… there is nothing wrong in trying to improve the life style of parliamentarians, many of whom are
men and women with family responsibilities… . The fact that Members of Parliament would not
have to sit in the evening will upgrade their role in the sense that … they would be free to come
and go as they please, to look after the interests of their constituents, to sit on the standing committees
of the House, to participate actively in the special caucuses of their respective parties, [and] to go and
address the Canadian people in many communities located within a reasonable distance from Ottawa.
Yvon Pinard, President of the Privy Council
(Debates, November 29, 1982, p. 21070)
A
meeting, or “sitting”, of the House begins when the Speaker
takes the Chair and, seeing that a quorum is present, calls the House to order. A sitting ends upon the
adjournment of the House. On days when the House meets, it does so in accordance with a predetermined daily
schedule or timetable. [1]
Within this context, the House retains a large measure of flexibility in the timing and duration of its
sittings, and departures from the usual daily timetable do occur.
This chapter provides an outline of the manner in which a sitting commences, the requirements for quorum,
and the way that the hours of sitting are set or altered, as well as an examination of unusual or special
types of sittings of the House.
Opening of a Sitting
Before a sitting commences, a ceremonial procession known as the Speaker’s parade makes its way from
the Speaker’s chambers via the Hall of Honour to the House of Commons Chamber. The procession is led
by the Sergeant-at-Arms bearing the Mace, [2]
followed by the Speaker, a page carrying documents for the Speaker’s use during the sitting, the
Clerk of the House and other Table Officers. As the parade enters the Chamber, Members rise while the
Speaker proceeds to the Chair. The Sergeant-at-Arms pauses at the end of the Table until the Speaker has
taken the Chair, then places the Mace on the Table, bows and takes his or her seat at the Bar of the House.
Once satisfied that a quorum is present, the Speaker reads the prayer and opens the sitting.
In the absence of the Speaker, the Presiding Officer for the sitting takes the Speaker’s place in
the parade. [3]
Once the Presiding Officer has entered the Chamber, the Clerk will inform the House of the unavoidable
absence of the Speaker and the Presiding Officer will then take the Chair as Speaker. When a quorum is
present, the Presiding Officer will then read the prayer [4]
and open the sitting.
At the end of a sitting, the Speaker adjourns the House and then exits the Chamber, this time, through
the doors at the rear of the Chair, preceded by the Sergeant-at-Arms bearing the Mace.
Quorum
Under the Constitution Act, 1867, a quorum of 20 Members, including the Speaker, is required
“to constitute a meeting of the House for the exercise of its powers”. [5]
This constitutional requirement is reiterated in the Standing Orders, which also set out the procedure to
be followed in cases where the House lacks a quorum. [6]
Although there have been several attempts to increase the size of quorum, it has remained unchanged since
Confederation. [7]
Modern-day demands on Members’ time are such that attending the sittings of the House is only one of
many duties. Party whips have thus traditionally been responsible, through the use of roster systems, for
ensuring that the required number of Members is present to maintain the quorum. [8]
Quorum Before a Sitting Begins
Should a quorum appear not to exist at the time the House is scheduled to meet, a count of the House is
taken by the Speaker. If fewer than 20 Members are present, the Speaker adjourns the House until the next
sitting day. [9]
The Speaker may take such an initiative only before the House has been called to order. [10]
Once the sitting has begun, “control over the competence of the House is transferred from the Speaker
to the House itself. … The Speaker has no right to close a sitting at his own discretion.” [11]
There are no known instances of this having happened at the beginning of a sitting and, in practice, the
bells summoning Members to the House at the start of a sitting are not silenced until a quorum exists,
often some minutes after the appointed meeting time. [12]
Quorum During a Sitting
During a sitting, any Member may draw the attention of the Speaker to the lack of a quorum, requesting a
“count” of the Members present. Such a request may be made while another Member is speaking. If
a quorum is obviously present, the Speaker may simply announce that there is a quorum, dispense with the
count and proceed with the business. If there is some doubt as to there being a quorum, a count is made by
the Speaker. If a quorum is present, business continues. [13]
However, if no quorum exists after the first count, the bells are ordered to be rung for no longer than
15 minutes. Within that time period, if a second count determines that a quorum is present, the Speaker
will order the bells silenced and the House will proceed with the business before it. [14]
If at the end of the 15 minutes a second count reveals that there is still no quorum, the Speaker adjourns
the House until the next sitting day; [15]
the names of the Members present are recorded in the Journals. [16]
As in the House, the quorum in a Committee of the Whole is 20 Members. If notice is taken by a Member that
there is not a quorum present in a Committee of the Whole, the Chairman counts the Members. If there is not
a quorum, the Committee rises and the House resumes its sitting. [17]
On a report from the Chairman of the Committee, the Speaker counts the House. If there is not a quorum,
the bells are rung for a maximum of 15 minutes.
