Editing House of Commons of Canada (section)

== Roles and procedures ==
[[File:Commons-chamber.jpg|thumb|right|The chamber of the House of Commons; the speaker's chair is at the rear and centre in the room.]]
[[File:Centre Block and Library of Parliament, Ottawa, West view 20170422 2.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Centre Block]] in [[Ottawa]], where the House of Commons met until December 13, 2018.]]
Though it does not formally elect the prime minister, the House of Commons indirectly controls who becomes prime minister. By convention, the prime minister is answerable to and must maintain the support of, the House of Commons. Thus, whenever the office of prime minister falls vacant, the governor general has the duty of appointing the person most likely to command the support of the House—normally the leader of the largest party in the lower house, although the system allows a coalition of two or more parties. This has not happened in the Canadian federal parliament but has occurred in Canadian provinces. The leader of the second-largest party (or in the case of a coalition, the largest party out of government) usually becomes the leader of the Official Opposition. Moreover, the prime minister is, by unwritten convention, a member of the House of Commons, rather than of the Senate. Only two prime ministers governed from the Senate: [[John Joseph Caldwell Abbott|Sir John Abbott]] (1891–1892) and [[Mackenzie Bowell|Sir Mackenzie Bowell]] (1894–1896). Both men got the job following the death of a prime minister and did not contest elections.

=== Meeting times and procedures ===
The House usually sits Monday to Friday from late January to mid-June and from mid-September to mid-December according to an established calendar, though it can modify the calendar if additional or fewer sittings are required.<ref name="GUIDE"/> During these periods, the House generally rises for one week per month to allow members to work in their constituencies. Sittings of the House are open to the public. Proceedings are broadcast over cable and satellite television and over live [[streaming media|streaming video]] on the Internet by [[CPAC (TV channel)|CPAC]] owned by a consortium of Canadian cable companies. They are also recorded in text form in print and online in [[Hansard]], the official report of parliamentary debates.

The ''Constitution Act, 1867'' establishes a [[quorum]] of twenty members (including the member presiding) for the House of Commons. Any member may request a count of the members to ascertain the presence of a quorum; if however, the speaker feels that at least twenty members are clearly in the Chamber, the request may be denied. If a count does occur, and reveals that fewer than twenty members are present, the speaker orders bells to be rung, so that other members on the parliamentary precincts may come to the Chamber. If, after a second count, a quorum is still not present, the speaker must adjourn the House until the next sitting day.

The member of the Government responsible for steering legislation through the House is [[Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Canada)|leader of the Government in the House of Commons]]. The ''government house leader'' (as they are more commonly known) is a member of Parliament selected by the prime minister and holds cabinet rank. The leader manages the schedule of the House of Commons and attempts to secure the Opposition's support for the Government's legislative agenda.

=== Question period ===
The House of Commons scrutinizes the [[Minister of the Crown|ministers of the Crown]] through ''Question Period'', a daily forty-five-minute period during which members have the opportunity to ask questions of the prime minister and other Cabinet ministers. Questions must relate to the responding minister's official government activities, not to their activities as a party leader or as a private Member of Parliament. Members may also question committee chairmen on the work of their respective committees. Members of each party are entitled to the number of questions proportional to the party caucus' strength in the house. In addition to questions asked orally during Question Period, Members of Parliament may also make inquiries in writing.

In times where there is a majority government, the House of Commons' scrutiny of the government is weak. Since elections use the first-past-the-post electoral system, the governing party tends to enjoy a large majority in the Commons; there is often limited need to compromise with other parties. ([[Minority government]]s, however, are not uncommon.) Modern Canadian political parties are so tightly organized that they leave relatively little room for free action by their MPs. In many cases, MPs may be expelled from their parties for voting against the instructions of party leaders. As well, the major parties require candidates' nominations to be signed by party leaders, thus giving the leaders the power to, effectively, end a politician's career.{{Citation needed|date=August 2016}} Thus, defeats of majority governments on issues of confidence are very rare. [[Paul Martin]]'s [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]] minority government lost a [[vote of no confidence]] in 2005; the last time this had occurred was in 1979, when [[Joe Clark]]'s [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservative]] minority government was defeated after a term of just six months.

