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92-712: It is similar in form to question time in other parliaments, mainly those following the Westminster system . In the Legislative Assemblies of Ontario and Manitoba (as well as in several other provinces), questions raised are formally referred as Oral Questions . In the Quebec National Assembly , the term is Oral Questions and Answers . The first oral question occurred during the 1st Canadian Parliament , before rules had been established providing for formal questions. According to

184-645: A Minister of State or Parliamentary Under Secretary of State . Written Questions are submitted to the Clerks of the Table Office, either on paper or electronically, and are recorded in The Official Report (Hansard) so as to be widely available and accessible. In the House of Lords, half an hour is put aside each afternoon at the start of the day's proceedings for "Lords Questions". A peer submits

276-587: A parliamentary party : a party caucus may have the ability to elect or dismiss the party's parliamentary leader . The term was used historically in the United Kingdom to refer to the Liberal Party 's internal system of management and control. The word caucus came into use in the British colonies of North America to describe clubs or private meetings at which political matters were discussed. It

368-417: A common table, the disputants retreat to a more private setting to process information, agree on negotiation strategy, confer privately with counsel or with the mediator, or simply gain "breathing room" after the often emotionally difficult interactions that can occur in the common area where all parties are present. The degree to which caucuses are used can be a key defining element, and often an identifier, of

460-590: A few days before the question time takes place and published. Ministers therefore have advance warning of the initial questions, but after each question has been answered, the MP in whose name it appears may ask a supplementary question on the same subject area for which no notice is given (unless the MP chooses to do so privately). The Speaker will usually call other MPs to ask further supplementary questions and this will often include Opposition front bench spokespersons. A second ballot enables MPs to put forward their names to ask

552-562: A large House, and he has a moveable Partition in his Garrett, which he takes down and the whole Clubb meets in one Room. There they smoke tobacco till you cannot see from one End of the Garrett to the other. There they drink Phlip I suppose, and there they choose a Moderator, who puts Questions to the Vote regularly, and Selectman , Assessors , Collectors , Wardens, Fire Wards , and Representatives are Regularly chosen before they are chosen in

644-678: A legislative year. This was introduced to the Legislative Council in 1992 by the Governor of Hong Kong , Chris Patten as Governor's Question Time. The United States , which has a presidential system of government, does not have a question time for the president . However, Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution of the United States states: "[The president] shall from time to time give to Congress information of

736-575: A maximum time limit for each question and answer; currently, this limit is 35 seconds for each. As with other parliamentary procedures in the House, members of opposition parties must place questions through the Speaker, addressing them only indirectly to the minister responsible for the issue at hand. When asking questions, members address the Speaker as "Mr. Speaker" or "Madam Speaker" ( "Monsieur le président" or "Madame la présidente" in French ). There

828-460: A minister's answer after question time, allowing questioners (generally Opposition senators) to respond to the answers provided by ministers. It is very common for points of order to be raised during question time on the issue of relevance, as a Minister answering questions will normally attempt to redirect the answer to an attack on their opponents. However, as long as the Minister is talking on

920-533: A number of warm disputes are prepared, to entertain the lower sort … William Gordon commented in 1788: The word caucus , and its derivative caucusing, are often used in Boston […] It seems to mean, a number of persons, whether more or less, met together to consult upon adopting or presenting some scheme of policy, for carrying a favorite point. The word is not of novel invention. More than fifty years ago, Mr. Samuel Adams 's father, and twenty others, one or two from

1012-486: A particular party in Parliament, including senators, or a provincial legislature. These members elect among themselves a caucus chair who presides over their meetings. This person is an important figure when the party is in opposition , and is an important link between cabinet and the backbench when the party is in government . In such contexts, a party caucus can be quite powerful, as it can elect or dismiss

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1104-425: A predetermined number of questions based on the size of their caucus and must ask their questions in a specific order, predetermined by their party leadership for that day on a list given to the Speaker. Questions and responses are all timed as well, to prevent excessive speeches, and the Speaker of the House can cut the microphones of members speaking after the specified time has elapsed. The parties may negotiate

1196-792: A private note of "that American system called caucus". The Liberal Caucus was also vilified by socialists and trade unionists , who (prior to the establishment of the Independent Labour Party ) sought a route to parliamentary representation through the Liberal Party via the Labour Representation League and the Labour Electoral Association , but found their way barred by the party's management structures. Moisey Ostrogorsky devoted some nine chapters of his Democracy and