Usually, quorum is quickly restored so that the House may proceed with the business before it. [18]
Should the House be required to adjourn for lack of quorum, any Order of the Day under consideration at the
time, with the exception of an item of Private Members’ Business not selected to come to a vote,
retains its precedence on the Order Paper for the next sitting. [19]
A number of practices govern how the determination of a quorum is made. A Member who calls quorum need not
remain in the House. [20]
Furthermore, a Member who calls quorum while speaking and who subsequently leaves the House may, upon
returning after a count that confirmed a quorum, resume speaking. [21]
As well, Members need not be in their seat in order to be counted. [22]
While the count is taking place, no point of order or question of privilege will be considered by the
Chair. [23]
When the Speaker adjourns the House for want of a quorum, either at the start of a sitting or during a
sitting, Members present are asked to come to the Table and sign the scroll in order that their names may
be recorded in the Journals. Logically, only the names of those Members counted ought to appear in
the scroll, although in practice this has not always been the case, given that Members are free to enter
or leave the Chamber during and after a count. As such, the list of Members entered in the Journals
may exceed 20 names. [24]
Thus, to adjourn the House, it is the count which is decisive, not the list of names. [25]
Lack of Quorum During Divisions
During a recorded division, if the Speaker’s attention is drawn to the fact that the sum of the
votes and the number of Members present who did not vote (including the Speaker) do not total at least 20,
then the question remains undecided; the usual quorum procedure is then triggered. If no objection is
raised at the time the result of the vote is read to the House, the Speaker simply confirms the result
and business proceeds as though there were a quorum. [26]
Quorum When the Attendance of the House is Requested in the Senate
A quorum is deemed to exist, regardless of the number of Members in attendance, whenever a message is
received for the attendance of the House in the Senate. [27]
The constitutional requirement for a quorum of 20 Members does not apply when the House is summoned to the
Senate, since the House is not, in fact, exercising any of its powers in responding to the message; it is
simply acting as a witness to the proceedings about to take place in the Upper Chamber.
Most messages requiring the attendance of the House in the Senate Chamber are, by prior arrangement,
delivered by the Usher of the Black Rod at times when the House is sitting and thus when a quorum is
likely to be present. In those instances, the message is received by the Speaker as soon as it arrives and
the House, led by the Speaker, proceeds to the Senate. [28]
However, there are occasions when the House stands adjourned and its attendance is required for Royal
Assent ceremonies. In such cases, the Speaker may, at the request of the government, cause the House to
meet during a period of adjournment for the sole purpose of giving Royal Assent to a bill or bills,
following which the House stands further adjourned. [29]
In such circumstances, when it is known that the attendance of the House in the Senate will be desired,
the Speaker causes the House to meet at an appointed hour. When the Usher of the Black Rod arrives, the
Speaker receives the message and, with the Members then present (often less than a quorum), proceeds to the
Senate.
Daily Sitting
Each sitting of the House customarily occurs on a separate day. However, in the nineteenth century, the
holding of two or more sittings on a single day was used in an effort to expedite the business of the House
by creating a mechanism to circumvent the rule prohibiting a bill receiving more than one “reading”
on a single day. [30]
Generally, some time prior to the prorogation or dissolution of Parliament, the House would adopt an order
specifying that there would be two sittings a day, stating the times of meeting and adjournment. [31]
This practice was abandoned with the extension of sittings, the introduction of extended hours prior to
the June adjournment, and time limits for debate on certain items of legislation through time allocation or
agreements to suspend the rules. In the twentieth century, the holding of two sittings on one day has
occurred for entirely different reasons, such as the end and opening of successive sessions of a Parliament; [32]
and to allow Members to attend special ceremonies. [33]
The Standing Orders provide for the House to meet on Monday at 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at
10:00 a.m., and Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. [34]
Once the House meets and begins its proceedings, it generally does not adjourn until the scheduled
adjournment time: 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and 2:30 p.m. on Friday. [35]
On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, a motion to adjourn the House is deemed to have been made and
seconded. Officially referred to as the Adjournment Proceedings and informally as the “late show”, [36]
this motion is debatable for not more than 30 minutes, after which the Speaker deems the motion to adjourn
to have been carried and adjourns the House until the next sitting day. [37]
On Friday, no motion to adjourn the House is proposed; the Speaker adjourns the House without question put.
