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PETITIONING THE HOUSE OF COMMONS Serving Constituents
The Community
Connection
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PHOTO: © HOUSE OF COMMONS |
Launched in 1995, the
Parliament of Canada Web site houses a wealth of
information provided by the Senate, the House of
Commons, and the Library of Parliament. In
2004-2005, the site registered 12,430,623 visits, up
more than two million over the previous year.
Building on this proud tradition, in 2004, the House of Commons made all its proceedings available online through ParlVU -a Web portal that provides Canadians with access to live proceedings of the House. In addition to Chamber activities, ParlVU provides streamed audio and video coverage of all public committee meetings.
An Informative
Partnership
The Library of Parliament is a close partner of the
House of Commons in the provision of information and
research to Members and outreach to Canadians. It
provides accurate and timely information to
parliamentarians and to the public by telephone, TTY
line, fax, email, Web
information request forms, and in person at the
Parliament of Canada Information Centre. The Library's
research staff analyze current issues, policy matters
and legislation for parliamentarians in both Houses so
that they can best represent Canadians' interests.
Lawyers, social scientists, economists and natural
scientists from the Library are assigned to
parliamentary committees to provide subject-matter
expertise. They also prepare
legislative summaries of bills introduced in the
House of Commons, which are available on the Parliament
of Canada Web site. Through its
programs for the public, the Library distributed
more than 260,000 brochures, booklets, fact sheets, and
information kits to Canadians during the
2004-2005 fiscal year.
![Parliamentary Heritage: Celebrating our Right to Vote](images/sbphoto5a.gif)
![Stone carving in the House of Commons Chamber-'The Vote' © House of Commons](images/sbphoto5b.gif)
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The British North America Act Series is a set of 12 high relief sculptures carved from Indiana limestone. The sculptures are located prominently on the east and west walls of the House of Commons Chamber and were installed between 1978 and 1985. They illustrate, in symbolic and narrative form, 12 themes associated with the federal and provincial roles and responsibilities outlined in the Constitution. In "the Vote" panel, the centermost relief, a simple "X" represents the most common symbol made by voters when marking their election ballots and selecting Members to represent them in Parliament. Faces nearby symbolize Canadian men and women from a number of different races-the living embodiment of Canadians' right to vote. |
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The Library of Parliament is an essential partner in providing timely and accurate information on Parliament. In 2004-2005, the Library answered 58,995 requests for information and distributed 265,702 documents to Members and the public. The Library's Information Service can be reached toll-free at: 1-866-599-4999.
In cooperation with the House of Commons and other partners, the Library offers services and programs for the public including: education programs and products; print and electronic publications about Parliament; guided tours of the Centre Block and the East Block; small interpretive exhibits; and Parliament Hill's on-site and e-commerce boutique.
Every year, students from across Canada learn about Parliament by serving Members and the public as House of Commons pages and parliamentary guides. With the launch of a new Page Program Web site in 2004-2005, both page and guide candidates can now access applications online.