1288-515: A provincial legislature may ask questions of provincial ministers. Question Period in provincial legislatures are also formally known as Oral Questions in the Legislative Assemblies of British Columbia and Manitoba , and Oral Questions and Answers in the Quebec National Assembly . Question time A question time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers (including

1380-617: A query in advance, which then appears on the Order Paper for the day's proceedings. The Lord shall say: " My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper ". The Minister responsible then answers the query. Afterwards, for around ten minutes, any Lord can ask the Minister questions on the theme of the original put down on the order paper. (For instance, if the question regards immigration, Lords can ask

1472-543: A question is answered orally in Parliament, MPs may raise supplementary questions. According to Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin , the sequencing of questions for Question Time is entirely at the Speaker's discretion: "As Speaker, I will decide the sequence of PQs on the Order Paper for a Sitting. No strict formula is involved, other than exercising reasonable judgement." Describing his approach to presiding over Question Time, Tan has said: "I will be permissive and expansive where possible to optimise productive exchanges. For instance, after

1564-466: A question. Each day that the Parliament of Singapore sits has the first one and a half hours of the meeting allocated to Question Time. MPs submit questions in advance, and only questions listed on the Order Paper for the sitting day may be dealt with during Question Time. Questions which are not dealt with during the sitting may be "rolled over" to another sitting day, or answered in writing. After

1656-550: A replacement, ministers can make two-minute ministerial statements to the chamber (see Dorothy Dixer ). Question time has been broadcast on ABC Radio since 1946 and televised since 1991 by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation . There is a common misperception that question time is about asking questions to ministers as there are uncommon occurrences of questions being asked to members of Parliament who are not ministers. Question time in

1748-400: A topical question for which no notice is required. Questions to the prime minister are usually tabled on a topical basis so that the name of the MP is published but not the question itself. Additionally, each Member of Parliament is entitled to table an unlimited number of written questions. Usually a Private Member directs a question to a Secretary of State , and it is usually answered by

1840-593: Is " parliamentary party ". When the term is used, it generally refers to a subgroup, faction or pressure group within a political party. For example, in 2019 the One Nation Conservatives and Blue Collar Conservatives were established as factions within the Conservative Party , both being described as "caucuses". In conventions , where the membership from different parts of the organization may gather, each separate group within

1932-516: Is a sub grouping of officials with shared affinities or ethnicities who convene, often but not always to advocate, agitate, lobby or to vote collectively, on policy. At the highest level, in Congress and many state legislatures, Democratic and Republican members organize themselves into a caucus (occasionally called a "conference"). There can be smaller caucuses in a legislative body, including those that are multi- partisan or even bicameral . Of

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2024-699: Is first found in reference to the Caucus Club of Boston , which was established in c. 1719, although the name is not documented until c. 1760. There are three main theories for the word's origins: The Boston Gazette of May 5, 1760, includes an essay commenting: Whereas it is reported, that certain Persons, of the Modern Air and Complexion , to the Number of Twelve at least, have divers Times of late been known to combine together, and are called by

2116-654: Is generally held every week while the Diet is in session, it may be cancelled with the agreement of the opposition: this often happens during the budgeting period and at other times when the prime minister must sit in the Diet. Speaker Johari Abdul of the Dewan Rakyat , the elected house of the Parliament of Malaysia , announced in February 2023 that the upcoming sitting would see the introduction of both Prime Minister's Questions and Minister's Questions: "We suggest that

2208-589: Is held every Thursday from 4 to 5 p.m. It consists of the Speaker of Parliament to giving all parliamentary groups the opportunity to put at least one question to the prime minister of Finland and his/her ministers. It is broadcast live on public television, particularly on Yle TV1 . Government ministers are made available to the Bundestag for 35 minutes each Wednesday after the weekly cabinet meeting, during which time they take questions on current matters before

2300-631: Is more usually a collective term for all members of a party sitting in Parliament, otherwise called a parliamentary group , rather than a word for a regular meeting of these members of Parliament . Thus, the Australian Federal Parliamentary Labor Party is commonly called "the Labor Caucus ". The word was used in New Zealand from at least the 1890s, when organized political parties began to emerge:

