The Alberta Legislature

Virtual Visit: Step Inside the Alberta Legislature

www.virtualvisit.learnalberta.ca

Legislative Assembly Chamber

Physical Features

Ceiling: The Canadian maple leaf is represented in green along the border of each panel. The centre panel features Alberta’s wild rose. The narrow panels contain double-headed war axes, which are symbols of authority from ancient Crete. The ceiling is lit by approximately 640 light bulbs and by floodlights behind the stained glass.

Walls: The Chamber walls feature mahogany veneer paneling accented with green marble. By tradition, a portrait of the reigning monarch, at present Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, hangs on the government side of the House. On the opposition side hangs a portrait of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and Queen Elizabeth’s spouse.

Speaker’s Canopy: The City of Edmonton gave the canopy over the Speaker’s Chair to the Province in 1980 as a gift commemorating Alberta’s 75th anniversary. The Coat of Arms of Alberta at the top of the canopy were carved by artist Brent Efird and added in 1987. (Mr. Efird is the same artist responsible for the Alberta Coat of Arms hanging in the Carillon Room).

The Bar: The placement of the Bar in the Chamber reflects a tradition dating from the 16th century, when persons could be called before the Bar for questioning and even sentencing. Today, a Member whose conduct is in question may be called to the Bar by the Assembly to explain his actions. However, this is an extremely rare occurrence. (The word “barrister” is derived from “bartster” or one who pleads from the Bar in the days when parliament also functioned as a court).

Flags: In December 1997, a unity debate concerning the Quebec government’s desire to secede from the rest of Canada occurred in the Alberta Legislature. Out of the debate came a unanimous resolution by Members to recognize their commitment to this country. On February 12, 1998, Members decided to mount the provincial and territorial flags on the south side of the Assembly, just underneath the railing. The flags are in the order in which the various territories and provinces entered Confederation. The Canadian and Alberta flags hang on flagpoles on either side of the Speaker’s Chair.

People

A “Legislature” is comprised of the Lieutenant Governor and the Legislative Assembly. The Legislative Assembly Chamber is where the Members of the Legislative Assembly or “House” meet to pass laws for the Province of Alberta. The Alberta Legislature follows United Kingdom procedure. However, the provincial legislature is unicameral; that is, it has only one lawmaking body. In contrast, all but one state legislature in the United States (Nebraska) is bicameral, comprised of a House of Representatives and a Senate. The federal government of Canada, comprised of 308 Members of Parliament and 105 Senators in 2004, is also bicameral; it is made up of the House of Commons and the Senate. The Alberta Assembly is made up of 83 Members, each representing one of Alberta’s 83 constituencies. These elected men and women are known as Members of the Legislative Assembly, or MLAs.

The leader of the political party having a majority or plurality of seats in the Assembly forms a government. By tradition, the government party sits to the right of the Speaker; the opposition parties sit to the Speaker’s left. Currently, the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta forms the Government. Because of space considerations, some of these government members currently sit on the opposition side of the Chamber. The Lieutenant Governor swears in the leader of the governing party as Premier. The Premier then chooses a group of his fellow elected party members to serve as his cabinet. Each member selected is sworn in as a cabinet minister and as such is responsible for a specific government department. The Premier sits at the centre desk in the front row on the government side. The cabinet ministers occupy the rest of the front row seats and those behind. Those members not holding cabinet posts are known as private members or “backbenchers” because they generally sit in the back rows on the government side of the House.

The party having the second largest number of members elected to the Assembly is known as the Official Opposition. At present, the Liberal Party forms the Official Opposition. The third-party forming the Opposition is the New Democratic Party.

Non-elected officials called Table Officers help the Speaker to ensure that the House functions in an efficient and orderly manner. The Clerk of the Assembly sits at the head of the Assembly Table. Because the pace of debate can be quite hectic, the Clerk is on hand to help the Speaker make rulings.

The Clerk might be called upon to check the parliamentary “rulebooks” – Beauchesne’s and Standing Orders – so that the Speaker can rule quickly and accurately. The Clerk’s other duties in the Assembly include announcing items of business and reading petitions.

The Clerk is aided by the Clerk Assistant/Director Virtual Visit: Step Inside the Alberta Legislature (www.virtualvisit.learnalberta.ca) Page 3 of 6 © 2006 Legislative Assembly of Alberta and Alberta Education

of House Services, the Clerk of Journals/Table Research and Parliamentary Counsel, who sit on either side of the Table.

