Women Achieve Parity in NWT Legislative Assembly Without Guaranteed Seats

This entry is part 2 of 13 in the series Vol 42 No. 4 (Winter)

Women Achieve Parity in NWT Legislative Assembly Without Guaranteed Seats

In just one general election the Northwest Territories went from having the least representation by women in its Assembly to the most in the country. Moreover, women MLAs were elected to fill four of six cabinet positions and to be the premier. In this article, the author suggests these dramatic changes are a response, in part, to a significant discussion and debate members of the previous legislative assembly undertook to improve women’s participation and representation in the territory. She reviews the proposal for temporary special measures as a way to build representation, outlines other recommendations MLAs made to encourage more women to participate in territorial politics, and explains why this environment ultimately led many more women to put their name son the ballot in 2019.

Julie Green, MLA Continue reading “Women Achieve Parity in NWT Legislative Assembly Without Guaranteed Seats”

The “Right To Bare Arms” Drama: Dress Guidelines in British Columbia’s Legislative Assembly

This entry is part 3 of 13 in the series Vol 42 No. 4 (Hiver)

The “Right To Bare Arms” Drama: Dress Guidelines in British Columbia’s Legislative Assembly

Following a Legislative Press Gallery protest – about whether clothing that revealed bare arms was appropriate work attire in British Columbia’s Legislative Assembly – BC’s Speaker Darryl Plecas asked the Acting Clerk KateRyan-Lloyd to explore and update the institution’s largely unwritten dress guidelines. In this article, the author recounts the “Right To Bare Arms” drama, outlines the steps the Acting Clerk took to create new guidelines, and explains what kind of input her colleagues offered during the process. She concludes that revisiting the Assembly’s dress code and guidelines – especially in light of an increasingly diverse workplace and contemporary ideas about gender identity – was a valuable endeavour and encourages other parliamentarians to consider similar issues if they engage in a similar process.

Janet Routledge, MLA Continue reading “The “Right To Bare Arms” Drama: Dress Guidelines in British Columbia’s Legislative Assembly”

Take Off Those Olympic Mittens, but the Goldfish Bowl is in Order: Props, Exhibits and Displays in Parliaments

This entry is part 4 of 13 in the series Vol 42 No. 4 (Winter)

Take Off Those Olympic mittens, but the goldfish Bowl is in Order: Props, Exhibits and Displays in Parliaments

Maintaining order is an important part of the Speaker’s responsibility in parliament. In order to protect speech within a chamber, Speakers have long referred to written and unwritten rules and precedents which have limited non-verbal expression to communicate a message – namely props, decorations, displays, exhibits, and certain clothing. However, Speakers in different jurisdictions have opted to make some allowances provided these items do not fundamentally alter the desired decorum. In this article, the author traces the history of such rulings, beginning in Westminster, before surveying Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial parliaments.He concludes by highlighting practices in Australia and New Zealand. The author would like to thank theAssociation of Parliamentary Libraries in Canada for conducting a survey of Canadian jurisdictions for this paper. He is also grateful for the research assistance provided by the Ontario Legislative Library.

Continue reading “Take Off Those Olympic Mittens, but the Goldfish Bowl is in Order: Props, Exhibits and Displays in Parliaments”

Ethnoracial Identities and Political Representation in Ontario and British Columbia

This entry is part 5 of 13 in the series Vol 42 No. 4 (Winter)

Ethnoracial Identities and Political Representation in Ontario and British Columbia

Political representation of minority groups is an important aspect of modern societies. Are our parliaments generally reflective of the people they serve? In this article, the authors use the results of two recent Canadian provincial elections (Ontario, 2018 and British Columbia, 2017) to explore whether majority and minority groups are proportionally represented in legislatures and to probe some explanations as to why these groups may be over-represented or under-represented. They address notions of residential concentration and the assumption ofethnic affinity to partially explain where ethnoracial minority candidates are likely to be elected. In contrast topast work which has found a general under-representation of minority groups, this analysis finds some nuance.Some racialized groups, notably Chinese Canadians, appear to be proportionally more under-represented than others. The authors explore a range of arguments to explain this finding. In conclusion, the authors highlight two key findings from this research. First, they suggest it is difficult to make the case that being part of a racialized group has a negative impact on political representation at the provincial level – at least currently in two provinces with large racialized populations – without introducing nuance that subdivides ethnoracial minority groups. The second finding is conceptual: ethnic affinity cannot solely predict voting behaviour. The authors contend that the concept must be broadened to include centripetal ethnic affinity and transversal ethnic affinity.

