Background
Information
- Origins
- Function
- Components
- Legislative
Office
- Business
Office
- Historic
Site
The
origins of the Office of the Legislative Assembly can be traced
to the 14th century in England when Parliament elected its first Speaker
and appointed its first Clerk. In New Brunswick, the Office of the Clerk
can be traced to 1833, and may have originated with the first session
of the Assembly held in 1786.
Today, the Speaker
of the Legislative Assembly is the head of the office and the Clerk
of the Legislative Assembly serves as the deputy head, responsible for
administrative matters. The Speaker is the Member elected by the House
to serve as its spokesperson and to preside over its proceedings. In
particular, he or she is responsible for maintaining order and decorum.
As Chair of the Legislative Administrative Committee, the Speaker oversees
the administration of the House. The Clerk of the House is also the
chief procedural advisor to the Speaker and Members of the Legislative
Assembly. Section 33 of the Legislative Assembly Act establishes
the Office of the Legislative Assembly and makes its current name official.
The most common
misconception about the Legislative Assembly Office is that it is a
branch of government and that staff are government employees. In fact,
in the parliamentary system, the government is the executive branch
and is responsible for applying and enforcing the laws. The Legislative
Assembly is part of the legislative branch and is responsible for establishing
the laws of the province.
The
main function of the Legislative Assembly Office is to support and
assist the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly in the performance
of their constitutional and parliamentary duties by ensuring the proper
and efficient functioning of the Assembly and its committees.
The staff of the
Legislative Assembly Office are answerable to the Speaker of the Legislative
Assembly for administrative purposes and ultimately responsible to the
Members of the Assembly.
The Legislative
Assembly Office provides various support services to the entire Assembly
including Members of opposition and government parties alike.
The Office resembles
in general the normal structure of a government department with the
Speaker at the head. Although the Office has sometimes been called the
Speaker's department, it is not a government department and the Speaker
does not belong to Cabinet, he or she cannot be asked questions during
Question Period and cannot participate in the Assembly's debates. The
Speaker does have administrative authority and responsibility similar
to that of a minister of a government department, while the Clerk is
the Speaker's chief administrative deputy and has authority and responsibilities
similar to that of a deputy minister of a government department.
The
components or branches of the Legislative Assembly Office are: the
Clerk's Office, the Hansard Office, Debates Translation, and the Legislative
Library. Also under the umbrella of the Office of the Legislative Assembly
are the Government Members' Office, the Office of the Official Opposition
and the Third Party or Independent Member's Office. Lastly, the Legislative
Administration Committee, chaired by the Speaker and composed of Members
of each political party represented in the Legislative Assembly, is
responsible for administrative and financial matters concerning the
Legislative Assembly and Members of the Assembly.
The role of staff
is to provide impartial and confidential advice and services to all
Members. The word services covers a broad spectrum:
- Procedural and
administrative advice from the Clerks-at-the-Table.
- Communication
and translation services through the Hansard and Debates Translation
Offices.
- Library Services
through the Legislative Library.
- Security and
visitor information services through the Sergeant-at-Arms.
- Financial, technical
and human resource services through the Clerk's Office.
The other components
of the office are the caucus offices: the Government Members' Office,
the Office of the Official Opposition and the Third Party or Independent
Member's Office. Each party grouping or caucus of elected Members is
a branch of the Legislative Assembly Office. Although theoretically,
the Speaker has authority over the administration of each caucus office,
for obvious reasons, these branches operate with considerable autonomy.
Currently, three
caucus branches receive financial, administrative and personnel services
as well as other support services under the direction of the Clerk.
The Clerk of the
Assembly is the chief administrative officer and the Clerk's Office
is primarily responsible for the operation of the Legislative Assembly
Office. It operates on three different levels:
1. As
a Legislative Office
The Clerk's Office
provides professional, impartial advice on Parliamentary law, procedure
and practice to the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly.
The Office prepares all parliamentary documents related to the proceedings
of the House, committees, and ceremonial functions.
Since 1786, the
Office has been charged with preparing, maintaining and archiving the
parliamentary records of the province. The Office is a storehouse of
documents and the central distribution centre of annual reports, sessional
papers and all House documents. In addition to maintaining paper copies
of documents, the Office maintains current electronic versions at this
web site.
The Office maintains
close connections with other Canadian legislatures and almost daily
exchanges of information on procedural developments and changes to existing
legislation affecting Members. The Office frequently receives visiting
delegations from other legislatures. The Office provides information
on the role and function of the Legislative Assembly to Members and
staff, to government departments, and school groups. The Office fulfills
an educational role and daily responds to inquiries from the public,
the press and from other parliamentary jurisdictions.
Each year, the
Office conducts a student legislative seminar designed to teach young
citizens the function of government and to promote language diversity
in a bilingual province.
2. As
a Business Office
The Clerk's Office
administers a $9.7 million budget encompassing 55 Members from three
political parties and a 57-member staff in a fair, efficient and impartial
manner. The Clerk's Office administers payments to Members and ensures
that the services provided comply with the Legislative Assembly Act
and other relevant statutes, regulations, guidelines and directives.
The Office provides personnel and human resource services to all branches
constituting the Office of the Legislative Assembly.
3. As an Historic
Site
The Clerk's Office
operates the Legislative Building as a protected historic
site and maintains the exterior and interior of the building. The
artifacts throughout the Complex are treated in a manner that reflects
conservation and environmental policies. The Office facilitates tours
for visitors, provides information on the history of the building, and
accommodates a broad range of functions and visits every year.