Activity Report of the National Assembly of Québec for the 2014-2015 Fiscal Year
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ACTIVITY REPORT 2014 - 2015 OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF QUÉBEC Front cover: At nightfall, lampposts and potted plants illuminate the Parliament Building facade, showcasing the statues standing like sentinels. Photo : François Laliberté, National Assembly Collection ACTIVITY REPORT 2014 - 2015 OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF QUÉBEC This publication was prepared in collaboration with the senior management and the personnel of all the administrative units of the National Assembly. Unless otherwise specified, the information in this activity report covers the National Assembly’s activities from 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015. SUPERVISION Isabelle Giguère COORDINATION AND EDITING Andréanne Gélinas REVISION Éliane de Nicolini COLLABORATION France Pelletier Marie-Josée Dufour TRANSLATION Sylvia Ford COVER Manon Paré GRAPHIC DESIGN AND PAGE LAYOUT Isabelle Jacques PHOTOGRAPHY National Assembly Collection PHOTOGRAPHERS Clément Allard Alejandro Anaya Christian Chevalier Jean-Yves Cliche Valérie Cliche Édouard de Blaÿ François Laliberté Claude Mathieu François Nadeau Renaud Philippe Roch Théroux Communications, Educational Programs and Visitor Services Directorate PRINTING Reprography and Printing Division of the National Assembly ISSN 1492-5753 ISBN 978-2-550-73056-9 Legal Deposit – Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, 2015 Legal Deposit – Library and Archives Canada, 2015 A WORD FROM THE PRESIDENT ................................................................................................. 7 A WORD FROM THE SECRETARY GENERAL ..................................................................... 9 HIGHLIGHTS ..................................................................................................................................................11 THE WORK OF MEMBERS THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ........................................................................................................... 17 Mission of the National Assembly ..........................................................................................................17 Composition of the Assembly ....................................................................................................................17 Distribution of seats .................................................................................................................................................................17 The Chair ............................................................................................................................................................................................18 Changes in the composition of the Assembly ...................................................................................................19 Seating plan of the National Assembly as at 31 March 2015 ................................................................22 PARLIAMENTARY WORK ............................................................................................................................................ 23 Directive from the Chair ........................................................................................................................................................23 Work performed at the National Assembly ............................................................................................................ 24 Overview of the work performed at the National Assembly .................................................................24 Routine Proceedings ................................................................................................................................................................25 Orders of the Day .......................................................................................................................................................................27 Work carried out in the standing committees ......................................................................................................29 Overview of the work carried out in committees ...........................................................................................29 Clause-by-clause consideration of bills.....................................................................................................................30 Public consultations ..................................................................................................................................................................30 Examination of the estimates of expenditure ....................................................................................................30 Standing committees ....................................................................................................................................................................31 Reports containing observations, conclusions and recommendations ..............................................39 Temporary chair ............................................................................................................................................................................40 PARLIAMENTARY DIPLOMACY ......................................................................................................................... 41 Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie ...................................................................................................41 Commonwealth Parliamentary Association .........................................................................................................43 Parliamentary Confederation of the Americas ...................................................................................................44 American parliamentary organizations .....................................................................................................................45 Bilateral relations with partner parliaments and with European institutions ............................47 Interparliamentary cooperation .......................................................................................................................................47 Meetings with the President of the National Assembly and his counterparts .......................48 Official visits ....................................................................................................................................................................................48 THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AND THE CITIZENS The Medal of Honour ....................................................................................................................................................................53 Political Book Prize ........................................................................................................................................................................54 Public participation in parliamentary proceedings .........................................................................................55 Petitions ..............................................................................................................................................................................................55 Comments received .................................................................................................................................................................55 Visitors at the National Assembly ....................................................................................................................................56 Guided tours ...................................................................................................................................................................................56 Open house days ........................................................................................................................................................................56 Special brunches .........................................................................................................................................................................57 Familiarization days ...................................................................................................................................................................57 The Library of the National Assembly ..........................................................................................................................57 A Library that opens its doors to the public .........................................................................................................57 Support to parliamentarians and administrative units .................................................................................58 Information and publications .............................................................................................................................................58 The Library collections ...........................................................................................................................................................59 Educational mission.......................................................................................................................................................................59 Par ici la démocratie website ............................................................................................................................................59 President’s Tour ............................................................................................................................................................................60