Canadian Parliamentary Review articles from March 2008

Canadian Parliamentary Review archives from March 2008

The British Columbia/Washington State partnership on enhanced driver's licences.
March 22, 2008... The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative originally adopted in 2004 is a US policy requiring everyone entering or re-entering the United States to present a valid passport or other secure identity document. This article outlines steps taken by...

A procedural note on the recent use of parliament's power to summons.
March 22, 2008... In December 2007 the Canadian House of Commons had to deal with a matter of Privilege involving its power to "send for persons, papers and records." The Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy & Ethics was studying a question of...

Referendum on the future of the Senate: a round table.
March 22, 2008... In October 2007, a motion introduced in the Senate called for a national referendum in which Canadians would be asked whether the Senate should be abolished. The following extracts are taken from speeches for and against this motion. ...

Fixed election dates and the governor general's power to grant dissolution.
March 22, 2008... An Amendment to the Canada Elections Act assented to by the Governor General on May 3, 2007, establishes a new, four-year term limit for the House of Commons with its stipulation that federal general elections are to be "held on the third...

Canada and the struggle for democracy abroad.
March 22, 2008... Canadian legislators have been reconsidering the means of supporting democracy around the world. Last year the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Canadian House of Commons investigated Canadian democracy support programs and declared that Canada...

How the United States supports democratic development overseas.
March 22, 2008... This article reviews United States democracy promotion efforts, and identifies the different governmental and non-governmental bodies involved in these efforts. The article focuses specifically on the efforts of the United States Agency for...

A reformed Senate as a check on prime ministerial power.
March 22, 2008... One problem of Canadian parliamentary democracy is the concentration of power in the hands of the Prime Minister and the ascendancy of the Prime Ministers Office over Parliament. This article looks at some of the reasons for the weakness of the...

Women in politics: still searching for an equal voice.
March 22, 2008... In the United States Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign is cause for hope and reflection on the status of women's leadership in world politics. The prospect of a woman occupying the oval office represents an exciting turning point in...

Observations on the theory and practice of parliamentary government.
March 22, 2008... Several legislatures have internship programs which provide an opportunity for university graduates to observe the real world of parliamentary government. This article by two such interns looks at some reasons for the gulf between what is...

Interview with the Canadian and American Ambassadors.(David H. Wilkins and Michael Wilson)(Interview)
March 22, 2008... The United States and Canada share not only a long border but their histories, economies, societies and interests are intertwined. At the centre of the relationship are the Ambassadors of the two countries, David H. Wilkins and Michael Wilson....

New Speaker in Saskatchewan.(Don Toth)(Brief article)
March 22, 2008... The Speaker of the 26th Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan is Don Toth, MLA for Moosomin. The Speaker is a Member of the Legislative Assembly elected in a secret ballot by all other MLAs to maintain order in the House in an impartial manner....

Twenty fifth Canadian Presiding Officers' Conference.(Conference news)
March 22, 2008... Speakers and Presiding Officers from every Canadian legislature except Nunavut met in Quebec City from January 24-27, 2008. The Presiding Officers' Conference was hosted by the President of the Quebec National Assembly, Michel Bissonnet....

Quebec City 1608-2008.(400th anniversary )(Brief article)
March 22, 2008... During the Conference delegates were briefed on the numerous events being planned to mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec. Lucie Latulippe of the organizing committee outlined some highlights including a free open air concert by...

Uneasy Neighbo(u)rs: Canada, the USA and the Dynamics of State, Industry and Culture.(Book review)
March 22, 2008... Uneasy Neighbo(u)rs: Canada, the USA and the Dynamics of State, Industry and Culture by David T. Jones and David Kilgour, Mississauga, Ontario, John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. Canadian-American relations have been called "the world's...

The Quebec Parliament Building: A Monument to History.(Book review)
March 22, 2008... The Quebec Parliament Building: A Monument to History. Text by Gaston Deschenes, Photographes by Francesco Bellomo, Les Editions Stromboli, Assemblee nationale du Quebec, 2007. The City of Quebec marks its 400th anniversary in 2008 with...

Manitoba.(Report)
March 22, 2008... On November 20, 2007 Lieutenant Governor John Harvard delivered the NDP government's eleventh Speech from the Throne since 1999, commencing the second session of the 39th Manitoba Legislature. The address conveyed a range of government...

Senate.(Report)
March 22, 2008... The Senate was occupied during the early days of the Second Session of the Thirty-ninth Parliament with the customary duties of a new session. Debate on the Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne, the formal response from the Senate to...

Ontario.(Legislative Reports)(Report)
March 22, 2008... Following the general election of October 10, 2007, the 39th Parliament of Ontario was convened by Lieutenant Governor David Onley on Wednesday, November 28, 2007. The election resulted in re-election of the Liberal Party led by Dalton...

Newfoundland and Labrador.(Report)(Brief article)
March 22, 2008... As reported in the last issue the General Election took place on October 9, 2007 however there was some unfinished business flowing from that event. The deferred election in the District of Grand Falls-Windsor-Buchans occasioned by the untimely...

Alberta.(Legislative Reports)(Report)
March 22, 2008... The Fall sitting of the 3rd Session of the 26th Legislature adjourned on December 5, 2007, after 17 sitting days, including a record 21-hour and 53 minute sitting from December 4, 2007, to December 5, 2007. This was the second all-night sitting...

New Brunswick.(Legislative Reports)(Report)
March 22, 2008... The Fall sitting of the Second Session of the 56th Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, which opened on November 27, 2007, adjourned on December 20, 2007, after sitting a total of 15 days. The agenda of the House for the Fall sitting was...

Saskatchewan.(Legislative Reports)(Report)
March 22, 2008... Premier Brad Wall introduced his first cabinet on November 21, 2007 at a ceremony at Government House. While none of the eighteen ministers had previous cabinet experience, fourteen had served on the opposition benches. All but one of the...

British Columbia.(Report)
March 22, 2008... In accordance with British Columbia s parliamentary calendar, the fall sitting of the Third Session adjourned on November 29, 2007. Since the previous legislative report, only a few additional public bills were passed by the House prior to...

Assemblee Nationale: Quebec.(Legislative Reports)(Report)
March 22, 2008... The parliamentary proceedings the first session of the 38th legislature, which were adjourned on June 21, 2007, resumed for the fall sessional period on October 16, 2007. At the end of this period, on December 19 the Members of the Quebec...

Yukon.(Legislative Reports)(Report)
March 22, 2008... On October 25, 2007, the Fall Sitting of the First Session of the 32nd Legislative Assembly resumed. On December 13th, the 28-day sitting adjourned. During the meeting period, reports were tabled on electoral boundaries, MLA salaries, and...

Prince Edward Island.(Legislative Reports)(Report)
March 22, 2008... The First Session of the Sixty-third General Assembly adjourned to the call of the Speaker on November 2, 2007, after 13 sitting days. On February 8, 2008, Premier Robert Ghiz announced that the First Session of the Sixty-third General Assembly...

House of Commons.(Legislative Reports)(Report)
March 22, 2008... The final months of 2007 in the House of Commons were the stage for unusual events in parliamentary history. The Chalk River nuclear plant, used to produce the radioisotopes needed for medical diagnostics tests, was shut down on November 18,...

Nova Scotia.(Legislative Reports)(Report)
March 22, 2008... The House held a special sitting on October 25, 2007 for the purpose of electing a Speaker, since the Speakership fell vacant by reason of the former Speaker, Cecil Clarke, becoming Minister of Justice and Attorney General, and at that sitting,...