Altering Days and Hours of Sitting
Notwithstanding the rules, the House may alter days or times of sittings, through special orders. Special
orders have been adopted for many reasons: to eliminate a sitting in order to allow some Members to attend
a political convention; [38]
to start a sitting earlier on given days in order to consider government business; [39]
to begin a sitting later in order for a visiting leader or head of state to address both Houses; [40]
not to sit on days on which the House would otherwise sit; [41]
and to sit on days on which the House would not otherwise sit, including Saturdays and Sundays. [42]
If the special order adopted to sit on a Saturday or Sunday does not designate the order of business, it
will be that of a Friday sitting. [43]
At one time, sittings of the House conducted on a Saturday were common towards the end of a session or
prior to the summer adjournment when the government wished to expedite the passage of legislation. However,
since the adoption of Standing Orders to accommodate extended hours of sitting within the regular
parliamentary timetable, the House rarely sits on a Saturday or Sunday. [44]
Suspending a Sitting
Although the proceedings of the House run continuously from the beginning of a sitting through to its
adjournment, the House may agree to a pause, called a “suspension”. Suspensions are common and
may be initiated for any number of reasons, as they are a simple method by which the House is able to
manage its time as it sees fit. Upon the suspension of a sitting, the Speaker leaves the Chair but the
Mace remains on the Table, thus indicating that the House is still constituted. Sittings of the House are
routinely suspended with the intention of resuming the proceedings sometime later that day. There are no
Standing Orders which explicitly govern the suspension of a sitting. Provision for a suspended sitting may
be contained within the wording of a motion or special order of the House; [45]
or, the House may suspend its proceedings simply through an agreement by unanimous consent. [46]
Sittings are most frequently suspended when the House, having terminated the consideration of an item of
business, halts its proceedings to the call of the Chair or to the time when the next order of business
is scheduled to begin. This is achieved either through the suggestion of a Member, who asks for the
unanimous consent of the House to suspend the sitting; [47]
or, through the action of the Speaker who, seeing that debate on an item has come to a conclusion, suspends
the sitting. [48]
In the latter case, it is generally understood that the Speaker is acting with the concurrence of the House.
In recent years, the House has suspended its sittings for a variety of reasons: to await a specified time
ordered by the House for a recorded division; [49]
to allow for Royal Assent; [50]
to allow the Speaker to deliberate on a ruling; [51]
to await the time ordered for a Budget presentation; [52]
because of a fire alarm; [53]
to allow specific Members to be present in the Chamber for debate; [54]
in order to await a message from the Senate regarding an amendment to a bill; [55]
to allow for negotiations between parties on an item of legislation; [56]
to allow copies to be made of motions introduced without notice; [57]
to await an anticipated statement by the Prime Minister; [58]
to allow Members to attend the funeral of a Member; [59]
to allow Members to attend the unveiling of a statue on Parliament Hill; [60]
to rectify a technical problem with the simultaneous interpretation in the Chamber; [61]
and due to a Member taken ill in the Chamber. [62]
To resume the sitting, the Speaker takes the Chair and has the bells rung briefly. The proceedings of the
House recommence without a count of the House, or pursuant to the terms of the special order adopted by the
House, or according to the agreement or understanding reached by the House prior to the suspension.
Continuing or Extending a Sitting
Under certain conditions, it is possible for any Member to move a motion, without notice, to continue or
extend a sitting beyond the fixed daily adjournment time in order to continue the consideration of a
specific item of business at one or more stages. [63]
From the time the fixed adjournment rule came into effect in 1927 until 1965, a multitude of motions were
agreed to, many with unanimous consent, to continue or extend sittings through mealtimes or beyond the
ordinary hour of daily adjournment. By the early 1960s, however, it had become increasingly difficult to
secure agreements to extend a sitting beyond the obligatory adjournment time on any given day. [64]
This kind of inflexibility undoubtedly led to the introduction of a new Standing Order in 1965 which put
forward a different sitting extension mechanism. [65]
Since then, a motion to continue or extend a sitting of the House may be proposed, provided it is while the
item to be considered is under discussion, [66]
and at some time during the hour preceding the time at which consideration of the item would customarily be
interrupted by Private Members’ Business or the fixed daily adjournment time. [67]
A motion of this nature is neither debatable nor amendable [68]
and may not be moved during Private Members’ Business. [69]
Such a motion can be moved by any Member in the course of debate but not on a point of order, [70]
nor during the period reserved for questions and comments following a Member’s speech, [71]
nor when the House is bound to complete a proceeding by a specific time. For example, a motion to extend
the sitting beyond the normal hour of adjournment may not be proposed when votes are scheduled on days
allotted for the Business of Supply and during debate on the Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne
or on the Budget, when time allocation or closure is applied to a bill or motion, or when any special order
of the House prescribes a precise time to dispose of a proceeding.