The chair and desk in the centre of the Chamber in front of the Bar are reserved for the Sergeant-at-Arms. The Sergeant-at-Arms is entrusted with the Provincial Mace, and is responsible for security in the Chamber and galleries.

The chairs on either side of the Speaker’s Chair and those on either side of the main entrance to the Chamber are for the Assembly Pages. The Pages are normally Alberta high school students selected annually to serve as messengers for the MLAs and as assistants to the Speaker.

There are four galleries seating a total of approximately 260 people including the eight spaces reserved for wheelchairs. The Members’ Gallery, located above the opposition side of the Chamber, is reserved for guests of the MLAs. Passes for this gallery may be obtained through one’s MLA by either writing or phoning his or her office at the Legislature or his or her constituency office. The Public Gallery, located above the government side of the Chamber, is open to all members of the public. Passes for these galleries are picked up prior to each daily sitting at the security desk on the Fourth Floor. The Speaker’s Gallery, opposite the Speaker’s Chair, is reserved for visiting dignitaries and other guests of the Speaker.

The console at the front of the Speaker’s gallery controls all of the microphones in the Chamber. When a Member rises to speak, the microphone at his or her desk is turned on, carrying the Member’s voice throughout the Chamber and galleries via a system of approximately 100 speakers. In addition, the microphones facilitate the tape recording of all House proceedings. These recordings are then transcribed into a printed form known as Alberta Hansard, which is the official record of the House proceedings. Directly above the Speaker’s Chair is the Press Gallery, reserved for members of the media.

Until recent years, the Alberta Press Gallery had an interesting custom whereby once a year, at the end of each Session, the reporters took all of their notes and copies of Hansard from Session and tossed them to the Chamber below, thereby “throwing Members’ words back at them”. The practice added a bit of levity to the end of Session. In 1972, Alberta began televising the proceedings of the Legislative Assembly. At the time, it was the only parliament in Canada to allow its proceedings to be televised, although Nova Scotia had previously tried it for a brief period of time. All television cameras are now operated by remote control. Virtual Visit: Step Inside the Alberta Legislature (www.virtualvisit.learnalberta.ca) Page 4 of 6 © 2006 Legislative Assembly of Alberta and Alberta Education

Procedure

Under the Canadian Constitution, a provincial general election must be held at least once every five years; in practice, elections tend to be held at somewhat shorter intervals. By law, the Legislature must be convened at least once a year. The Alberta Legislature typically hold both a spring and fall session.

The sitting times can change from session to session. Details about the sitting schedule are available on the Legislative Assembly website at www.assembly.ab.ca.

The Speaker’s procession through the Chamber’s main door signals the commencement of each daily sitting. Upon entering the Chamber, the Sergeant-at-Arms, bearing the Mace, calls out, “Order, order, Mr. Speaker!” The Speaker then enters wearing the traditional black robe and tricorne (three-cornered) hat. He is followed by the Clerk, robed in black, the Clerk Assistant/Director of House Services, the Clerk of Journals/Table Research, Parliamentary Counsel and two Pages.

Everyone in the Chamber must rise and remain standing as the Speaker proceeds to the Speaker’s Chair to read the prayer for the day (the national anthem, O Canada, is sung on Mondays). The Sergeant-at-Arms places the Mace on the green cushion at the end of the Assembly Table with the head of the Mace pointing towards the government side of the Chamber. Prayers are the first item of business in the Assembly’s daily routine. Other items are the introduction of official visitors, petitions, presenting committee reports, first reading of Bills, introduction of school groups and other guests, and statements by cabinet ministers. Oral Question Period follows. During this period, the Premier and cabinet ministers answer questions from opposition and government members regarding government policy, activities and plans. At the conclusion of Question Period, the Clerk calls “Orders of the Day”, which consists of debates on Bills, motions or the budget.

►Mathematics Digital Learning Resource Click to launch Exploring Election Data, a digital learning resource from the LearnAlberta.ca Junior High Math Interactives collection. In the Use It Mode, the user analyzes Alberta General Election results for 1905, 1930, 1967 and 2004. The Explore It Mode provides the user with Alberta General Election results in a variety of graphical displays.

NOTE: Clicking on this link will open a web browser window. A link is provided to the Use It Mode and Explore It Mode. Links to several other resources relevant to Alberta junior high math students, parents and teachers are also available.