FAQ
Search and Browse tool
Parliamentary Publications Directorate
Information Management
What is this new Retrieval tool?
This new tool is progressive and adapted to today's work environment. It is designed to facilitate access to parliamentary information and to make searching more efficient and effective than before.
What kind of information is available?
The Retrieval tool is the key to finding information contained in the House of Commons Debates
(Hansard) and Committee Evidence of the 1st Session of the 39th Parliament and onward.
The publications indexes of the previous Parliaments are available by accessing the
section Select a session at the bottom left-hand corner of this page.
When is information available?
As of 9 a.m. you can access documents published the previous day. At that time, you can
search for information pertaining to bills, Members of the House of Commons, members of committees
and witnesses.
Who are the users of the Retrieval tool?
This new tool was created to help our clients and our partners as well as the general public.
How does the Retrieval tool work?
The tool is designed to facilitate access to information and show results in an effective
and efficient manner. Like the indexes of previous sessions, it is subject-based; so keep in mind
when doing a research that the tool will retrieve only the occurrences where the researched subject
has been indexed and not necessarily all occurrences where the subject is part of the content.
However, the tool takes synonyms into account when retrieving information. So searching "mad cow disease"
or "bovine spongiform encephalopathy" will bring the same results.
All you need to do to use the Retrieval tool is type the term you wish to search in the
Term text box and hit the Enter key or click on the
Search button at the bottom of the page.
What type of research can I do?
You can search subjects relating to roles (e.g. Prime Minister), bills, persons (members of the House
of Commons and its committees), organizations, parliamentary procedures (e.g. Oral Questions) and
all subjects of political, economic or social nature forming the basis of discussions and activities
of members of Parliament.
How do I conduct an efficient search?
To refine your search, select one of the two main options, Search by keywords or Browse the index, use use the secondary search options, and enter several terms that relate to the information needed.
You can use these options to limit the results and personalize the way results are shown, thus finding what you want more rapidly.
For more information, see User Guide.
What is Parliamentary Publications Information Management?
Parliamentary Publications Information Management manages, in both official languages, a controlled list of analytical subjects covering the wide fields of social, economic and political information forming the basis of discussions and activities of members of Parliament. Relying on those analytical subjects, information officers index the content of the parliamentary publications, on a daily basis (Hansard and Committee Evidence) to make it easily accessible using the Retrieval tool.
It prepares as well, in both official languages, a comprehensive cumulative subject index to other major parliamentary publications (Journals and the Status of House Business).
Information Management also provides reference assistance to persons seeking information regarding any of the above-named publications.
Examples of questions we can answer include:
- When did a Member ask a question in the House about gun control?
- When was a particular Bill introduced in the House?
- How did a Member vote on a particular Bill?
- What is the current status of a Bill?
- Could you tell me if the current government has introduced any legislation regarding gun control?
- Can you provide me with a list of topics (subjects) that a Member has spoken on in the House and in Committee?
- Where can I find a copy of a committee report?
If we cannot answer your questions we will refer you to an appropriate source.
How do I contact Information Management?