When a motion to continue or extend the sitting is moved, the Speaker puts the question to the House and
specifically requests those Members who object to rise. If 15 or more Members do so, the motion is deemed
to have been withdrawn; otherwise, the motion is adopted. [72]
The motion has been moved more than once in the same hour. [73]
When the House is in a Committee of the Whole, it is necessary for the Committee to rise briefly so the
motion can properly be moved and disposed of with the Speaker in the Chair. [74]
When a motion to extend a sitting is adopted on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday prior to the
consideration of Private Members’ Business, the debate on the item is continued after Private
Members’ Hour.
When a motion to continue or extend the sitting has been adopted, the House may be adjourned by the Speaker
only upon the completion of the item of business in question or by the adoption of a motion to adjourn
made by a Minister if the item of business is not yet completed. [75]
Extending Sitting Hours in June
Since 1982, and the advent of a fixed parliamentary calendar, the Standing Orders have provided for the
extension of sitting hours during the last 10 sitting days in June. [76]
This rule represented a codification of a long-standing practice whereby, prior to the prorogation of the
Parliament or the start of the summer recess, the House would arrange for longer hours of sitting in order
to complete or advance its business. These longer hours of sitting were generally provided for by the House
sitting on Saturdays; [77]
meeting earlier in the day; [78]
sitting during evenings that the House was not otherwise scheduled to sit; [79]
or suspending lunch and dinner breaks. [80]
In order to extend the hours of sitting in June, a motion, for which no notice is required, must be moved
by a Minister during Routine Proceedings on the tenth sitting day preceding June 23. [81]
The motion, which must propose to extend sittings to a specific hour, but not necessarily for every day
during that period, [82]
is subject to a maximum two-hour debate before the question is put by the Speaker. [83]
Although the Standing Order to provide for the extension of the hours of sitting in June has been in effect
since 1982, it has not been used at every opportunity. On a number of occasions, special orders have been
moved instead and adopted, usually by unanimous consent. [84]
A Sitting Which Lasts More Than One Day
A sitting of the House is not necessarily confined to a single calendar day as one sitting may consume more
than one day. Prior to the establishment in 1927 of fixed hours of adjournment for all days of the week, [85]
sittings often extended over more than one day. [86]
Since that time, these types of sittings have occurred infrequently and mainly as the result of events such
as the prolonged ringing of the division bells; [87]
the extension of a sitting beyond the ordinary hour of daily adjournment for the purpose of considering a
specified item of business; [88]
the continuation of an emergency debate past the hour of adjournment stipulated in the Standing Orders; [89]
and the decision to complete all remaining stages of a bill [90]
or to allow all Members wishing to do so to speak on an item. [91]
At the conclusion of an extended sitting, the House stands adjourned until the regular commencement time of
the next sitting, which is either later the same day if that time has not yet been reached, or the next
day if the extended sitting has gone beyond that time. [92]
Altering the Adjournment Times
There are times when the House may wish to temporarily set an adjournment time earlier or later than the
time prescribed in the Standing Orders. The House may do this by adopting a special order to this effect. [93]
At other times, when debate on an item of business concludes shortly before the specified adjournment,
the House may adjourn earlier than the usual hour of adjournment by unanimous consent; Members ask that the
Speaker “call it 6:30” (or “2:30” on Friday). This request is usually met and thus
the need for a motion to adjourn is avoided. [94]
The adjournment of the House may also take place under other conditions. Any Member may propose a motion
to adjourn the House without notice except when specifically prohibited by the Standing Orders; [95]
the motion “That this House do now adjourn” is not debatable and not amendable. The adoption of
such a motion immediately concludes a sitting.
