Glossary
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  • Abstention
    • The act of refraining from voting either for or against a motion. Members are not obliged to vote and the records of the House take no official notice of an abstention; a list of paired members is appended, if necessary, to every division list in the Journals and Debates.
  • Abstract motion
    • A motion which merely recommends an expenditure, imposition or action. As it expresses only an opinion or desire, such a motion does not bind the House or the government to any course of action.
  • Acclamation
    • In Canada, a Member is said to be elected or returned by acclamation when no other candidate has come forward at an election and no vote is held.
  • Act of Parliament
    • A bill which has been passed by both the House of Commons and the Senate, has received Royal Assent and has been proclaimed. Unless a provision of the Act specifies otherwise, the Act comes into force on the date of Royal Assent or, when Royal Assent is signified by written declaration, on the day on which the two Houses of Parliament have been notified of the declaration.
  • Acting Speaker
    • A member, other than the deputy speaker, who is called upon to take the chair during the unavoidable absence of the speaker. Usually, the deputy or assistant deputy chair of committees of the whole is chosen, but any member may act in this capacity.
  • Address
    • A formal message to the Crown which may either express a wish or an opinion of the House or make a request. Addresses are used to express congratulations to the royal family and also to request the production of documents in the Crown's possession. In certain cases, addresses may be jointly adopted by both Houses.
  • Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne
    • An address expressing the Commons' thanks to the Governor General (or, depending on who delivered the speech, to the Sovereign or to the Administrator of the Government of Canada) for the Throne Speech, adopted after a debate dealing with various aspects of the government's program.
  • Adjournment of debate
    • Often a dilatory tactic which may be employed to delay progress on a question. If a motion to adjourn a debate is adopted, the item is not dropped from the Order Paper but may be taken up again on a later day.
  • Adjournment of the House
    • The termination of a sitting (either by motion or pursuant to a Standing Order or special order) within a session. An adjournment covers the period between the end of one sitting and the beginning of the next. The House may adjourn for a few minutes or for several months.
  • Adjournment Proceedings
    • A 30-minute period prior to the daily adjournment, during which members may raise matters they believe have not been dealt with satisfactorily during oral question period or, in the case of written questions, have not been answered after 45 days. Questions are responded to by a minister or parliamentary secretary.
  • Administrator of the Government of Canada
    • The Chief Justice of Canada who assumes the powers of the Governor General in the event of the latter's death, incapacity, removal or absence from the country. The administrator may, as necessary, read the Throne Speech and signify royal assent to bills.
  • Admonition
    • A stern warning by the Speaker to a member who is adjudged in breach of the rules of the House.
  • Affirmative resolution
    • In an act, this expression, when used in relation to a regulation, means that the regulation shall be laid before the House of Commons within the prescribed period of time and shall not come into force unless and until it is affirmed by a resolution of the House of Commons.
  • Agenda
    • A list of the items of business to be dealt with during a sitting of the House or of one of its committees.
  • Allotted day
    • A day reserved for the discussion of the business of supply, the actual topic of debate being chosen by a member in opposition. There are 22 allotted days in each calendar year which are divided amongst the opposition parties in proportion to their representation in the House. (If, for any reason, the number of sitting days in any supply period is fewer or greater than the number prescribed under the parliamentary calendar, the number of allotted days in that period may be adjusted.) All motions are put to a vote unless the sponsor of the motion designates it as non-votable.
  • Amending Act
    • An Act of Parliament the sole purpose of which is to modify another act or acts. Restrictions exist on the type of amendments that may be proposed to bills which seek to amend other acts.
  • Amendment
    • An alteration proposed to a motion, a stage or clause of a bill, or to a committee report. It may attempt to present an improved formulation of the proposition under consideration or to provide an alternative to it.
  • Ancillary motion
    • A subsidiary motion dependent on an order already made by the House, such as a motion for the second reading of a bill or for concurrence in a committee report.
  • Appeal a decision
    • To request the reconsideration of a decision made by a committee chair. In standing, special and legislative committees, the appeal is made to the committee itself; decisions made by the Chair of a Committee of the Whole can be appealed to the Speaker. Decisions made by the Speaker may not be appealed.
  • Applied vote
    • Vote whereby, based on prior consultations among the Whips, the results of one recorded division are subsequently applied to others directly or, occasionally, in reverse.
  • Appropriation
    • A sum of money allocated by Parliament for a specific purpose outlined in the government's spending estimates.
  • Appropriation bill
    • A bill to authorize government expenditures, introduced in the House following concurrence in the main or supplementary estimates or interim supply. An appropriation bill can only be introduced by a minister.
  • Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole
    • A member chosen to serve as a replacement for the Chair of Committees of the Whole during the latter's absence, including taking on the role of Acting Speaker when required.
  • Associate member
    • A member whose name has been placed on a list from which members of subcommittees and substitute members of committees may be chosen. The list of associate members is established by the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs and adopted by the House.
  • Auditor General
    • An officer of Parliament responsible for the independent scrutiny of the government's accounts. Reports of this examination are tabled in the House several times a year.
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