Pascasie Minani Passy and Abdoulaye Gueye Continue reading “Ethnoracial Identities and Political Representation in Ontario and British Columbia”

Strengthening the Parliamentary Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation: Lessons From Australia

This entry is part 6 of 13 in the series Vol 42 No. 4 (Winter)

Strengthening the Parliamentary Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation: Lessons From Australia

Delegated legislation involves Parliament lending its legislative powers to the executive branch of government, such as to the cabinet or an individual minister. As the ultimate source of legislative power, Parliament has a special responsibility to keep an eye on executive lawmaking. The Australian federal scrutiny committee – formerly called the Senate Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances, and now rebadged as the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation – recently carried out an inquiry to consider how it could improve its scrutiny process. In 2019 it published a unanimous report that was endorsed by the Australian Senate in November when it amended its Standing Orders in line with the committee’s proposed changes. This article provides an overview of the Australian scrutiny committee and its inquiry. It then considers the committee’s report and recommendations, which present an opportunity to consider changes to the parliamentary scrutiny of delegated legislation
in other jurisdictions such as Canada.

Lorne Neudorf Continue reading “Strengthening the Parliamentary Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation: Lessons From Australia”

Parliamentary Politics Runs In The Family: The Halldorsons

This entry is part 1 of 14 in the series Vol 42 No. 3 (Fall)

Parliamentary Politics Runs In The Family: The Halldorsons

Elin Salome Halldorson was the first female elected from a rural riding and the second woman to be elected to the Manitoba Legislature. She was also the first female of Icelandic descent to be elected in Manitoba. Salome, as she was known, was born in Lundar, Manitoba in 1887, shortly after her parents emigrated from Iceland. Salome studied at Wesley College, the University of Manitoba and completed post-graduate studies in the United States and France. She taught languages at a private Icelandic school in Winnipeg where she was also the principal and dean.

Salome was elected as the Member of the Legislative Assembly for St. George in the 1936 provincial election. During her campaign, she gained popularity by speaking in French, Icelandic, English or German, depending on her audience. A strong believer in the Social Credit movement, she was one of five candidates who won a seat; she later became the president of the Manitoba Social Credit League. She was defeated in the next general election in 1941 by Skuli Sigfusson.

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The Inception of an International Grand Committee

This entry is part 2 of 14 in the series Vol 42 No. 3 (Fall)

The Inception of an International Grand Committee

Many issues studied by parliaments cross borders and boundaries. Concern about a major data breach involving social media users prompted similar parliamentary committee studies in both Canada and the United Kingdom. Information exchanged between the two committees and their willingness to work together paved the way for the inception of an International Grand Committee (IGC) – a series of meetings held by existing national-level parliamentary committees where parliamentarians from other countries are invited to participate. In this article, the authors outline the process to create the IGC, summarize two IGC meetings, and present comments on the IGC’s work by three Canadian parliamentarians who participated in these meetings. They conclude by noting the IGC meetings enabled parliamentarians from various countries to work together on issues of shared concern and importance, using existing national parliamentary committees as hosts and conduits for these international meetings; this structure differs from the work of multilateral interparliamentary assemblies.

Alexandra Savoie and Maxime-Olivier Thibodeau
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She Should Run: An Interview with Laura Ross

This entry is part 3 of 14 in the series Vol 42 No. 3 (Fall)

She Should Run: An Interview with Laura Ross

She Should Run is a campaign schools initiative organized by the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) Canada Region. The campaign aims to launch non-partisan “campaign schools” where women can come to learn about the processes of running for public office. These campaign schools, which usually take the form of short conferences, follow the CWP’s framework; they consist of various sessions and modules created specifically to support women entering the political sphere. The Canadian Parliamentary Review spoke with Laura Ross, Chair of the CWP Canada Region, to find out more about She Should Run.

Interview by Elena Senechal-Becker
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Tricorne Tweeting: Alberta’s Speaker Engages the Public and Enhances Democracy

This entry is part 4 of 14 in the series Vol 42 No. 3 (Fall)

Tricorne Tweeting: Alberta’s Speaker Engages the Public and Enhances Democracy

Interpreting and enforcing the rules of parliament is a central part of a Speaker’s responsibilities within an Assembly. However, it is certainly not the only part of the job. A Speaker is also an ambassador of the Assembly, and it is her or his responsibility to explain, educate and provide resources on parliamentary democracy. A Speaker is, therefore, an advocate and exponent of democracy and democratic institutions. In an effort to fulfill this role and communicate in a way that draws in a large audience, Alberta’s Speaker has created a new digital and social media campaign to engage with Albertans and visitors interested in the province’s parliamentary processes and traditions. In this article, the author outlines aspects of the campaign and explains why a Speaker’s neutral, non-partisan position makes him or her uniquely equipped to advocate and explain parliamentary democracy to citizens and visitors alike.

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The Politics of Seat Reductions in Canadian Legislative Assemblies

This entry is part 5 of 14 in the series Vol 42 No. 3 (Fall)

The Politics of Seat Reductions in Canadian Legislative Assemblies

How do Canadian parliaments determine the correct number of representatives required for their assemblies? There is really no objective answer. In this article, the author explains common reasoning used to promote or oppose proposals to reduce the number of seats in a legislature. He concludes that whether a person believes a legislative assembly warrants more or fewer private members, what matters is whether those members have a meaningful role. This article synthesizes information presented in “Fewer politicians and smaller assemblies: how party elites rationalize reducing the number of seats in a legislature – lessons from Canada,” an article the author published in a recent issue of the Journal of Legislative Studies.

Alex Marland
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