Furthermore, when the House has extended its sitting beyond the fixed hour of adjournment for the
completion of a specific item of business, [96]
a motion to adjourn the House before the item is completed may only be proposed by a Minister. [97]
When the business for which the House has extended its proceedings beyond the hour of daily adjournment is
completed, the Speaker adjourns the House until the next sitting day in the usual manner. [98]
When a sitting has been extended for a “take note” debate, the Speaker adjourns the House when
no Member seeks the floor unless the special order governing the “take note” debate provides
for a specific mechanism for adjournment. [99]
Special or Unusual Sittings
The House sometimes alters its normal schedule of sittings to accommodate special events or ceremonies.
These “special” or “unusual” sittings have included: sitting for the sole purpose
of attendance at the Royal Assent ceremony; sitting for the purpose of electing a Speaker; conducting a
secret sitting; and sitting to hear addresses by distinguished visitors.
Sitting for the Sole Purpose of Attending Royal Assent
In the late 1980s, the House followed the practice of adopting special orders permitting the Speaker,
during periods of adjournment, to recall the House for the sole purpose of attending Royal Assent. [100]
The Standing Order authorizing the Speaker to recall the House, if it is deemed to be in the public
interest, has also been invoked to recall the House for the sole purpose of attending Royal Assent. [101]
In 1994, the House codified in the Standing Orders the practice of recalling the House, at the request of
the government for the sole purpose of Royal Assent. [102]
A sitting for the sole purpose of Royal Assent is treated as a recall of the House with proper notice
given so that the Speaker may make the necessary preparations to reopen the House. The House does not need
a quorum for the Speaker to take the Chair when the Usher of the Black Rod appears in the Chamber to
request the attendance of Members in the Senate. [103]
In responding to a summons of the Crown, the House is simply being asked to witness an event, rather than
to make a decision. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the Speaker returns to the House and, once in the
Chair, reports that the Governor General was pleased to give, in Her Majesty’s name, Royal Assent to
certain bills. The Chair then immediately adjourns the House [104]
without proceeding to any other business. [105]
Election of a Speaker
At the first sitting of a new Parliament or at any time during the course of a Parliament when the
Speakership becomes vacant, the House may, if necessary, sit beyond the regular hour of adjournment until
such time as a Speaker is declared elected. The election of a Speaker takes precedence over all other
business. No other business may be addressed and no motion for adjournment, nor any other motion, may be
entertained. If the House has continued to sit beyond the regular hour of adjournment, the Speaker, upon
being elected and taking the Chair, adjourns the House until the next sitting day. [106]
Secret Sittings
Although not explicitly provided for in the Standing Orders, the House has the right and authority to
conduct its proceedings in private. This has been referred to as a “secret sitting”. The House
may conduct an entire sitting or a portion of a sitting where “strangers” (anyone who is not a
Member or an official of the House of Commons) are either not admitted or asked to withdraw from the
galleries of the House. [107]
These meetings are regarded as sittings and are noted as such in the documents of the House. To conduct a
secret sitting, the House has either adopted a special order to initiate the proceeding, [108]
or has simply not opened the doors of the House to the public following the prayers at the beginning of a
sitting. [109]
The House has met in secret on four occasions, all during wartime. [110]
As well, in the years shortly after Confederation, the House would, upon the commencement of a sitting but
prior to the doors being opened to the public, conduct a portion of its sittings out of public view in
order to discuss internal or “domestic” matters. [111]
Addresses by Distinguished Visitors
From time to time, the House of Commons Chamber is the site for a joint address to Parliament by a
distinguished visitor (usually a head of state or head of government). Since the early 1940s, numerous
distinguished visitors have addressed Members of the Senate and the House of Commons from the floor of the
Chamber. (See Figure 9.1.)
