Senate Chair

The Senate is formally appointed by the Governor-General on the proposal of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada . However, by agreement, this opinion is usually expressed exclusively by the Prime Minister . Thus, although the de jure appointment is made by the Queen’s representative, de facto this is done only by the Prime Minister.

Through the protocol ladder, the Senate Chairperson only follows Her Majesty the Queen , the Governor-General , the former Governors-General and their spouses, the Prime Minister , the former Prime Ministers and the Chief Justice; he is declared the representative of Canada in official public administrations, both in Canada and abroad.

Initially, the role of the chairman of the Senate was traced from the Lord Chancellor of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom . Like the Lord Chancellor, the chairman of the Senate was biased; he had the right to participate in discussions and votes at any time and cease to chair, in contrast to the chairman of the House of Commons , who votes only if the votes are equal.

The chairman of the Senate was also similar to the Lord Chancellor in that he was considered equal to other senators. The Senate did not oblige his decisions, unless the decision of the chairman was at the same time the will of the majority of senators. Another similarity to the practice of the House of Lords was that the chairman did not speak unless another senator brought the issue to the attention of the chairman. Its decisions are established in an appeal to the Senate.

Mostly after 1991, Canada left the House of Lords tradition when new rules for the Senate were adopted. The new rules establish that the chairman of the Senate may speak without the invitation of the Senate. The new rules move the Senate away from the practice of self-government and bring it closer to the customs of governance, including the chairmanship, as in the House of Commons.

Historically, the Senate chairman is responsible for streamlining procedural issues, but only when they are brought up by another senator. However, with recent corrections to the regulation governing the Senate of Canada, the chairmanship began to assert its right to proper intervention without invitation. Thus, the chairman is generally responsible for maintaining order and decorum in the Senate.

Being at the highest level of the protocol ladder, the chairman of the Senate often receives heads of state and government - this role is not only ceremonial; The Chairperson is a true delegate and representative of Canada abroad. He (or she) is required to represent Canada internationally and is sometimes invited to other countries on behalf of the Government of Canada.

Although the chairman is an employee of the Senate, he (or she) remains the representative of the province from which he (or she) is appointed. In contrast to the chairman of the House of Commons , the chairman of the Senate has the right to participate in discussions on behalf of the citizens of his province or territory . The Chairperson has the right to vote and simultaneously chair the voting process; in case of a tie, the question shall be considered rejected.

Another important difference between the two posts is that the chairman of the House of Commons plays an administrative role in the governing bodies of the House of Commons as the chairman of the committee of the internal economy. The chairman of the Senate does not play any similar role, and another senator presides in the permanent Senate committee of internal administration, budgets and apparatus.

In the absence of a chairman in the Senate, his duties lie with the interim chairman, appointed by the Senate at the beginning of each session. If both are absent, any senator may be invited to chair. Regardless of who replaces the chairman, his decisions have the same effect.

• (Fr.) Senate Chairmen - Official website of the Government of Canada