Tag: MLA

“The People’s Office”: Constituency Offices in the Far North

Article 6 / 14 , Vol 37 No 2 (Summer)

“The People’s Office”: Constituency Offices in the Far North

In this roundtable discussion, three MLAs from rural/northern parts of the Northwest Territories reflect on the unique challenges parliamentarians face when doing constituency work in remote communities. They explain that offices often tailor themselves to the needs of the community. For MLAs, an office helps to create work/life balance, offers a source of much-needed local employment, and provides an additional connection to the seat of government. They are also the office of last appeal for constituents frustrated by bureaucratic decisions.

CPR: When you represent a geographically vast district, how do you decide where to set up your constituency office(s)? How do you balance where you spend your time?

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British Columbia Reaches a New Benchmark for Women’s Representation

Article 7 / 14 , Vol 37 No 2 (Summer)

British Columbia Reaches a New Benchmark for Women’s Representation

With 36 per cent of its MLAs now women, British Columbia currently has the highest proportion of women parliamentarians in Canada. Moreover, women hold key decision-making positions in the province as Lieutenant Governor, Premier and Speaker. While celebrating these milestones, in this article, B.C. Speaker Linda Reid warns against complacency and urges parliamentarians across Canada and the Commonwealth to continue implementing changes designed to facilitate a level playing field for women interested in political life. She provides several examples of innovations which have contributed to the province’s success at bolstering the number of women representatives and improving the quality of their work life in politics.

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Time to Consider Abolition of the Senate

Article 3 / 13 , Vol 36 No 4 (Winter)

Time to Consider Abolition of the Senate

On November 6, 2013 the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan Assembly voted to repeal the Senate Nominee Election Act. Immediately thereafter the Premier introduced a motion that the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan supports the abolition of the Senate of Canada. Following speeches by the Premier, the Leader of the Opposition and other members the motion was adopted. The Government House Leader then asked the Speaker to transmit copies of the motion and verbatim transcripts to the Prime Minister of Canada and the leaders of the opposition parties in the House of Commons, as well as the premier of each Canadian province and territory. This article is a slightly abridged version of the Premier’s speech on the motion.

This is an important issue that we are about to debate in the Legislative Assembly. It is not the most important issue facing the province of Saskatchewan. For most people, it probably would not rank in the top twenty. So we are not going to spend a lot of time on the bicameral nature of our federal government and whether that should change. But we are going to make, I believe, an important pronouncement not just to our own provincial citizens to whom we are responsible, for whom we work, but I think as well to the country, to let them know that the province of Saskatchewan after some considerable deliberation — and not at all revolving around current affairs, though perhaps informed to some degree by them — have come to a view of what might be best for the country with respect to that bicameral parliament.

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The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians’ Celebrate Women’s Success

Article 4 / 13 , Vol 36 No 4 (Winter)

The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians’ Celebrate Women’s Success

The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians, as part of the larger Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, works towards better representation of women in legislatures throughout Canada and the Commonwealth. In July, the 2013 Steering Committee Meeting and Conference of the CWP was held in Edmonton. This article looks at the agenda of the conference and strategic projects for the CWP (Canada).

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Challenges for Women in Politics

Article 4 / 11 , Vol 36 No 3 (Autumn)

Challenges for Women in Politics

This article looks at some of the reasons that have tended to discourage women from running for elected office and why increased participation is desirable.

In our Canadian Parliament, only 24% of elected parliamentarians are women. In 2007, in Manitoba, we hit the magical number of just over 30% of elected legislators being women. In the 2011 election, however, it fell to 27% – we lost ground. Overall, women hold only about 20% of all seats in parliaments globally. But, it is not just in politics where the numbers of women are low. In Canada, only 10% of directors of public company boards are women, and only 29% of senior managers in Canada are women.

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Unveiling the Green Carpet in the Saskatchewan Legislature

Article 1 / 12 , Vol 36 No 1 (Spring)

Vol 36 No 1Unveiling the Green Carpet in the Saskatchewan Legislature

On October 10, 2012 the Speaker officially unveiled a new carpet in the Saskatchewan Legislative Chamber. The worn-out red carpet was replaced with a new green carpet in keeping with the original intent of the building’s design. A formal ceremony was held with invitations to former Speakers, Premiers, Clerks, MLAs and sitting Members, schools and members of the public.

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Government Involvement in Sport for Youth

Article 3 / 12 , Vol 36 No 1 (Spring)

Government Involvement in Sport for Youth

With youth obesity rates at an all-time high in Canada and daily youth physical exercise at an all-time low, government involvement in youth sport has become desperately needed for Canadian families. Without a strong set of core changes made by government to youth sport, Canadian families will continue to struggle with pressures such as; good nutrition, consistent meals, increasing cost barriers for sport registration fees, aged facilities, the decline of volunteerism, a lack of early age athletic development, a lack of programming for inner city youth, and the continuation of poor showings during international competitions. These growing problems require a change in culture and with obesity costing the country over $7 billion a year, the issue is a significant concern. This article looks at some possible solutions including successful models implemented in Europe.

The cost of government funded health care is spiraling out of control and room must be made for the health of youth. Top heavy and unwieldy with issues that affect the whole country, the Canadian health care system is based on the concept that after a citizen contracts an illness or becomes injured, the system is accessed to attempt to deal with and mitigate the consequences as best as possible. For some larger issues such as the rampant child obesity problem throughout the country, the health care system has a tendency of normalizing the issue.1 With more than 50% of the parents of obese children overweight themselves, this combination of busy lifestyle, reliance on convenience foods that are high in fat and calories, and too little physical activity all contribute to an issue that stems from the household.2

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Is There Such a Thing as a Women’s Agenda in Parliament?

Article 4 / 12 , Vol 36 No 1 (Spring)

Is There Such a Thing as a Women’s Agenda in Parliament?

At most CPA conferences at least one topic on the agenda deals with women in politics. This article considers some strategies needed to get more women elected but says women must go beyond the idea of a separate women’s agenda.

The subject of women in politics is a critical area of importance which has evolved since the day women were granted the right to vote. In Canada my province of Manitoba was the first in our country to grant women the right to vote in 1916. It was a hard fought battle. At the forefront was a woman by the name of Nellie McClung. She was a feisty woman who challenged the Premier of the day who felt that a woman’s role was to stay at home and fetch their man his slippers when he came home after a hard day’s work.

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Consensus Government in Nunavut

Article 1 / 13 , Vol 35 No 4 (Winter)

Vol 35 No 4Consensus Government in Nunavut

This article provides an introduction to the territory of Nunavut and its place in the Canadian federation. It also offers an overview of the Legislative Assembly’s structure and operations. It concludes with a discussion of some emerging challenges and opportunities.

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