A Court of Thrones and Speeches
Welcome to Day Two of the Forty-Fifth Parliament. A day of pomp and circumstance, wrapped in tradition and procedure, with subtle hints of themes and tones.
Good morning!
We’ve made it through the first day of the First Session of the 45th Canadian Parliament.
A new Speaker was elected.
A new Prime Minister delivered his first remarks in the House.
And the day went on without an awkward unanimous consent motion.
Day Two of the Forty-Fifth Parliament brings us to something not seen since 1977 - a Speech from the Throne read by Canada’s Monarch.
Throne Speech Day is typically full of pomp and circumstance; however, today’s speech brings even more celebration and commemoration to the agenda.
Let’s run through this Tuesday, shall we?
Hear Ye, Hear Ye!
The House of Commons begins its day at 10:00 AM, where the Usher of the Black Rod will present a message from His Majesty The King: He desires the immediate attendance of Members of the House of Commons in the Senate Chambers. The Speaker will lead a delegation of MPs across the Parliamentary Precinct from West Block to the bar of the Senate Chambers.
When His Majesty is ready to receive the House of Commons, Speaker Scarpaleggia - newly-decked out in his formal robes and tricorn hat - will take off his hat and receive an acknowledgement from The King. The Speaker will address The King using something very similar to the following text:
May it Please Your Majesty,
The House of Commons has elected me their Speaker, though I am but little able to fulfil the important duties thus assigned to me.
If, in the performance of those duties, I should at any time fall into error, I pray that the fault may be imputed to me, and not to the Commons, whose servant I am, and who, through me, the better to enable them to discharge their duty to their King and Country, humbly claim all their undoubted rights and privileges, especially that they may have freedom of speech in their debates, access to Your Majesty’s Person at all seasonable times, and that their proceedings may receive from Your Majesty the most favourable construction.
While a reply is traditionally given by the Speaker of the Senate on behalf of the Governor General, The King may also choose to deliver this reply, traditionally worded as follows:
Mr. Speaker, I am commanded [by His Majesty The King] to declare to you that [he/she] freely confides in the duty and attachment of the House of Commons to His Majesty’s Person and Government, and not doubting that their proceedings will be conducted with wisdom, temper and prudence, [he/she] grants, and upon all occasions will recognize and allow, their constitutional privileges.
I am commanded also to assure you that the Commons shall have ready access to [His Majesty] upon all seasonable occasions and that their proceedings, as well as your words and actions, will constantly receive from him the most favourable construction.
The King, having formally received the Speaker of the House, will then proceed to read the Speech from the Throne. Once the Speech is read, Members of the House of Commons withdraw from the Senate Chamber before The King “is pleased to retire” from the Senate.
Pomp and Procedure
And now for the moment we’ve all been waiting for… Prime Minister Carney’s first piece of legislation, Bill C-1:
An Act Respecting the Administration of Oaths of Office
This pro-forma piece of legislation - which never goes beyond First Reading - asserts the House of Commons’ independence to debate matters not found in the Speech from the Throne.
The title and text of Bill C-1 always follows the same format; however, this Parliament’s version will have one small change from the version introduced in the last Parliament. See if you can spot where the change may be made:
Preamble
Whereas the introduction of a pro forma bill in the House of Commons before the consideration of the Speech from the Throne demonstrates the right of the elected representatives of the people to act without the leave of the Crown;
Whereas that custom, which can be traced to 1558 in the Parliament at Westminster, is practised in a number of jurisdictions having a parliamentary form of government;
And whereas it is desirable to explain and record the constitutional relationship represented by that custom;
Now, therefore, His Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
Assertion of right
This bill asserts the right of the House of Commons to give precedence to matters not addressed in the Speech from the Throne.
After Bill C-1 is introduced, a copy of the Throne Speech will be tabled in the House by the Speaker in order for it to be added to Hansard.
Two procedural motions will then be introduced: The Prime Minister will move that the Speech from the Throne be “taken into consideration later this day” and the President of the Treasury Board will move that the “business of supply be considered at the next sitting of the House.”
These motions traditionally carry with unanimous consent.
But Wait, There’s More!
The Speaker will then inform the House that a certain number of days will be allotted for the spring supply period - which usually ends on June 23rd. By way of comparison, the pre-summer, post-election sitting in 2011 had three supply days.
The Speaker may also inform the House of the membership of the Board of Internal Economy. In addition, the Government House Leader may move a motion to establish the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. While neither of these motions occured on the same sitting day in 2021, they will happen very, very soon.
With most of the traditional procedural matters out of the way, debate can now begin on the Speech from the Throne. The government’s response is typically given by two rookie MPs - in 2021, Brendan Hanley and Sophie Chatel gave the government’s response.
After two rounds of debate (one for each MP delivering the government response), the Leader of the Official Opposition will then rise to give the first parts of their response. Why a partial response?
The Leader of the Opposition traditionally moves to adjourn debate on the Throne Speech. With no other business on the House’s agenda, the Government House Leader will then move to adjourn the House for the day.
When the Journals of the House are published later this evening (or early on Wednesday morning), a series of Returns and Reports Deposited With the Clerk of the House may appear near the bottom. Pursuant to Standing Order 32(1)…
Any return, report or other paper required to be laid before the House in accordance with any act of Parliament or in pursuance of any resolution or standing order of this House shall be deposited electronically with the Clerk of the House on any sitting day or, when the House stands adjourned, on the Wednesday following the 15th day of the month. Such return, report or other paper shall be deemed for all purposes to have been presented to or laid before the House.
Two days down. Many more to come.
And tomorrow brings our first Question Period of the 45th Parliament.
See you bright and early!