=== Role in Federation ===
As a Westminster modelled democracy, the [[Government of Canada]], or more specifically the [[King-in-Council|Governor-in-Council]], exercising the [[Executive (government)|executive power]] on behalf of the prime minister and Cabinet, enjoys a complementary relationship with the House of Commons—similar to the UK model,<ref>{{cite web |author=Staff writer |author-link1= |year=2022 |title=Canada: History and present government |script-title= |title-link= |url=https://www.royal.uk/canada |url-access= |trans-title= |format= |website=www.royal.uk |script-website= |trans-website= |type= |language= |publication-place=United Kingdom |publisher=The Royal Household |publication-date=2022 |arxiv= |asin= |asin-tld= |bibcode= |bibcode-access= |biorxiv= |citeseerx= |doi= |doi-access= |eissn= |hdl= |hdl-access= |isbn= |ismn= |issn= |jfm= |jstor= |jstor-access= |lccn= |medrxiv= |mr= |oclc= |ol= |ol-access= |osti= |osti-access= |pmc= |pmid= |rfc= |sbn= |ssrn= |s2cid= |s2cid-access= |zbl= |id= |url-status= |archive-url= |archive-format= |archive-date= |access-date=January 22, 2025 |via= |quote-page= |quote-pages= |quote= |script-quote= |trans-quote= }}</ref> and in contrast to the US model of [[separation of powers]].

The prime minister stays in office by retaining the confidence of the House of Commons. The lower house may indicate its lack of support for the ruling party administration by rejecting a [[motion of confidence]], or by passing a [[motion of no confidence]]. Important bills that form a part of the government's agenda are generally considered matters of confidence, as is any taxation or spending bill and the annual budget. When a government has lost the confidence of the House of Commons, the prime minister is obliged to either resign or request the governor general to dissolve parliament, thereby precipitating a general election. The governor general may theoretically refuse to dissolve parliament, thereby forcing the prime minister to resign. [[King-Byng Affair|The last instance]] of a governor general refusing to grant a dissolution was in 1926.

In modern times the government of Canada has strengthened its relationship to the [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] groups living in Canada in place of the Crown.

=== Dissolution of term ===
Except when compelled to request a dissolution by an adverse vote on a confidence issue, the prime minister is allowed to choose the timing of dissolutions, and consequently the timing of general elections. The time chosen reflects political considerations, and is generally most opportune for the prime minister's party. However, no parliamentary term can last for more than five years from the first sitting of Parliament; a dissolution is automatic upon the expiry of this period. Normally, Parliaments do not last for full five-year terms; prime ministers typically ask for dissolutions after about three or four years. In 2006, the [[Premiership of Stephen Harper|Harper government]] introduced a bill to set [[Fixed election dates in Canada#Federal|fixed election dates every four years]], although [[snap election]]s are still permitted. The bill was approved by Parliament and has now become law.

Whatever the reason{{mdash}}the expiry of parliament's term, the choice of the prime minister, or a government defeat in the House of Commons{{mdash}}a dissolution is followed by general elections. If the prime minister's party retains its majority in the House of Commons, then the prime minister may remain in power. On the other hand, if their party has lost its majority, the prime minister may resign or may attempt to retain leadership by winning support from members of other parties. A prime minister may resign even if he or she is not defeated at the polls (for example, for personal health reasons); in such a case, the new leader of the outgoing prime minister's party becomes prime minister.

=== Legislative functions ===
{{Further|Law of Canada|Act of Parliament}}
Although legislation may be introduced in either chamber, most bills originate in the House of Commons.

In conformity with the British model, the Lower House alone is authorized to originate bills imposing taxes or appropriating public funds. This restriction on the power of the Senate is not merely a matter of convention, but is explicitly stated in the ''Constitution Act, 1867''. Otherwise, the power of the two Houses of Parliament is theoretically equal; the approval of each is necessary for a bill's passage.

In practice, however, the House of Commons is the dominant chamber of Parliament, with the Senate very rarely exercising its powers in a way that opposes the will of the democratically elected chamber. The last major bill defeated in the Senate came in 2010, when a bill passed by the Commons concerning [[climate change]] was rejected in the Senate.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/panther-lounge/2010/11/senate-vote-to-kill-climate-act-disrespects-canadians-and-democracy/ |title=Senate vote to kill Climate Act disrespects Canadians and democracy |publisher=davidsuzuki.org |date=October 19, 2010 |access-date=May 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110503164126/http://www.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/panther-lounge/2010/11/senate-vote-to-kill-climate-act-disrespects-canadians-and-democracy/ |archive-date=May 3, 2011 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

A clause in the ''Constitution Act, 1867'' permits the governor general (with the approval of the monarch) to appoint up to eight extra senators to resolve a deadlock between the two houses. The clause was invoked only once, in 1990, when Prime Minister [[Brian Mulroney]] advised the appointment of an additional eight senators to secure the Senate's approval for the [[Goods and Services Tax (Canada)|Goods and Services Tax]].

