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The House of Commons is the official meeting place for representatives of the Canadian people. Members of Parliament come together in the Chamber, in committee rooms, in caucus rooms and in Members' offices on Parliament Hill and in constituencies. They discuss national and local issues, propose and debate laws, and hear and reflect upon input from experts and individual citizens. And from this home base, they look outward to represent Canada internationally.
The responsibilities of Members of Parliament fall into
five areas:
Chamber activities-The magnificent green-carpeted Chamber is where Members debate and vote on legislation, present documents and petitions, ask or respond to questions and raise issues of importance to electors.
Committee work-Groups of Members form the various committees of the House to investigate current issues, study proposed new laws and policies, and receive input from experts and concerned citizens about matters of importance to Canada.
Caucus activities-Almost all Members belong to a recognized political party. Each party has staff who provide research and other support to caucus, helping Members carry out their duties in the Chamber and in committees. Each party holds regular caucus meetings where they discuss party policies and parliamentary strategy.
Helping constituents-Members' constituents contact them when they want to discuss matters of concern or when they need help with federal programs and services. Members usually return to their constituencies for one week every month to make themselves available to constituents, and spend longer periods in their ridings over the summer and from late December through late January.
Representing Canada- In their role of promoting democratic institutions and strengthening ties with other countries, Members represent Canada internationally and receive visitors from abroad.
Most Members of Parliament belong to one of four recognized political parties. Listed alphabetically, these parties are the Bloc Québécois, the Conservative Party, the Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party. Members may also sit as independents.
Canadians elect people from many different walks of life to represent them in the House of Commons. Members of Parliament have diverse professions and personal backgrounds and bring a wealth of experience and expertise to the House. For example, the current Parliament includes people who are knowledgeable in business, education, law, journalism, farming, engineering, the arts, medicine and labour.
Two foldout inserts in the centre of this report show Members elected to the 39th Parliament and the 40th Parliament.
If you are not certain who your Member of Parliament is, visit the Parliament of Canada Web site at www.parl.gc.ca and enter your postal code in the space provided.
The parliamentary Web site has a search feature you can use to learn demographic information about Members as well as obtain a biographical profile of each Member. Find it at www2.parl.gc.ca/parlinfo.
April 1, 2008-March 31, 2009 Total number of sittingdays: 99
Members come from many different geographical and cultural backgrounds. Not only do they represent every geographical area of Canada, they also bring a variety of cultural heritages to the House. The membership of the House includes five representatives of the Inuit, Métis and First Nations people of Canada. Many Members were born outside Canada, in countries as varied as the United Kingdom, Tanzania, Haiti, Greece, India, Vietnam, Italy, China and Portugal. Of the 308 Members of the 40th Parliament, 11 percent were born abroad.
The average age of Members of the 40th Parliament is 52 years, with the youngest being 21 and the oldest 71. At the dissolution of the 39th Parliament, women held 21 percent of the 308 seats in the House of Commons. That number increased to 22 percent in the 40th Parliament.
1 Speaker; 2
Pages; 3 Government
Members*; 4 Opposition
Members*; 5 Prime
Minister;
6 Leader of the Official
Opposition; 7 Clerk and Table
Officers; 8 Mace;
9 Proceedings and Verification
Officers; 10
Sergeant-at-Arms; 11 The
Bar; 12
Interpreters;
13 Press Gallery;
14 Public Gallery;
15 Officials' Gallery;
16 Leader of the Opposition's
Gallery;
17 Opposition Members'
Gallery; 18 Government Members'
Gallery; 19 Speaker's
Gallery;
20 Senate Gallery;
21 T.V. Cameras;
22 Diplomatic Gallery.
* Depending on the number of MPs elected from each political party, government Members may be seated on the opposite side of the Chamber with opposition Members (or vice versa).
