Charlie Feldman

Canada's parliamentary boutique needs a real festive Christmas sweater. I know I'm not the only one who wants this in their wardrobe!!

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY. Mr. Robinson.—“An Act to punish cruelty to animals.” Mr. Gowan.—“An Act to enable members of Parliament to accept Commissionerships at $10 a day.” Mr. Benjamin.—“An Act to enlarge members’ chairs,” which he finds too small. (The last was referred to Committee.)

in legislative news?

Just opened my legislature advent calendar - excited to discover whose proceedings we'll be watching each day in December!! 🤓

Haha en fait c'est ça que je cite dans le livre :) :)

"Which is the best photo of an MP picking their nose during Commons debate?"
-Questions I never considered deeply until being told to pare down the image count in my forthcoming parliament book...

Fabulous turnout tonight for the premiere of the parliamentary history documentary

"The fact that he did not inform the cabinet is understandable. They would probably have insisted on the matter being considered by study session, followed by a task force, and brought to a conclusion by a white paper, after which nothing would have been done." 2/2

HOUSE OF COMMONS Friday, March 5, 1971 The House met at 11 a.m. THE PRIME MINISTER — CONGRATULATIONS ON MARRIAGE Hon. Mitchell Sharp (Acting Prime Minister): Mr. Speaker, I apologize to the House for not having given notice yesterday of the intention of our esteemed Prime Minister to get married. Some hon. Members: Hear, hear! Mr. Sharp: The trouble is he did not consult the members of his Cabinet on this essentially private affair, but I am sure all members of the House will join me in wishing great happiness and long life to the happy pair. Some hon. Members: Hear, hear! ● (11:10 a.m.) Right Hon. J. G. Diefenbaker (Prince Albert): Mr. Speaker, in the absence of the Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition I join with the Secretary of State for External Affairs in extending deep and warm congratulation and good wishes to the Prime Minister and his bride. I was surprised, however, that he made an admission that the cabinet was not consulted. That apparently is not in the usual course for the Prime Minister, but in this case more understandable than usual. My suggestions are not often accepted by the members of the government and, in particular the Prime Minister, but I think the House would want to know what I said on the occasion of my 30th year in the House of Commons, on March 25, 1970, when in response to the warmth that often fills this chamber I stated: I do not want to mention personal matters, but on an occasion like this, filled with emotion, I do want to say that one’s happiness is greatly increased by having a wife to support and to counsel one. I am not passing that on to the Prime Minister by way of a suggestion but I say to him that if he would follow my advice in that connection he would be amazed at the translation that would take place. Some hon. Members: Hear, hear! Mr. Diefenbaker: I wish to the Prime Minister and his bride the happiness that has been that of my wife and myself. The bride is the daughter of one of the most distinguishe…

Just saw that Australia's PM became their first to marry while in office. From the Canadian Hansard archives - March 5, 1971: The sitting after PM Pierre Trudeau got married (to the surprise of many). My favourite quote? 1/2

Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER — Order! Mr Micallef — What is the difference between you and a bucket of shit? The SPEAKER — Order! The honourable member has used an unparliamentary expression. I ask him to withdraw. Mr MICALLEF (Springvale) — I withdraw ‘bucket’. The SPEAKER — Order! An unqualified withdrawal please!

Hansard moments I think about far too often

Meeting you face-to-face restored my faith in - and renewed my interest in - parliamentary studies! :) Real restoration and renewal, as it were :p

Lovely getting to meet you in person at long last, Cristina!! :)

Plaque: Sir Thomas Herbert (1606-1682) lived hereabouts. A parliamentarian, he later became a Groom of the Bedchamber and close friend of King Charles I. He stayed with him on the night before his execution and attended him on the scaffold.

Get someone who looks at you like Sir Thomas Herbert looked at Charles I?

🎉 Follow along with our third panel on Legislative Process and Scrutiny!

➡️ First up is @parlcharlie.bsky.social telling us about Senate public bills in Canada 🇨🇦

#PSAParl25

When parliament nerds meet! @bymyong.bsky.social

Off to York for the @psa-parliaments.bsky.social gathering! Looking around the train for other people reading Hansard 😍

Prime Minister releases guide for Ministers The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today took the step of publicly releasing Open and Accountable Government, a guide that sets out his expectations for the conduct of his Ministers and their roles a...

Happy 10th birthday to "Open and Accountable Government" - released on this day in 2015. www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/news...

Very excited for legislative band practice! Hope everyone likes "The 12 Deems of Christmas"

Order. I think everyone saw the white smoke. A number of members have asked me how I could keep my seat for 35 years in a row through 11 elections. I have three little pieces of advice. First, you need to be able to manage your frustrations, because politics is one frustration after another. You will come to know this, especially the new members. Second, I would say that you must be prepared and speak intelligently. I would like to share a story. In the first month after my arrival in 1984, I made three statements, two of which contradicted my party's platform. At my first caucus meeting, an old senator told me that he wanted to talk to me. I say “old”, but I would not consider him very old today. He brought me to his office and asked if I wanted to stay in politics for a long time. I told him yes. He told me to look at the wall, where a magnificent stuffed fish was mounted. He told me that had the fish kept its mouth shut, it would still be alive. Some hon. members: Oh, oh! The Presiding Officer (Mr. Louis Plamondon): He added that it was pretty much the same in politics. The third thing I would like to say is that you should get into politics because you like to serve, because you like your constituents and because you are dedicated. Never get into politics for recognition. If you are looking for recognition, you would be better off getting a nice dog.

Saw that MPs are set to honour long-serving MP Louis Plamondon -- here is his must-read advice to members in 2019 :)

The bill's in committee /
What joy and what fun! /
Who has an amendment? /
Let's start with clause 1!

#LegislationBooksForChildren

Is there a study of MEP views on airport and airline regulation broken down into those who fly to Brussels through Zaventem vs those who journey from Charleroi? Surely someone has considered this.

Alberta government eyes AI to write legislation for 1st time | CBC News The Alberta government is considering using AI technology to write a law for the first time, eyeing a forthcoming piece of whisky legislation as its test case.

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Hansard + waffles + fries
🇧🇪

Metro safetrack ad with "Rayburn subway next week" on tpp

This may be the most inside the beltway thing anyone's ever sent me

Hallmark announced its holiday movies, but C-SPAN remains silent 🤔 Here are some suggestions:
1) Miracle on the 218th signature
2) A Muppets Christmas Conference Committee
3) It's a wonderful shutdown
4) Rudolph the red-nosed (continuing) resolution
5) ¡Feliz Filibuster! 🎄

CBC News.... what is AI black smoke?

Senator Meighen: Is this part of the sixteen hours? Senator Gigantès: No, we will get to that in good time. Senator Kelleher: Keep drinking lots of water. Senator Gigantès: Just looking at you makes me hot under the collar. The liquid goes out through my pores and not through my bladder.

Canadian Senate Hansard - November 20, 1990.

Today in Canadian parliamentary history - November 20, 2001: The legislation to declare the Canadian Horse as the national horse is discussed for the first time in the House. At right: Said horse on the Hill as part of the lobbying effort for today's National Horse of Canada Act.

Who has two thumbs, two chins in most photos, and an accepted paper abstract on an incredibly boring topic?!

See you at Oxford in the spring!

Christmas sale is on at the Scottish Parliament boutique -- this is not a drill!!

In Ottawa? In law? It's Lawyer Play audition time! 🎭

Auditions for the 2026 CCLA/GCTC Lawyer Play are now open! The next production is the classic "Our Town" in support of Upstream Ottawa Mental Health Community Support.

Email lawyerplay@gctc.ca for more and break a leg!