Canadian Parliamentary Review articles from September 2007

Canadian Parliamentary Review archives from September 2007

Democracy in the 21st century: Canada needs a War Powers Act.(Guest Editorial)(Editorial)
September 22, 2007... In Canada the declaration of war, or its functional equivalent, is still a prerogative power. It should not be. A.V. Dicey, in his Law of the Constitution described the prerogative power as the residue of discretionary authority which at...

The first outreach program of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians.
September 22, 2007... The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (the CWP) is a network that provides the opportunity for its Members to share experiences, discuss topics of interest and seek solutions to the special problems faced by the female minority in...

The Nunavut Legislative Assembly and its independent officers.
September 22, 2007... Canada's newest territory, Nunavut, came into existence on April 1, 1999. Upon its creation Nunavut inherited the majority of its statutes from the Northwest Territories. A number of these statutes established independent officers of the...

The Ontario Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform: putting the public back in public policy.
September 22, 2007... On the morning of April 15, 2007 in a non-descript room at Queen's Park, a group of 103 citizens cast their final vote concluding a remarkable journey that began eight months earlier. In doing so, they would set into motion a province-wide...

A school for politicians and political staffers.(George Washington University)
September 22, 2007... Discussions about diverse public policy issues like ethical behaviour, accountability and voter apathy often come back to issues of education. What are our schools and universities doing to address problems that have emerged in the political...

The role of accounting officers: a perspective from the United Kingdom.
September 22, 2007... The Canadian Federal Accountability Act created the new office of "Accounting Officer" following recommendations contained in the Gomery Report and other recent studies. In March 2007 the Public Accounts Committee adopted a "Protocol for...

Parliamentary privilege, rule of law and the Charter after the Vaid case.
September 22, 2007... Parliamentary privilege immunises certain activities of legislative bodies and their members from the ordinary law and judicial scrutiny. It seems to place these activities beyond both the ideals and the institutional framework of the rule of...

Interview: two senators look at life in the Upper House.(Sharon Carstairs and Wilbert Keon)(Interview)
September 22, 2007... Two senior members of Canada's Upper Chamber reflect on their careers in the Senate and the role of the Upper Chamber in Canada's political life. The interviews were conducted separately in June 2007 by Karen Schwinghamer of Senate...

Canadian Regional Conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.(CPA Activities: The Canadian Scene)
September 22, 2007... The 45th CPA Regional Conference was held in Winnipeg from July 23-29, 2007. Approximately 80 delegates from every Canadian legislature except Ontario were in attendance. Among the special guests were Dr. William Shija, Secretary General of the...

Meeting of Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians.(CPA Activities: The Canadian Scene)(Brief article)
September 22, 2007... Following a precedent established last year in Ottawa the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians held a one day Conference immediately preceding the opening of the Canadian Regional Conference. About two dozen female legislators from Alberta,...

New Speaker in Prince Edward Island.(CPA Activities: The Canadian Scene)(Kathleen Casey)(Brief biography)(Brief article)
September 22, 2007... The New Speaker of the Prince Edward Island Legislative Assembly is Kathleen Casey. She was elected on July 6, 2007. Ms. Casey was born in New Waterford, Nova Scotia, where she received her early education, graduating from Breton Education...

An Assembly for Europe: The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly, 1948-1989.(Parliamentary Book Shelf)(Book review)
September 22, 2007... An Assembly for Europe: The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly, 1948-1989, by Bruno Hailer, Council of Europe Publishing, 2006. This book by a former Secretary General tells the story of the origins and growth of the first...

Real Power to the People: A Novel Approach to Electoral Reform in British Columbia.(Parliamentary Book Shelf)(Book review)
September 22, 2007... Real Power to the People: A Novel Approach to Electoral Reform in British Columbia by R. B. Herath, University Press of America, Lanham Maryland, 2007 This book adds to the growing literature on the British Columbia Citizens' Assembly on...

Assemblee Nationale: Quebec.(Legislative Reports)
September 22, 2007... The 38th Legislature opened on May 8, 2007 with the election of the President and Vice-Presidents of the National Assembly. An agreement reached between the three parliamentary groups represented at the Assembly provided for temporary rules...

Saskatchewan.(Legislative Reports)
September 22, 2007... The Assembly completed its spring session on schedule on May 17. The adjournment brought to a close the first session of the House under the sitting calendar adopted last October. The session saw the introduction of 72 public bills and the...

Senate.(Legislative Reports)
September 22, 2007... The Senate was the centre of attention throughout the spring of 2007 as tension increased between the Upper Chamber and the minority government. Two pieces of legislation in particular, one a private members' public bill and the other a budget...

Alberta.(Legislative Reports)
September 22, 2007... The Spring Sitting of the Third Session of the Twenty-Sixth Legislature adjourned on June 14, 2007, after 45 sitting days for a total of just over 251 sitting hours. By the conclusion of the sitting, 27 Government Bills and one Private Member's...

British Columbia.(Legislative Reports)
September 22, 2007... With the House scheduled to adjourn for the summer break on May 31, 2007, Government House Leader Michael de Jong introduced a motion in accordance with the Legislative Assembly's Standing Order 81 (b) to invoke time allocation limits for three...

Manitoba.(Legislative Reports)
September 22, 2007... Manitobans went to the polls on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 to vote in the province's 39th general election. Once the polls closed and the ballots were counted the NDP emerged with 36 members and a third majority government. The Progressive...

Ontario.(Legislative Reports)
September 22, 2007... The Second Session of the 38th Parliament was prorogued on June 5, 2007. The House had a very busy spring session approving a number of important bills after they were reported back from various Standing Committees of the Legislative Assembly....

New Brunswick.(Legislative Reports)
September 22, 2007... The First Session of the 56th Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, which opened on February 6, 2007, prorogued on Friday July 6, after sitting a total of 79 sitting days. The last session to approach this number of sitting days was in 1975,...

Prince Edward Island.(Legislative Reports)
September 22, 2007... The Sixty-second General Assembly was dissolved on April 30, and a provincial general election was held on May 28, 2007. At dissolution, the Progressive Conservative party held 23 seats, and the Liberals, 4. The election resulted in a complete...

Newfoundland and Labrador.(Legislative Reports)
September 22, 2007... The Third Session of the Forty-Fifth General Assembly resumed on March 22nd. Four recently elected Members took their seats for the first time: Keith Hutchings (Ferryland), Tony Cornect (Port au Port), Dwight Ball (Humber Valley) and John...

House of Commons.(Legislative Reports)
September 22, 2007... With public opinion polls continuing to indicate that no political party enjoyed sufficient support to form a majority government, it was clear to most observers by mid-May that there was little appetite on either side of the House for a spring...