Library of Parliament Reports Recently Made Public

Among the reports by the Parliamentary Information and Research Service that the Library of Parliament recently made public are:

• Municipalities, the Constitution and the Canadian Federal System (May 2006): "The following historical overview discusses the place of municipalities in the Canadian federal system with a particular emphasis on various attempts to gain constitutional recognition for municipal governments."
• Making the Most of Parliament - Report on a Roundtable Discussion for Members of the 39th Parliament (May 2006): "Making the Most of Parliament is the third in a series of discussions addressing the institution of Parliament. The preceding two were entitled The Parliament We Want: Parliamentarians’ Views on Parliamentary Reform (2003) and Strategies for Effective Members in an Effective Parliament (2005). (...) This latest session, open to all parliamentarians, was organized by the Library of Parliament in cooperation with the Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians. Those who attended heard very interesting presentations by former Members of Parliament from four different parties (...) The Library of Parliament is pleased to make this report on the Roundtable available to a wider audience. A copy of the complete transcript is also available from the Library."
• The Parliament We Want (December 2003): "Our country deserves a Parliament geared to the 21st century. Canada and Canadians have changed dramatically over the course of the last century and a half. By comparison, our parliamentary institutions have not kept up with the pace of change. Today, Canadians rightly expect a democracy founded on the needs of the times, and the message has been received loud and clear. Every political party represented in Parliament has, in one way or another, expressed its support for democratic renewal and parliamentary reform. As Parliamentarians weigh various proposals for change, we thought it valuable to canvas the ideas of the men and women who serve in Parliament about the kind of Parliament they want. They brought their experience to bear and talked with passion and conviction about modernizing the institution that is at the very centre of our federal democratic system. As reform becomes imminent, we thought it useful to sketch out where it is that Parliamentarians want to go."
• Strategies for Effective Members in an Effective Parliament (June 2005): "During the first five months of the 38th Parliament, the Library of Parliament, in collaboration with the Parliamentary Centre, offered a series of seminars specifically tailored to the needs of the 107 newly elected Members of Parliament. This project was part of the Library’s approach to assisting new MPs to develop their skills as parliamentarians and serve their constituents and all Canadians."