=== Debates ===
During debates, members may only speak if called upon by the speaker (or, as is most often the case, the deputy presiding). The speaker is responsible for ensuring that members of all parties have an opportunity to be heard. The speaker also determines who is to speak if two or more members rise simultaneously, but the decision may be altered by the House. Motions must be moved by one member and seconded by another before debate may begin. Some motions, however, are non-debatable.

Speeches<ref name="GUIDE"/> may be made in either of Canada's official languages (English and French), and it is customary for bilingual members of parliament to respond to these in the same language they were made in. It is common for bilingual MPs to switch between languages during speeches. Members must address their speeches to the presiding officer, not the House, using the words "Mr. Speaker" ({{Langx|fr|Monsieur le Président|links=no}}) or "Madam Speaker" ({{Langx|fr|Madame la Présidente|links=no}}). Other members must be referred to in the third person. Traditionally, members do not refer to each other by name, but by constituency or cabinet post, using forms such as "the honourable member for [electoral district]" or "the minister of..." Members' names are routinely used only during roll call votes, in which members stand and are named to have their vote recorded; at that point they are referred to by title (''Ms.'' or ''mister'' for Anglophones and ''madame'', ''mademoiselle'', or ''monsieur'' for Francophones) and last name, except where members have the same or similar last names, at which point they would be listed by their name and riding (''"M. Massé, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia; Mr. Masse, Windsor West....'').

No member may speak more than once on the same question (except that the mover of a motion is entitled to make one speech at the beginning of the debate and another at the end). Moreover, tediously repetitive or irrelevant remarks are prohibited, as are written remarks read into the record (although this behaviour is creeping into the modern debate). The speaker may order a member making such remarks to cease speaking. The Standing Orders of the House of Commons prescribe time limits for speeches. The limits depend on the nature of the motion but are most commonly between ten and twenty minutes. However, under certain circumstances, the prime minister, the Opposition leader, and others are entitled to make longer speeches. The debate may be further restricted by the passage of "time allocation" motions. Alternatively, the House may end debate more quickly by passing a motion for "[[cloture|closure]]".

=== Member roll-call ===
When the debate concludes, the motion in question is put to a vote. The House first votes by voice vote; the presiding officer puts the question, and members respond either "yea" (in favour of the motion) or "nay" (against the motion). The presiding officer then announces the result of the voice vote, but five or more members may challenge the assessment, thereby forcing a recorded vote (known as a [[division (vote)|division]], although, in fact, the House does not divide for votes the way the British House of Commons does). First, members in favour of the motion rise, so that the clerks may record their names and votes. Then, the same procedure is repeated for members who oppose the motion. There are no formal means for recording an abstention, though a member may informally abstain by remaining seated during the division. If there is an equality of votes, the speaker has a casting vote.

The member of the Government responsible for steering legislation through the House is [[Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Canada)|leader of the Government in the House of Commons]]. The ''government house leader'' (as they are more commonly known) is a member of Parliament selected by the prime minister and holds cabinet rank. The leader manages the schedule of the House of Commons and attempts to secure the Opposition's support for the Government's legislative agenda.

The outcome of most votes is largely known beforehand since political parties in Cabinet normally instruct members on how to vote. A party normally entrusts some members of Parliament, known as [[whip (politics)|whips]], with the task of ensuring that all party members vote as desired. Members of Parliament do not tend to vote against such instructions since those who do so are unlikely to reach higher political ranks in their parties. Errant members may be deselected as official party candidates during future elections, and, in serious cases, may be expelled from their parties outright. Thus, the independence of members of Parliament tends to be extremely low, and "backbench rebellions" by members discontent with their party's policies are rare. In some circumstances, however, parties announce "free votes", allowing members to vote as they please. This may be done on moral issues and is routine on [[private members' bills]].

=== Points of order ===
The speaker controls debates by calling on members to speak. If a member in the house believes that a rule (or standing order) has been breached, they may raise a "[[point of order]]", on which the speaker makes a ruling that is not subject to any debate or appeal. The speaker may also discipline members who fail to observe the rules of the House. When presiding, the speaker must remain impartial. The speaker also oversees the administration of the House and is chair of the [[Board of Internal Economy]], the governing body for the House of Commons. The current speaker of the House of Commons is [[Greg Fergus]].