 2006 Lieutenant Governor John Harvard delivered the NDP government's ninth Speech from the Throne. The address conveyed a range of government proposals and commitments, including: * $4-billion plan to modernize highways over...

Northwest Territories.(Legislative Reports)
March 22, 2007... As a result of the involvement of the Legislative Assembly in an ongoing legal matter, Speaker Paul Delorey temporarily suspended public distribution of Hansard on October 25, 2006. This action was taken to ensure compliance with a Court ruling...

Newfoundland and Labrador.(Legislative Reports)
March 22, 2007... The House resumed sitting on November 20th. A by-election had taken place on November 1st at which Lorraine Michael, representing the New Democratic Party, was elected in the District of Signal Hill-Quidi, succeeding Jack Harris who had...

Alberta.(Legislative Reports)
March 22, 2007... On December 2, 2006, Edward Michael Stelmach was elected leader of the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party. Mr. Stelmach, who defeated Jim Dinning and Ted Morton (PC, Foothills-Rockyview) on the second round of balloting, was sworn in as...

Quebec.(ASSEMBLEE NATIONALE)
March 22, 2007... Upon the adjournment of proceedings on December 14, 2006, the members of the National Assembly had passed 26 public bills and 10 private bills, and this, since the resumption of proceedings last October 17. Among the 26 public bills, four...

New Brunswick.(ASSEMBLEE NATIONALE)
March 22, 2007... The First Session of the 56th Legislature opened on February 6, 2007. This was the first session under the leadership of Premier Shawn Michael Graham (Liberal, Kent), who became New Brunswick's 31st premier after his party secured a majority of...

House of Commons.(ASSEMBLEE NATIONALE)
March 22, 2007... Several times during the final months of 2006, the attention of Canadians was focused on government initiatives in the House of Commons touching on sensitive political issues. Foremost among the latter was that of "Quebec nationhood". On...

Ontario.(ASSEMBLEE NATIONALE)
March 22, 2007... On December 21, 2006, the House adjourned for the winter recess, one week later than expected. Of the 16 bills that received Royal Assent during the fall sitting, some of the more significant were Bill 14, Access to Justice Act, 2006, which...

British Columbia.(ASSEMBLEE NATIONALE)
March 22, 2007... A brief fall sitting of the second session of the 38th parliament commenced on November 22, 2006 to consider primarily the report of a Special Committee tasked with recommending a new, independent Children and Youth Representative for British...

Senate.(ASSEMBLEE NATIONALE)
March 22, 2007... The careful and thorough study of Bill C-2, the Federal Accountability Act, is a fine example of the work done by Senate committees. One of the most significant pieces of legislation to come before Parliament in recent years, Bill C-2 was...