In Touch with Canadians
At Work for Constituents
Members represent their constituents' views and serve
their interests in the Chamber, caucus and committees.
They help constituents in their dealings with the federal
government on such matters as visas and passports,
employment insurance and taxation. They also attend a
wide variety of local events in their ridings.
MPs are assisted in their work by their staff on
Parliament Hill and in their constituency offices.
Members from large or densely populated ridings may have
more than one constituency office. Technology enables
staff to work closely together regardless of geographic
location and to stay on top of issues.
There are many ways for Canadians to reach their Members
of Parliament; these include postage-free correspondence
or contact by telephone, e-mail or fax. The Parliament of
Canada Web site lists contact information for all MPs.
Many offer toll-free telephone lines for their
constituents, and many have Web sites providing
information and answers to questions frequently asked by
constituents. Members also send out mailings to inform
constituents of their activities.
Presenting Petitions
Members can present petitions on behalf of their
constituents or other Canadians, to address issues of
public interest or to ask Parliament to take action.
Under the rules of the House of Commons, the government
must table a response to each petition. In 2006-2007,
there were 1,351 petitions presented in the House. The
following is a list of the top issues presented in the
form of petitions:
-
the automobile industry
-
marriage
-
immigration
-
national child-care program
-
sexual exploitation of minors
Focus on Committees
Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs
and International Development
Photo: © House of Commons
This Committee studies and reports on subjects
related to Canadian foreign and development policy,
international affairs and international organizations.
Committee members are shown here on a recent trip to
Norway. Left to right: Angela Crandall
(clerk of the Committee), Alexa McDonough M.P., Peter
Goldring M.P., Deepak Obhrai M.P., (Parliamentary
Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs), Omar
Alghabra M.P., Kevin Sorenson M.P. (Chair of the
Committee), Jillian Stirk, Canada's Ambassador to
Norway, Diane Bourgeois M.P. and Hélène
Couture-MacTavish (interpreter).
Tuning into Parliament
Canadians can watch the activities of the House and its
committees on television and via the Internet. The House
inaugurated television broadcasts of its proceedings
nearly 30 years ago, and today, approximately one million
Canadians tune in each week to the Cable Public Affairs
Channel (CPAC). During the last year, CPAC broadcast
about 1,200 hours of Chamber proceedings.
ParlVU, the Webcast service maintained by the House, also
carries live proceedings of the Commons, televised
committee meetings and live audio of all other House of
Commons committee meetings that are open to the public.
The Parliament of Canada Web site (www.parl.gc.ca)
is a source of information about the Senate, the House of
Commons and the Library of Parliament. Visitors can
quickly locate information on Members' activities, bills
under consideration, committee activities, and guided
tours. In 2006-2007, close to 7.4 million Internet users
visited the site.
Providing Information Services
The Library of Parliament provides valuable assistance to
the Senate, the House of Commons and Canadians. Library
staff respond to hundreds of requests for information and
reference services daily from Members' offices,
parliamentary committees and associations, and
Parliamentary officials.
Through its public programs, the Library provides
Canadians with information and services concerning
Parliament, such as programs and products for teachers,
print and electronic publications, guided tours,
interpretive exhibits, and on-site and e-commerce
boutiques.
Getting the Facts
Members of Parliament and Canadians can count on
timely, accurate information from the Library of
Parliament. The Library's Information Service can be
reached toll-free at 1-866-599-4999.
Requests for
information
50,678
Documents
distributed
289,525
Discover Parliament Hill
Canadian and international visitors alike learn
about Parliament through the Library of Parliament's
tours and interpretive programs.
Total Centre Block tours
|
12,184 (372,000 visitors)
|
Total East Block tours
|
1,281 (11,355 visitors)
|
Total school group visits to Centre
Block
|
1,721 (62,881 visitors)
|
Total visitors to Peace Tower and Memorial
Chamber
|
261,344
|
Youth Employment Opportunities
Young Canadians can learn about Parliament
first-hand by working as House of Commons pages or
parliamentary guides. Each year, the House of Commons
hires 40 students to serve as pages, and the Library of
Parliament hires another 40 students in the summer to
provide guided tours of Parliament. Other summer
opportunities are available for students interested in
learning about the House of Commons while they gain
administrative experience. See the Parliament of Canada
Web site for application information.
Focus on Committees
Talking to House of Commons Committees
Witnesses enable committee members to better understand
the topics they are studying. Most witnesses are either
Cabinet Ministers, public servants, experts in a
particular field, representatives of groups and
organizations, or private individuals. Committees
advertise their hearings in newspapers or on the
Committees Web site. Anyone interested in submitting a
brief or making an appearance can contact the clerk of
the committee.
For each study, the committee may decide how long it
will spend hearing witnesses, how many witnesses it
will hear and which witnesses will appear. Once the
committee's witness list is established, the committee
clerk gets in touch with the chosen witnesses to
schedule their appearances. Witnesses are sometimes
heard in videoconference.