Are Private Members’ Bills A Useful Tool in Today’s Legislatures?

Private Members’ Bills are ones presented by members who are not part of cabinet. They may be opposition members or private members on the government side. This article argues that private members’ bills are useful mechanisms to serve citizens regardless of whether the bill passes or not. They can serve as a catalyst for generating the discussion and motivation required to achieve the policy end.

Continue reading “Are Private Members’ Bills A Useful Tool in Today’s Legislatures?”

Engaging Youth Through Social Media

Article 3 / 13 , Vol 35 No 4 (Winter)

Engaging Youth Through Social Media

The last two decades have witnessed a decline in voter turnout, most noticeably among young voters. During this same period, the use of cell phones and digital and social media has increased dramatically. Effective use of social media tools has the exciting potential to connect young voters with political decision-makers and to help rebuild the relationship between citizens, elected officials and parliamentary democracy. This article offers some new ideas about how to engage with young people.

Before turning to how a variety of social media tools can be used to engage voters, I would like to quickly sketch out the challenges we face engaging young people and getting them out to vote.

Continue reading “Engaging Youth Through Social Media”

The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians’ Conference in Canada

Article 2 / 12 , Vol 35 No 3 (Autumn)

The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians’ Conference in Canada

The CWP, as part of the larger Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, works for better representation for women in legislatures throughout Canada and the Commonwealth. In July the 2012 Conference of the CWP was held in Quebec City. This article looks at the agenda of the Conference and future projects for the CWP (Canada).

The CWP-Canadian Region is governed by a steering committee that promotes the views and concerns of women parliamentarians throughout the region and is responsible for developing programs to further the aims of the CWP within the region. It is composed of one representative from each province and territory and one representative from the federal parliament . Each member serves a three-year term. Its operations are overseen by a Chair, who also represents Canada on the CWP Steering Committee – International.

Continue reading “The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians’ Conference in Canada”

Defining the Role of an Independent Member

Article 1 / 10 , Vol 35 No 1 (Spring)

Defining the Role of an Independent Member

Independents are those elected members who are not recognized as having official party affiliation. They may have run under the independent label at election time, or have defected from a recognized political party during the life of a parliament, or belong to a political party that does not have at least four elected members. This article looks at the challenges of serving as an independent member in a system where the vast majority of people belong to political parties and the rules and conventions have been designed for parties.

Continue reading “Defining the Role of an Independent Member”

The Whip in the Westminster System

Article 2 / 10 , Vol 35 No 1 (Spring)

The Whip in the Westminster System

In July 2010, twenty-six participants from fourteen Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Branches, participated in the Commonwealth Parliamentary Whips Network in Hunter Valley, New South Wales. The idea came from Australia and the workshop was developed in consultation with the Whips from the Australian Parliament. In this article one of the Canadian participants outlines the topics discussed and the recommendations of the workshop.

At the outset let me note that the role of whip is as diverse as the people and the countries in the Commonwealth. There are whips that do the job of both caucus chair and whips. Some of them also do the job as House leader or parts of the House leader job, and even some of the jobs that our leader would do is left up to the whip. When I refer to whips, I am referring to the general term of whip because the job description varies from legislature to legislature, from country to country. In our system in Saskatchewan our caucus chair attends cabinet meetings and I do not. But in Great Britain, they do not have a caucus chair and their whip fulfills both those roles. That individual attends cabinet meetings.

Continue reading “The Whip in the Westminster System”

Roundtable: Managing the House in Fiscally Challenging Times

Article 5 / 10 , Vol 35 No 1 (Spring)

Roundtable: Managing the House in Fiscally Challenging Times

The final session of the 33rd Canadian Regional Seminar held in Fredericton on November 4, 2011, was devoted to the issue of financial restraint. The following extracts are based on the transcript. Dale Graham is Speaker of the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, Bill Barisoff is Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Alfie MacLeod is Deputy Speaker of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, Steve Peters is a former Speaker of the Ontario Legislative Assembly, David Smith is a member of the Senate of Canada, Gordie Gosse is Speaker of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, Fatima Houda Pepin is Deputy Speaker of the Quebec National Assembly, Hunter Tootoo is Speaker of the Nunavut Legislative Assembly.

