Reading Time: 2 minutes Disponible en français. The distribution of legislative powers among the various levels of government is a key feature of federalism. To guide this distribution, the Constitution Act, 1867 divides legislative powers between the Parliament of Canada and the provincial legislatures. These powers are… Read More ›
Government, Parliament and politics
Executive Summary – Digital Parliament: Canada in Context
Reading Time: < 1 minute Disponible en français. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many legislatures around the world to adopt or expand their use of digital technologies in order to continue exercising their core functions of legislating, studying issues of public policy, scrutinizing governments and representing… Read More ›
Executive Summary – Official Languages and Parliament
Reading Time: 2 minutes Disponible en français. In the Canadian parliamentary context, English and French enjoy equality of status and use. In fact, there are a number of constitutional and legislative provisions governing the use of both official languages in Parliament. These provisions, which have evolved over the… Read More ›
Executive Summary – Funding New Government Initiatives: From Announcement to Money Allocation
Reading Time: < 1 minute Disponible en français. New government initiatives are announced through different sources, including the Speech from the Throne, the federal budget, international agreements, federal–provincial-territorial agreements, ministerial mandate letters and ministerial proposals. However, before a new initiative receives funding, approvals from Cabinet, the Treasury Board and Parliament are needed. This paper describes these approvals along with the role… Read More ›
Executive Summary – The Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations
Reading Time: < 1 minute Disponible en français. The Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations (the committee) plays a vital role in the parliamentary oversight of federal regulations. Whenever Parliament delegates legislative authority to the executive branch or other regulation-making bodies, the committee ensures that… Read More ›
The Emergencies Act: Parliament’s Role During a National Emergency
Reading Time: 5 minutes Revised on 23 February 2022, 8:40 a.m. Disponible en français. On 14 February 2022, in response to the ongoing blockades and protests taking place in Ottawa and at some border crossings, the Prime Minister announced that the Governor in Council… Read More ›
Executive Summary – Trafficking in Persons
Reading Time: 2 minutes Disponible en français. Trafficking in persons is an increasingly pressing issue in global migration policy, particularly in the wake of the COVID‑19 pandemic that has exacerbated many contributing factors. The United Nations describes trafficking in persons as “the recruitment, transportation,… Read More ›
Update on Canada’s Long-Term Infrastructure Plan
Reading Time: 6 minutes Disponible en français. Launched in 2016, the Investing in Canada Plan is a long-term federal infrastructure plan involving the investment of $188 billion over 12 years. Of this total, $96 billion is new funding, and $92 billion is from existing infrastructure programs. Although the… Read More ›
Executive Summary – 100 Years of Insulin – Diabetes in Canada
Reading Time: < 1 minute Disponible en français. The year 2021 marks 100 years since Drs. Banting and Best first isolated insulin at the University of Toronto. The discovery soon changed the lives of people with diabetes worldwide. Several advances have been made since that… Read More ›
Women in the Parliament of Canada: 100 Years of Representation
Reading Time: 5 minutes Disponible en français. One hundred years ago, on 6 December 1921, Agnes Campbell Macphail became the first woman elected to the House of Commons and the first woman parliamentarian in the Parliament of Canada. This HillNote provides an overview of selected notable firsts… Read More ›