When The Speaker Admonishes the Prime Minister for Asking the Opposition Questions

Posted on 2024/05/06 by J.W.J. Bowden

House of Commons Procedure and Practice states clearly that the House of Commons holds the prime minister and ministers to account for their actions and decisions:

“While there may be other purposes and ambitions involved in Question Period, its primary purpose must be the seeking of information from the government and calling the government to account for its actions.”

Consequently, MPs must ask questions “within the administrative responsibility of the government or of the individual Minister addressed.” Previous Speakers have already ruled that questions must pertain to the administrative responsibility of the Government of Canada, which precludes anything relating to what provincial governments do, or even to what the political party of the government has done on matters like election expenses.[1] Furthermore, allowing ministers to ask the opposition questions inverts the entire purpose and function of Question Period and cannot logically be permitted. House of Commons Procedure and Practice also acknowledges under the heading “Conduct of Question Period” that “Ministers do not ask oral questions, neither of other Ministers nor of private Members.”

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Posted in Parliament, Speaker of the House of Commons | 1 Comment

When the Speaker Diffuses Tension with Humour: The “Choral Welcome” of October 27th, 2004

Posted on 2024/05/01 by J.W.J. Bowden

The Conservative opposition benches erupted into the chorus of Steam’s “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” when John Efford, the Minister of Natural Resources, rose in response to a provocative question in which Conservative MP Norman Doyle accused his fellow Newfoundlander of treason by likening him to Benedict Arnold. The Two Newfoundlanders squared off over the what The Globe and Mail described that week as “the collapse of an offshore oil royalty deal” between Ottawa and St. John’s:[1]

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Posted in Decorum, Parliament, Speaker of the House of Commons | 1 Comment

Out With The 338 & In With The 343: The New Federal Electoral Boundaries Just Entered into Force Today!

Posted on 2024/04/23 by J.W.J. Bowden

Any dissolution of Parliament on or after 23 April 2024 will mean that Canadians vote in a general election using the new electoral boundaries established in 2023. The House of Commons grew from 338 to 343 MPs, with Alberta gaining three new MPs and British Columbia and Ontario each gaining one new MP.

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Posted in Electoral Redistributions | 3 Comments

Mimetic & Mendacious Mirth: The Secret to Jean Chretien’s Political Success and Enduring Appeal

Posted on 2024/03/05 by J.W.J. Bowden

The accolades poured in for Jean Chretien, Prime Minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003, as he became a nonagenarian in January. They came even from some unlikely sources, such as former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper.[1]

Chretien’s enduring success flows from his mimetic, mirthful mendacity, his masterful dissembling which envelopes everything in a fog of confusion and yet also simultaneously seems good-natured, entertains us, makes us laugh, and then makes us forget why we were angry at him in the first place. I genuinely had a lot of fun finding and listening to these olds excerpts of Chretien’s greatest hits and leafing through his memoirs; he does make me laugh, and you can’t stay angry at someone who makes you laugh. I hope that you will enjoy some of the highlights as well.

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Posted in Humour & Satire | 2 Comments

Happy Belated National Flag of Canada Day!

Posted on 2024/02/19 by J.W.J. Bowden

While I was looking at the proposals of the first iteration of the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commissions published in part I of the Canada Gazette in 1965, an unusual splash of colour amidst the drab black and white pages caught my eye. The Gazette records the proclamation of the Maple Leaf on 28 January 1965 and published it on 13 February 1965. The Maple Leaf then first flew two days later on 15 February 1965.

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien then designed 15 February 1996 as Canada’s first National Flag of Canada Day, though some of us remember that day more as when Chrétien introduced Canada to the famous Shawinigan Handshake.  I could not find any Order-in-Council by which cabinet advised the Governor General to proclaim 15 February National Flag of Canada Day, nor any proclamation in the Canada Gazette, so I know not by what authority Chrétien issued his declaration.

 

Posted in History of British North America | 1 Comment