The speech, which is written by the cabinet,
and elect their Speaker.
sets forth the government?s view of the
condition of the country and the policies it
Once the Governor General arrives in the
will follow, and the bills it will introduce to
Senate, the Usher of the Black Rod is again
deal with that condition. The members of
dispatched to summon the House of Commons,
the House of Commons then return to their
and the members troop up again to stand at
own chamber, where, normally, the prime
the bar of the Upper House. The Speaker of the
minister immediately introduces Bill C-1, An
House of Commons then informs the Governor
Act respecting the Administration of Oaths
General of his or her election, and asks for the
of Offi
ce. This is a dummy bill, never heard of
What Goes On in Parliament
41
How Canadians Govern Themselves
ouse
vernment H
esy of Go
ourt
o: C
Phot
Rideau Hall is the residence of the Governor General.
again till the opening of the next session. It is
and received Royal Assent before either house
introduced to reassert the House of Commons?
considered the Speech from the Throne at all.
right to discuss any business it sees fi t before
Had it not been for the traditional assertion
considering the Speech from the Throne. This
of the right of the Commons to do anything
right was fi rst asserted by the English House
it saw fi t before considering the speech, this
of Commons more than 300 years ago, and is
essential emergency legislation would have
reasserted there every session by a similar pro
been seriously delayed.
forma bill.
The address in reply to the Speech from the
This formal reassertion of an ancient right of the
Throne is, however, normally the fi rst real
Commons has been of very great practical use in
business of each session (a ?sitting? of the
Canada more than once. In 1950, for example, a
House usually lasts a day; a ?session? lasts for
nation-wide railway strike demanded immediate
months, or even years, though there must be
action by Parliament. So the moment the House
at least one sitting per year). A government
came back from the Senate Chamber, the prime
supporter moves, and another government
minister introduced Bill C-1, but this time no
supporter seconds, a motion for an address
dummy; it was a bill to end the strike and send
of thanks to the Governor General for the
the railway workers back to work, and it was put
gracious speech. The opposition parties move
through all its stages, passed by both houses,
amendments critical of the government and
42
What Goes On in Parliament
its policies, and expressing want of confi dence
period, when members (chiefl y opposition)
in the government. Debate on this address
question ministers on government actions
and the amendments is limited to seven days,
and policies. This is usually a very lively
