|
 |
A tradition that evokes the British roots of Canada’s Parliament,
the Speaker’s Parade marks the opening of a Senate sitting. For 15 minutes before a sitting, bells ring through the Senate’s hallways, calling senators to their seats. In the silence that follows, officials solemnly escort the Speaker of the Senate and the ceremonial Mace from the Speaker’s offices into the Chamber. There, the assembled senators rise as the procession enters.
The Mace, the symbol of the Senate’s authority, is placed on the Clerk’s Table. The Speaker continues to his seat on the dais and officially opens the sitting with a prayer. Although the Speaker’s Parade is part of the ancient practice of using processions to mark important occasions and events, its exact origins are unknown. |
The Hon. Noël A. Kinsella
Speaker of the Senate
Historians think it may have evolved from a religious procession, since spiritual leaders once held considerable power in the British Parliament. Another possibility, signaled by the presence of the Mace, is that the Parade once served as a military escort. Although today’s Mace is a ceremonial symbol, its ancestor was a functional weapon used to guard the soverign and state officials during times of strife in Parliament.
|
|
 |
| |
Whatever its origins, the tradition of the Speaker’s Parade has held fast in modern-day Canada. Similar parades take place in most provincial and territorial legislatures as well as in the House of Commons. In the Senate’s parade, the Speaker is accompanied by security officers, the Usher of the Black Rod, the Mace Bearer, two pages, the Clerk of the Senate and Clerk of the Parliaments and the Table Officers serving the sitting. Beginning in the Speaker’s offices in the east corridor, the procession usually arrives at the Chamber via the shortest route: through the east side of the Senate foyer. In 2006, however, Speaker Noël A. Kinsella instituted a longer route, to be followed once a week when the Senate is sitting. On these occasions, the procession also includes the Speaker pro tempore (who presides over the Senate when the Speaker is unable to attend). The Parade passes down the north corridor and through spectacular Confederation Hall, approaching the Chamber from the heart of the Centre Block. The longer version gives visitors a better view of this solemn ritual and emphasizes the dignity and authority of the Senate and its Speaker.
|
|
