HCO Glossary - P

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Students hired to help Members during sittings of the Assembly. They deliver messages and materials to MPs and MLAs in the Chamber and to offices in the Legislature Building and the Legislature Annex.

Parliament

A Legislature. Under our Constitution, Canada's Parliament consists of the Governor General (the monarch's representative at the federal level) and two Houses: an appointed upper House called the Senate and an elected lower House called the House of Commons.

Parliamentary Procedure

The unwritten traditions and written rules for conducting the Assembly's business. The unwritten traditions have been handed down in Britain and Canada for hundreds of years and are the foundation for the written rules that each individual Assembly writes.

Parliamentary System of Government

A system of government in which the cabinet is appointed from among elected Members of an Assembly. The cabinet holds power, but in order for it to remain in power, its major decisions must be supported by a majority in the Assembly.

Partisan

A person who supports a political party or cause over other parties or causes.

Political Party

A group of people who hold similar political aims and opinions who have organized, usually to contest elections so that they might form a government. As of 2002 there are three political parties represented in Alberta's Legislature: Progressive Conservative, Liberal, and New Democrat.

Premier

The leader of the political party electing the most Members of the Legislative Assembly (in the case of a majority government) or having the support of a majority in the Assembly.

Private Member

Any MLA who is not a cabinet minister.

Prorogue

To officially conclude a session of the Legislative Assembly. Prorogation is different from dissolution in that the Legislature itself is not dissolved. Prorogation normally occurs immediately before a new session of the Legislature begins.

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