Dale Graham (New Brunswick): Fiscal management during difficult economic times is becoming a common theme in many jurisdictions. As Speakers, it is important that we gain an understanding of the financial workings of our respective parliaments to ensure that we can continue to deliver core services. In New Brunswick, we have been through a number of cost-cutting exercises since the early nineties, and we anticipate more cost-cutting in the next few years. We know that difficult times are ahead, and, while there is no one-size-fits-all solution, some common considerations can be applied to our respective Legislatures.

Continue reading “Roundtable: Managing the House in Fiscally Challenging Times”

Government Renewal and Increasing the Role of Caucus

Article 2 / 12 , Vol 34 No 4 (Winter)

Government Renewal and Increasing the Role of Caucus

Two major themes have become apparent since the Progressive Conservative took office on October 12, 2010. One is that the province is facing a major fiscal challenge and New Brunswickers recognize the need to address that. Secondly, the public wants to be consulted on important decisions. This article looks at steps that have been taken to deal with these issues.

The New Brunswick Public Accounts indicate the province reported six years of balanced budgets between 1999-2000 and 2007-2008. From 2007-2008 to 2009-2010, government expenses increased 12.5% while revenue was essentially unchanged. Significant deficits were incurred as a result. Fiscal year 2008-2009 reported a deficit of $192.3 million which rose to $737.9 million in 2009-2010. Provincial net debt, which was under $6.6 billion for 2006-2007, grew to $8.4 billion as of December 31, 2010. For 2010-2011, the deficit, estimated at $740 million, will bring the debt to well over $9 billion. The provincial credit rating has been downgraded and the cost to service the public debt for the year ending March 31, 2010, was $616.6 million.

Continue reading “Government Renewal and Increasing the Role of Caucus”

Oversight of Regulations by Parliamentarians

Article 3 / 11 , Vol 33 No 4 (Winter)

Oversight of Regulations by Parliamentarians

Regulations sometimes referred to as delegated legislation or subordinate legislation are a common feature in modern parliamentary democracies in Canada and throughout the world. They give specific form and substance to laws and set out the finer details of an act’s operation. The common characteristic is that the parent statute must specify that such orders can be made and for what purpose. This article examines some of the advantages and disadvantages that have arisen from their use. It also discusses those jurisdictions that have developed processes for the review of regulations. Lastly, it will provide some suggestions on how to increase the role of parliamentarians in the review process.

Practical considerations and the administrative needs of modern states have made it unavoidable that legislatures shift some of their lawmaking authority to the executive branch. Governments typically pass hundreds–if not thousands–of pieces of delegated legislation each year in order to function effectively and efficiently. Obviously, legislative assemblies are simply incapable of processing every regulation in the same manner as a bill. Parliamentary time and resources are simply too scarce. Furthermore, many regulatory initiatives are specific in scope, and would be unlikely to warrant the full consideration of the House.

Continue reading “Oversight of Regulations by Parliamentarians”

Yukon’s Self Governing First Nations

Article 1 / 12 , Vol 33 No 2 (Summer)

Yukon’s Self Governing First Nations

The federal government devolved responsibility formerly held by the Northern Affairs Program for public lands, water, forestry, mineral resources and environmental assessment to the Yukon Government on April 1, 2003 by way of the Devolution Transfer Agreement. Since then, self-government agreements have changed the face of governance in the Yukon and altered the relationship between the governments of First Nations, Yukon and Canada. Eleven of the fourteen First Nations in Yukon have settled their land claims. This article looks at recent developments in this area. Continue reading “Yukon’s Self Governing First Nations”