Question Period (known officially as “Oral Questions” in the Parliament of Canada) is a time set aside in Westminster-style parliamentary systems during which parliamentarians, principally from the opposition, can pose questions regarding government policies and decisions. It is a public forum in which legislators can hold the government of the day to account. This publication examines the rules, conventions and practices surrounding Question Period in the Parliament of Canada, in Canadian provinces and territories and in several other Commonwealth countries – namely, the United Kingdom (U.K.), Australia and New Zealand. As these jurisdictions share similar parliamentary and governance systems, their legislatures’ procedures are often alike. This paper focuses on the general framework that governs Question Period, not the specifics of individual rules. Since Question Period and written questions are interconnected in some jurisdictions, this paper also briefly reviews the rules governing the submission of written questions.
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