When it was first published in 2000, House of Commons Procedure and Practice quickly became an indispensable resource on Parliament Hill. Seventeen years later, it is still one of the most widely consulted books on procedure and an invaluable tool for Members and their staff, House of Commons employees, and many Canadians.

Knowing the importance of this publication, an experienced team has been working for several years on a third edition. The team members carefully studied Canada’s constantly evolving parliamentary precedents and skillfully met the challenge put before them: to make each page of this publication a lasting record of the collective memory of the House of Commons and a unique guide to its customs and practices.

As Canada celebrates the 150th anniversary of Confederation, we would like to highlight, in our own way, Parliament’s contribution to Canadian history with this commemorative edition.

In 2008, when the second edition was still in production, a team of procedural clerks was assembled to compile notable procedural events for use in the third edition. The drafting stage began in 2010 under the successive direction of Barbara Whittaker, Jean-Philippe Brochu, Natalie Foster and Michelle Tittley. These managers contributed their vision, leadership and excellent organizational skills to this voluminous project. Under their supervision, the project team was led by Catherine Cuerrier, who was responsible for managing the content, and did so with an immeasurable attention to detail and a tireless dedication to ensuring the highest of standards were met. All aspects regarding the production, for both print and electronic versions, were handled successively by Erica Pereira, Julie Pelletier and Julie-Anne Macdonald. Their work contributed to the excellence of this edition, ensuring accessibility beyond the printed copy, in modern and accessible formats.

The third edition also benefited from the skills of an outstanding team of drafters composed of procedural clerks from all branches of Procedural Services. The professionalism and attention to detail of Richard Bernier, Stephanie Bond, Emma‑Leigh Boucher, Paul Cardegna, Olivier Champagne, Lisa Chartier‑Derouin, Marc‑Olivier Girard, Stéphanie Haché, Jubilee Jackson, Marie‑France Lafleur, Andrew Lauzon, Michelle Legault, Mike MacPherson, Caroline Massicotte, Philippe Méla, Marie‑Thérèse Messier, David‑Andrés Novoa, Chloé O’Shaughnessy, Marie‑France Renaud, Gary Sokolyk, Lucie Tardif‑Carpentier, Émilie Thivierge, Graeme Truelove, Justin Vaive and Nancy Vohl helped to produce a high‑quality and authoritative resource on House of Commons procedure. In addition to this team, a number of procedural clerks reviewed and revised chapters of the book: Leif‑Erik Aune, Aimée Belmore, Rémi Bourgault, Caroline Bosc, Miriam Burke, Andrew Chaplin, Cynara Corbin, Isabelle Dumas, Georges Etoka, Alexandre Jacques, Hugues La Rue, Jim Latimer, Evelyn Lukyniuk, Michel Marcotte, Marisa Monnin‑Enwright, Roger Préfontaine, Marlene Sandoval, Naaman Sugrue and Andrew Wilson. I would also like to highlight the work of Clerks Assistant Eric Janse and Colette Labrecque‑Riel; Principal Clerks Robert Benoit, Jeffrey LeBlanc, Jeremy LeBlanc, Ian McDonald and Pierre Rodrigue; and Deputy Principal Clerks José Cadorette, Mark D’Amore, Luc Fortin, Guillaume LaPerrière‑Marcoux, Scott Lemoine and Patrice Martin.

