Day 3. "The House of Commons and the Parliamentary Library"

Discussion/warm up

Let’s check what you know about the House of Commons so far!

1.     What is the House of Commons? (Its is one of three branches of Parliament; it is one of 2 Chambers)

2.     Who are MPs? (Members of Parliament)?

3.     What is the difference between an MP and a senator?

4.     What is a constituency? Into how many constituencies is Canada divided?

5.     Who is who in the House? What are their roles? (The Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition, the Speaker, Cabinet Ministers)

6.     What is Question Period (QP)?

7.     Why is the House of Commons green?

8.     What does the House of Commons do?

Students then receive the copies with the correct answers and answer the questions again using the information in the handouts.

Introducing new vocabulary

stone carvings- a shape made in stone for decoration

stained glass- glass of different colours used for making pictures and patterns in windows, especially in a church

constant reminder- reminder that happens regularly or all the time

constituency- an area of a country that elects a representative to a parliament

guide - to help someone or something to move in a particular direction; to show someone the right way to do something, especially something difficult or complicated

preside- to be in charge of a formal event, organization, ceremony etc

*** Presiding Officer - the person who officially controls the meetings and discussions in the Scottish Parliament or the Welsh Assembly. The Presiding Officer's position is the same as that of the Speaker of the House of Commons.

occupy- to live or stay in a place

ornate- covered with a lot of decoration

accommodate- to provide someone with a place to stay, live, or work

assemble- gather together in one place, often for a particular purpose

spending - the amount of money spent, especially by a government or organization

scrutinise- to examine someone or something very carefully

Watch the video:

The House of Commons

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4oKuEsoFzU&list=PLF_YRVnBKD-wCdMQwp3ZOjhPAuSKJMnpB

The House of Commons

Transcript

The House of Commons Chamber, at the west end of the Centre Block, is decorated in green in the tradition of the British House of Commons. Stone carvings, stained glass windows and other artistic representations of Canada's history decorate the Chamber, as a constant reminder of the Canadians that Members of Parliament represent and serve.

MPs are elected to represent Canada's 308 constituencies. In the Commons Chamber, Members devote most of their time to debating and voting on bills. The Chamber is also a place where Members represent constituents' views, discuss national issues and call on the government to explain its actions.

In keeping with our Parliamentary traditions debate is guided by the Presiding Officer of the House of Commons – the Speaker who occupies the ornate chair at the head of the chamber. Galleries located on the upper level of the chamber accommodate diplomats, members’ guests, the press and the public. An audio guide provides interpretation in both official languages.

The members who assemble here propose debate, scrutinise and vote on bills and spending that will (if passed) in the House of Commons and in the Senate become the law of the land.

Answer the following questions:

What elements decorate the House of Commons Chamber?

How many constituencies do MPs represent?

What do MPs usually do in the Chamber?

Who is the Presiding Officer of the House of Commons? Where does he sit?

Who can sit in the galleries?

When does a law become the law of the land?

 

Fill in the gaps using the words from the list below:

Stone ____, ____ glass windows and other artistic representations of Canada's history decorate the Chamber.

MPs are elected to represent Canada's 308 ____.

Debate is ____ by the ____ ____ of the House of Commons – the ____.

Galleries located on the upper level of the chamber ____ diplomats, members’ guests, the press and the public.

The members who ____ here propose debate, ____ and vote on bills and ____.

Accommodate, stained, spending, guided, constituencies, Presiding Officer, carvings, assemble, Speaker, scrutinise.

Introducing new vocabulary

 

showpiece- something that an organization, government etc wants people to see, because it is a very good or successful example

variety- a lot of things of the same type that are different from each other in some way

handcrafted- skillfully made by hand, not by machine = handmade

circular- shaped like a circle

domed - covered with a dome or shaped like a dome

*** dome - a round roof on a building

marble- a type of hard rock that becomes smooth when it is polished, and is used for making buildings, statues etc

beast- an animal, especially a large or dangerous one

 paneling- long or square pieces of wood that are used to cover and decorate walls

*** pine paneling

alcove - a place in the wall of a room that is built further back than the rest of the wall

inspiration - a good idea about what you should do, write, say etc, especially one which you get suddenly

pose a threat – cause a threat.

*** threat- harm or trouble 

raging- very great and hard to control

blaze- fire

*** raging blaze

claim lives- if a war, accident etc claims lives, people die because of it - used especially in news reports

reduce- to make something smaller or less in size, amount, or price

irreplaceable- too special, valuable, or unusual to be replaced by anything else

handle- to do the things that are necessary to complete a job

outreach- when help, advice, or other services are provided for people 

on behalf of-  instead of someone, or as their representative

Watch the video:

 The Library of Parliament

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noTOdH0il8o&list=PLF_YRVnBKD-wCdMQwp3ZOjhPAuSKJMnpB

The Library of Parliament

 

Transcript

                  

At the end of the Hall of Honour is the Library of Parliament, a showpiece of High Victorian Gothic Revival architecture. 

Inside, the variety of textures, colours and handcrafted details are typical of this architectural style. In the centre of the circular, domed room stands a white marble statue of the young Queen Victoria. Thousands of flowers, masks and mythical beasts have been carved into the white pine panelling, and the galleries display the coats of arms of the seven provinces that existed in 1876 when the Library was built.

 

The library circular shape and the use of galleries and alcoves were the inspiration of the first parliamentary librarian, Alpheus Todd.

He recommended that the building be spacious and lofty and wisely advised that it be separated from the Centre Block by a corridor to protect it from fire.

Fire has posed a serious threat to the library on several occasions in its history. On February 3^rd, 1916 around 9 pm a small fire started in the Commons reading room in the Centre Block. It soon grew to a raging blaze that claimed seven lives and reduced all that the North-West wing and the library to a charged shell.  Had an employee not closed the library’s iron doors in time thousands of irreplaceable books would also have been lost. The library has more than seventeen linear kilometers of materials in its collection, including books, periodicals, government documents, CD-ROMs, DVDs and videos. It offers information, references and research services to parliamentarians and their staff, parliamentary committees, associations and delegations and senior Senate and House of Commons officials. Although its surroundings speak of another era, the Library of Parliament uses the tools of the electronic age to support parliamentarians in their work. The skilled staff handles hundreds of requests for information and reference assistance daily and provides visitor and outreach services to the public on behalf of parliamentarians.