Figure 9.1 – Joint Addresses to Parliament Since 1940
| December 30, 1941 |
Winston Churchill, Prime Minister, Great Britain |
| June 16, 1943 |
Madame Chiang Kai-shek |
| June 1, 1944 |
John C. Curtin, Prime Minister, Australia |
| June 30, 1944 |
Peter Fraser, Prime Minister, New Zealand |
| November 19, 1945 |
Clement R. Attlee, Prime Minister, Great Britain |
| June 11, 1947 |
Harry S. Truman, President, United States |
| October 24, 1949 |
Pandit Jewaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister, India |
| May 31, 1950 |
Liaquat Ali Khan, Prime Minister, Pakistan |
| April 5, 1951 |
Vincent Auriol, President, French Republic |
| November 14, 1953 |
Dwight D. Eisenhower, President, United States |
| February 6, 1956 |
Sir Anthony Eden, Prime Minister, United Kingdom |
| March 5, 1956 |
Giovanni Gronchi, President, Republic of Italy |
| June 5, 1956 |
Dr. Sukarno, President, Republic of Indonesia |
| March 4, 1957 |
Guy Mollet, Prime Minister, French Republic |
| June 2, 1958 |
Dr. Theodor Heuss, President, Federal Republic of Germany |
| June 13, 1958 |
Harold Macmillan, Prime Minister, United Kingdom |
| July 9, 1958 |
Dwight D. Eisenhower, President, United States |
| July 21, 1958 |
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Prime Minister, Ghana |
| May 17, 1961 |
John F. Kennedy, President, United States |
| May 26, 1964 |
U Thant, Secretary General, United Nations |
| April 14, 1972 |
Richard M. Nixon, President, United States |
| March 30, 1973 |
Luis Echeverria, President, Mexico |
| June 19, 1973 |
Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister, India |
| May 5, 1980 |
Masayoshi Ohira, Prime Minister, Japan |
| May 26, 1980 |
José Lopez Portillo, President, Mexico |
| March 11, 1981 |
Ronald W. Reagan, President, United States |
| September 26, 1983 |
Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister, United Kingdom |
| January 17, 1984 |
Zhao Ziyang, Premier, State Council, People’s Republic of China |
| May 8, 1984 |
Miguel de la Madrid, President, Mexico |
| March 7, 1985 |
Javier Perez de Cuellar, Secretary-General, United Nations |
| January 13, 1986 |
Yasuhiro Nakasone, Prime Minister, Japan |
| April 6, 1987 |
Ronald W. Reagan, President, United States |
| May 25, 1987 |
François Mitterand, President, French Republic |
| May 10, 1988 |
Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands |
| June 16, 1988 |
Dr. Helmut Kohl, Chancellor, Federal Republic of Germany |
| June 22, 1988 |
Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister, United Kingdom |
| February 27, 1989 |
Chaim Herzog, President, State of Israel |
| October 11, 1989 |
His Majesty King Hussein Bin Talal, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan |
| June 18, 1990 |
Nelson Mandela, Deputy President, African National Congress |
| April 8, 1991 |
Carlos Salinas de Gortari, President, Mexico |
| June 19, 1992 |
Boris Yeltsin, President, Federation of Russia |
| February 23, 1995 |
William J. Clinton, President, United States |
| June 11, 1996 |
Ernesto Zedillo, President, Mexico |
| September 24, 1998 |
Nelson Mandela, President, Republic of South Africa |
| April 29, 1999 |
Vaclav Havel, President, Czech Republic |
Since the 1970s, the practice has normally been for the House to adopt a motion for a joint address,
without debate, prior to the delivery of the address. [112]
In addition to the order to append the address and related speeches to Hansard, [113]
the motion has also included the date and time of the adjournment of the House, as well as other conditions
for the order of business on the day of the address. By 1980, the motion also included permission for the
transmission of the address and related speeches by the media. [114]
When a joint address takes place, Senators and Members of the House of Commons assemble in the House of
Commons Chamber. However, the assembly does not constitute a sitting and the Mace is not on the Table. An
established protocol is nonetheless followed.
The seating arrangements in the House are not what they would be for a regular sitting. The Speaker of the
House takes the Chair, with the Speaker of the Senate seated in a chair to his or her right. The Table is
cleared of the usual paraphernalia and a lectern placed at its head. The Prime Minister and the
distinguished visitor are seated along the side of the Table to the Speaker’s right; the Clerk of the
Senate and the Clerk of the House of Commons are seated along the other side of the Table. Seating for the
rest of the official party, the Justices of the Supreme Court and the Senators is arranged on the floor of
the House in front of the Table.
On arrival at the Centre Block, the distinguished visitor is met in the Rotunda by the Prime Minister and
the Speakers of both Houses, and signs the Senate and House of Commons’ visitors books. At the
appointed hour, the official party enters the House of Commons Chamber. The Prime Minister provides an
official welcome and invites the visitor to address the assembly. Afterwards, the visitor is thanked by the
Speaker of the Senate, followed by the Speaker of the House of Commons who will then conclude the assembly.
At this point, the official party exits the Chamber and proceeds to the House of Commons Speaker’s
Chambers.