HansardHansard is the official and complete report of debates and proceedings of the House of Assembly and the meetings of the House of Assembly Management Committee. It is named after Thomas Hansard, a publisher of the report of debates of the U.K. Parliament in the early 19th Century. The Hansard document is essentially a verbatim transcript with editing limited to ensuring proper grammar, spelling and punctuation; observing parliamentary forms; and minimizing repetition and redundancy. Hansard’s rule regarding interjections is that only those interjections responded to by the Member who has the floor at the time, or otherwise referenced by the Speaker or Chair, are included. In order for Hansard to be of benefit to the members and the public, it is important that it be available in a timely manner. Each sitting day is divided into afternoon and evening segments. There is a separate issue of Hansard for each segment.Afternoon sittingFollowing a daily sitting of the House, the completed transcript is available online at approximately 10:30 p.m. on the same sitting day. This document is available on the House of Assembly Website www.assembly.nl.ca under Proceedings. The printed version of the Hansard document is available usually by 10:00 a.m. the following morning. Copies are also available in the Chamber on the next sitting day, or a copy can be mailed out, depending upon the preference of individual members. Anyone wishing to obtain a hard copy may do so by contacting the Hansard Division.Evening sittingThe transcripts for evening sittings are completed when the House of Assembly breaks for the summer and fall recesses. Transcriptions of Committees of the House are also held over and completed when the House is no longer in session. These reports are available on the House of Assembly website when completed. If required, a request for a certain segment of an evening sitting can be made to Hansard for immediate transcription.Question PeriodQuestion Period is available, in its unedited format, as soon as transcription is complete, usually within an hour after the expiration of this particular House proceeding. Other portions of the proceedings are available upon the request of a Member as quickly as transcription allows. Members who wish to listen to a particular segment from the digital recording of any of the House proceedings may do so at the Hansard office. For research or to use the Hansard index, please contact the Legislative Library at 729-3604. |
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