Privilege in Practice: Queen’s Park Perspectives on Parliamentary Privilege

Parliamentary privilege refers to immunities and rights necessary for Parliament and legislative assemblies, as institutions, and their Members, as representatives of the electorate, to fulfill their functions without interference. As a set of fixed legal powers, parliamentary privilege is necessary to protect legislative institutions, elected Members, committees, and all those involved in parliamentary proceedings. Without these protections, Members may face limitations or be obstructed in performing their parliamentary duties of legislating and debating. Additionally, without privilege, the role of legislative institutions as a forum for representing citizens’ concerns would be severely undermined. The rights and immunities exercised by a legislative institution depend on the constitutional context. Jurisdictions across the Commonwealth outline the protection of this ancient parliamentary right in different ways. Ontario, for example, has partially codified its understanding of parliamentary privilege, partly due to historical doubts regarding the constitutionality of provincial legislatures’ right to legislate their own privileges. In this article, the author explores whether there is interest within the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in further asserting, clarifying, or modernizing how it outlines privilege. This research further considers how legislative assemblies can ensure that the protections of privilege meet the needs and expectations of their Members and support of parliamentary democracy in the 21st century.

Megan Ryan-Lloyd

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