On a craggy bluff above the majestic Ottawa River stands the remarkable embodiment of our system of governance: Parliament.

A careful and sympathetic sense of humour can also be a great asset when there is need to get out of difficult situations gracefully.

Democracy is not a form of government. It is a political philosophy that can be embodied in various systems of government.

The purpose of privilege is not to place parliamentarians above the law, but rather to allow them to carry out their duties independently and effectively, in the national interest.

as I became Speaker in 1986, I made a point of setting up a public information office to respond to requests and provide information about Parliament and how it functions.

On a craggy bluff above the majestic Ottawa River stands the remarkable embodiment of our system of governance: Parliament.

For two years now, my office has had the honour and the privilege of sponsoring seminars on the functioning of government in this country for Eastern Europeans. These seminars and exchanges have brought together representatives from such nations as Bulgaria, Hungary, the Czech and Slovak Republic, Roumania, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and the Ukraine, all of them anxious to learn what makes a society as diverse as Canada work and how our institutions make it governable.