SS 11

Agenda for Question Period

Mr. Allen

Topic #1: Electoral Reform

1. What is the Government proposing for electoral reform?
2. What is wrong with the current First Past the Post System?
3. What might be involved in these changes?
4. How will this affect voters?
5. Is the Government going to introduce mandatory voting?
6. What will the Government do for underrepresented groups in the country
(i.e. Indigenous peoples)?
Topic #2: Opposition Discretionary Questions Come up with questions related to
topics we have discussed in class
1.
2.
3.

After Question period, the House will debate on proposed legislation:

Government Legislation (Proposed by Backbenchers)
The Government will propose a bill to the House for First, Second, and
Third reading.
Bill C-304: An Act to Introduce School Uniforms to Churchill Secondary
School (short name: The Uniform Act)
o Split into colour based on grade
o Includes collared shirts, ties, blazers, sweaters, dress pants for males,
skirts for females, and dress shoes
o Students will be responsible for cost
o Students cannot attend school without the uniform

Outline for Mock Parliament

The class will be split up into three parties, the Government, Official Opposition,
and a third opposition party.
Each party must elect a leader to speak on behalf of their party. In the Government,
this leader will be called the Prime Minister, in the Official Opposition party, the
Leader of the Opposition, and in the third party, the Leader of the NDP.
All members will stand and swear an oath before proceedings commence.
During Question Period, the Opposition parties will do the following:
The Leader of the Opposition will question the Prime Minister about the
topic on the agenda.
The Leader of the NDP may rise and ask the same questions of the Prime
Minister.
Both parties also must come up with three questions to ask related to topics
we have discussed in class.
The Government will do the following:
The Prime Minister may answer questions on behalf of his or her party, or
the Prime Minister may allow a cabinet minister to answer the question.
The Government member who answers the question may ask a question
back, but the opposition parties do not answer.
After Question Period, the Government will Propose Legislation:
Two Backbenchers will stand and propose The Uniform Act to the House.
o State the name of the bill
o What it entails
o Why the Government is proposing it
The house will approve the First Reading (conventional procedure)
The members will stand for the Second Reading
o Parties will not have a chance to discuss the bill themselves
(Committee Phase)
o Members will debate the bill and the Government will decide if it
wants to make changes to the bill
Third Reading of the bill with any changes

The house will vote on the bill (party leaders may choose to Whip votes or
allow party members to vote freely)