Many other people from Procedural Services assisted in the production of this edition. I would like to thank Curator Johanna Mizgala and Assistant Curator Monique Carnell for their valuable support during the drafting of Chapter 6 “The Physical and Administrative Setting”; the team of Bruce Young, Head of Parliamentary Publications, and especially Pierrette Brousseau, Julie Dunbar, Emmanuelle Hodgson and Brian McCambridge, for their tremendous help in preparing the drafting guidelines and reviewing the drafts; and Aimée Belmore, Brigitte Berthiaume, Nicole Blais, Chady Chahine, Christine Fillion and Héléna Molino, under the direction of Monique Desloges and Martine Rocheleau, for their valuable assistance in indexing the chapters. A number of administrative assistants deserve mention for their work on the footnotes, including Oumayma Absy, Malachie Azémar, Patrick Bertrand, Johane Boulet, Dominique Chiasson, Nathalie Gilbert, Chantal Gilliland, Anne Jarbouh, Natalie Jeanneault, Dany Lamarque, Sophie LeBlanc, Caroline Martin, Danielle Migeon, Micheline Nadeau, Catherine Ngando Edimo, Sylvie Ouellet, Lucie Paquette, Daniela Martins Peixoto, Louise Pilon, Lucie Poulin, Vanessa Robillard, Melanie Roy, Alexandra Scott‑Larouche, Mélanie Therrien, Martine Trépanier, Louise Vaillant and Alexandre (Sacha) Vassiliev. All aspects of the design process were expertly handled by Johan Fong, Marc Gagnon and Maureen Quirouet. I would also like to thank the many parliamentary pages who performed a variety of administrative duties.

We were also able to rely on the skill, commitment and enthusiasm of individuals from many branches within the House of Commons Administration. I would like to express my gratitude for all the work done by Philippe Dufresne, Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel, and Richard Denis, Deputy Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel, as well as the parliamentary counsel and legal drafters on their team. They reviewed various chapters and provided valuable advice on legal citations and relevant jurisprudence. I would also like to acknowledge the assistance of Daniel Paquette, Chief Financial Officer, and Richard Soucy, Paul Morin, Hasan Zaidi and France Beaulne during the publishing contract process. Thanks also go to the dedicated team of Stéphan Aubé, Chief Information Officer, and Yassine Aouididi, Patrick Beaulieu, Michael Bell, Fadhel Ben Slama, Michel de Montigny, Ian Guénard, Camelia Iliut, Gilles Montsion and Lucie Voyer for their help with the guidelines for developing and launching the electronic book and web version. I would also like to thank Benoit Giroux, Director General of Parliamentary Precinct Operations, and Christian Diotte and Bernard Thibodeau, who kindly provided new photos to give the third edition a more modern and up‑to‑date look. The teams of Pierre Parent, Chief Human Resources Officer, and Patrick McDonell, Deputy Sergeant‑at‑Arms and Corporate Security Officer, provided useful information and advice during the drafting of Chapter 4 “The House of Commons and Its Members” and Chapter 6 “The Physical and Administrative Setting.” Finally, the team of Kori Ghergari, Head of Corporate Communications, was extremely helpful in preparing and implementing the communication strategies.

Other individuals helped to make the third edition a reality. Library of Parliament reference librarians Mélanie Ayotte, Michaël Dumais, Sharon Filiatrault, Christianne Gareau, Jean‑Michel Lavergne, Sylvie Nugent, Louise Ouimet and Kristi Thompson updated the publication’s bibliography. Library staff also promptly responded to our many reference requests. The Translation Bureau prepared excellent versions of the book in both official languages. I would like to acknowledge the diligent work of senior translators Kyla Boyer, Julie Désautels, Josée Deschênes and Victoria Ralph, and of their colleagues Desmond Fisher, Terri Irwin and Andréa Spraggs, under the coordination of Marie‑Claude Fortin and the supervision of Catherine Bouchard and Caroline Corneau.

Thanks also go to Johanne Forget, Simon Francoeur, Akshay Gir, Josée Lafontaine, Philippe Lanthier and Sylvie Lévesque of Éditions Yvon Blais, for their sustained effort throughout the production process.

I would like to take this opportunity to say a special thank‑you to Clerk Assistant Beverley Isles for her energetic and meticulous approach to leading the project team. Her determination and commitment to accuracy are unparalleled.

I also wish to pay tribute to Acting Clerk Marc Bosc, whose professionalism and dedication to the pursuit of excellence are evident on every page.

All in all, more than 150 people contributed to the drafting, review, layout and publication of the third edition. As senior editors of House of Commons Procedure and Practice, Marc Bosc and I are very proud of this professional and dedicated team of individuals, who are vital to the effectiveness and smooth operation of a knowledge‑based organization. This extraordinary collaborative effort has resulted in a publication that I hope will be of value to everyone who consults it.

André Gagnon
Deputy Clerk, Procedure