The Standing Orders of the House of Commons provide that a
parliamentary calendar shall be prepared for the following year and
tabled by the Speaker no later than September 30 of the current year. In
addition, tentative calendars for a further five years have been
developed and are made available on this website for reference
purposes.
The parliamentary calendar is based on the provisions of the Standing
Orders. For example, Standing Order 24 provides that the House
will not meet on Saturdays and Sundays, while Standing Orders 28(1) and
28(2) set out how the other sitting and non-sitting days during a
calendar year are determined.
The calendar applies only when the House is in session. Each
session begins with a Speech from the Throne and ends when the Governor
General prorogues or dissolves Parliament. There is no set length
for a session. The Government is in no way bound to hold sessions that
correspond to the House of Commons’ calendar. A session may thus begin
on what would be a non-sitting day according the calendar, or it may
begin on a day later than what is shown on the calendar as the first
sitting day following an adjournment.
Notwithstanding the calendar and the Standing Orders on which it is
based, the House may alter its scheduled sitting days and adjournments
by adopting a motion for that purpose. In addition, whenever the House
stands adjourned, it may be recalled pursuant to Standing Order 28(3) to
transact business prior to the date to which it was originally
adjourned. It may also meet pursuant to Standing Order 28(4) for the
sole purpose of participating in the ceremony of granting the Royal
Assent to a bill or bills.