2392-648: Is no obligation for the minister referred to in the question to respond, and often the minister's parliamentary secretary or a fellow cabinet member will rise to answer the question. This is particularly true when the minister addressed is not present in the House during Question Period, and arguably occurs most often when the Prime Minister is addressed on a specific issue for which one of his ministers has more information. Members are also not allowed to rise on Points of Order during Question Period and must first wait until Question Period has ended to raise them to

2484-590: Is no provision for the role of political parties in the United States Constitution . In the first two presidential elections, the Electoral College handled nominations and elections in 1789 and 1792 which selected George Washington . After that, Congressional party or a state legislature party caucus selected the party's presidential candidates. Nationally, these caucuses were replaced by the party convention starting in 1832 following

2576-688: Is possible in this way to prematurely terminate question time, although this is rare in the House and essentially unheard of in the Senate. During the Keating Government, the prime minister attempted to limit the number of questions asked in a way the Liberal Opposition disapproved of. To protest the change, the Opposition made random quorum calls through the afternoon for every question they felt they had been denied that day. In

2668-685: Is similar to the Prime Minister's Questions practice of the Parliament of the United Kingdom ; however it is important to note that the Canadian version occurs daily as opposed to weekly, runs 45 minutes instead of 30 and questions may be asked to any cabinet member, not just the Prime Minister. In the UK Parliament, other Cabinet members have Question Time on other days, so it is a daily occurrence but to specific Ministers. At

2760-407: Is the only time of day when all members of Parliament are in their respective chambers, the appearance of question time can be rowdy and boisterous compared to the normally sedate activity during the rest of the day. There is a 30-second time limit for questions by the Opposition and a four-minute time limit for answers in the House of Representatives. Crossbench MPs get a time limit of 30 seconds,

2852-566: The Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC). Transcripts of Question Period are published in both official languages in the Canadian Hansard , as with any other proceedings in the House of Commons and its committees. There is no guarantee that the answer will be provided in the same language as the question, and a Member relying on the simultaneous interpretation may respond to something differing slightly from

Question Period - Misplaced Pages Continue

2944-537: The House of Commons of Canada , colloquially referred to as Question Period , and formally known as Oral Questions , occurs during each sitting day in the House of Commons. The questions may be posed to either the prime minister of Canada , or any minister of the Cabinet of Canada . In addition to the House of Commons of Canada , question period is also a convention that is practiced in the various legislative bodies of

3036-627: The United States , where it can refer to a meeting of members of a political party to nominate candidates, plan policy, etc., in the United States Congress , or other similar representative organs of government. It has spread to certain Commonwealth countries, including Australia , Canada , New Zealand , and South Africa , where it generally refers to a regular meeting of all members of Parliament (MPs) who belong to

3128-610: The provinces and territories of Canada . Like the federal House of Commons, Question Period in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia , Legislative Assembly of Manitoba , and the Legislative Assembly of Ontario is formally known as Oral Questions. In the Quebec National Assembly , the practice is called Oral Questions and Answers . In the Oireachtas , Ireland's parliament, questions are asked in Dáil Éireann ,

3220-666: The 2:00 pm singing of the National Anthem, " O Canada ". Questions may be posed to either the Prime Minister , or any Minister of the Cabinet of Canada , who will answer the question unless the Speaker rejects the question under established rules or accepted custom. For example, although it is not codified, questions on current legal matters before the courts are not acceptable questions. Question Period in Canada , as an instance of Question time in Westminster tradition,

3312-411: The British tradition where the prime minister submits to questions on the floor of the House of Commons – something Senator John McCain had promised to do if elected president." Caucus A caucus is a meeting or grouping of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in

3404-554: The Commons since November 2007. For question time, Government whips organize "support groups" of government MPs whose duty it is to support the ministers who answer questions by asking questions helpful to the government and shouting in its support. In addition to government departments, there are also questions regarding the Church of England , House of Commons reform and Law Rulings. Questions for oral answer are selected by ballot

3496-460: The House and independent Members may also be recognized to ask questions, though not as often as Members of officially recognized opposition parties. Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries do not ask questions. Question Period has a reputation for being quite chaotic due to the commonplace cat-calling and jeering from non-participating MPs, but notwithstanding the heckling, Question Period is actually tightly regulated. Parties are only allowed to ask

