Category Archives: Traditions and History

Question Period and the “Administrative Responsibility” of Federal Ministers

Posted on 2022/11/05 by J.W.J. Bowden

The Moral Panic Over Ontario’s Invocation of the Notwithstanding Clause Breaks the Rules of the House of Commons The moral panic over the Notwithstanding Clause escaped containment in Toronto and spread to Ottawa on 2 November 2022. The federal House … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitution (Written), Decorum, Notwithstanding Clause, Parliament, Traditions and History | Leave a comment

A Day in the Life of the 32nd Parliament, Part II

Posted on 2021/09/18 by J.W.J. Bowden

Brian Mulroney responded to Pierre Trudeau with convivial good humour, and his half of the exchange provides an example of my observation yesterday that MPs in the 1980s often spoke to their counterparts directly in the second person. Mulroney’s jovial … Continue reading →

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A Day in the Life of the 32nd Parliament

Posted on 2021/09/17 by J.W.J. Bowden

The first televised proceedings of the House of Commons of Canada began in 1977, fully two years before C-SPAN began televising the United States House of Representatives. Our equivalent of C-SPAN, CPAC, has now uploaded online all the video footage … Continue reading →

Posted in Decorum, Parliament, Traditions and History | 2 Comments

Historical Resources on the Proceedings of the House of Commons and Senate

Posted on 2017/04/22 by J.W.J. Bowden

Recently, two excellent historical resources on the proceedings of the Parliament of Canada have become readily available online. Many of you would join me in finding them useful and interesting.

Posted in Parliament, Traditions and History | Leave a comment

The Old House of Commons Chamber (1866-1916)

Posted on 2016/12/25 by J.W.J. Bowden

  While I was browsing at the Astrolabe on Sparks Street two days ago (which, sadly, is closing down soon), I happened upon this neat photograph of the old Canadian House of Commons, taken in 1898, 18 years before the … Continue reading →

Posted in History of British North America, Parliament, Traditions and History | 4 Comments