3588-456: The House of Commons lasts for an hour each day from Monday to Thursday (2:30 to 3:30pm on Mondays, 11:30am to 12:30pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and 9:30 to 10:30am on Thursdays). Each Government department has its place in a rota which repeats every four to five weeks when the House is sitting. The larger Departments generally have the full hour for oral questions whereas smaller Departments will have less time allocated. In addition, Questions to

3680-416: The House of Representatives or the Senate – but the discussions on this issue have never gotten past an exploratory stage. President George H. W. Bush once said of PMQs, "I count my blessings for the fact I don't have to go into that pit that John Major stands in, nose-to-nose with the opposition, all yelling at each other." In 2008, Senator John McCain ( Republican Party nominee for president of

3772-428: The House, question time is generally scheduled from 2pm to 3:15 pm on every sitting day; in the Senate, it generally occurs from 2pm to 3pm. Apart from divisions, it is the only time the chamber is likely to be filled. Tactically, it is considered an important defining characteristic for an Opposition Leader to be able ask a pertinent question of the prime minister or premier, or to single out perceived weak performers in

Question Period - Misplaced Pages Continue

3864-542: The Minister any question related to immigration during the allowed period). The Lords usually do not have a call list, as the Commons does, so Peers rise to ask a question themselves and they alternate between the Government, opposition and crossbench sides of the chamber. Unlike the Commons, where only the Speaker can call a member to order, any Lord can call any other Lord to order, and on many occasions noble Lords intervene to ensure fair distribution of questions around

3956-550: The Minister to make a political speech or otherwise score political points. Convention allows the prime minister in the House, and the Leader of the Government in the Senate, to terminate question time by asking that "further questions be placed on the Notice Paper ". This is not a formal motion but an indication that, even if further questions were asked, ministers would not answer them since they are not compelled to do so. It

4048-452: The Minister’s verbal reply, I will let MPs continue asking Supplementary Questions (SQs) for further clarifications. I will remind both front and back benches to say more with less, so that as many MPs who wish to ask SQs can do so." He has called the tone of Singaporean Question Time "more measured" compared to similar proceedings in other countries. In the United Kingdom , question time in

4140-469: The Ministry. Interjections from both government and opposition members in the House of Representatives and the Senate are common, and broadly speaking are an accepted practice, although the speaker of the House or the president of the Senate will intervene if interjections become too frequent, if they contain inappropriate content, or if the member interjecting is disrupting debate. Given that question time

4232-518: The Name of the New and Grand Corcas , tho' of declared Principles directly opposite to all that have heretofore been known: And whereas it is vehemently suspected, by some, that their Design is nothing less, than totally to overthrow the ancient Constitution of our Town-Meetings, as being popular and mobbish … The writer goes on to argue that this body's underhand attempts to influence voters are in opposition to

4324-624: The Official Opposition is finished, questions then come from the Bloc Québécois , then the New Democratic Party . Throughout the remainder of Question Period, Members of officially recognized parties ask questions in rotation based upon party representation in the House. Members of the governing party may occasionally pose a question to one of their own. Members of political parties not officially recognized in

4416-695: The Organization of Political Parties (1902) to discussion of the development and operation of the "Caucus" in this sense. The word "caucus" is only occasionally encountered in contemporary politics in the British Isles. In contrast to other Anglosphere nations, it is never used for all members of a party in Parliament: the usual term for that concept, both in the UK and in the Republic of Ireland ,

4508-692: The Prime Minister takes place each Wednesday from noon to 12:30pm, and questions are asked each Thursday (Questions to the Leader of House of Commons ), about the business of the House the following week. The larger departments also have a Topical question period for the last 15 minutes of their hour for questions, where the Secretary of State outlines recent developments in their department and then backbench MPs can ask any question relating to their department, for which ministers are not given prior notice. Topical questions have been part of each question time in

4600-575: The State of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." The exact meaning of this clause has never been worked out fully, although it is the constitutional basis for the modern State of the Union address. There was some discussion at various times about whether this clause would allow something similar to a Westminster style question time – for instance, having Department Secretaries being questioned by

4692-560: The Town ; … The following month, a writer signing himself "E. J." and claiming to be "a late Member" of the Boston "Corkass", explained in greater detail how the inner circle of the "Petty Corkass" manipulated the business of the broader "Grand Corkass": At present the heads of this venerable Company meet some weeks before a Town-Meeting, and consult among themselves, appoint town officers, and settle all other affairs that are to be transacted at town meeting; after these few have settled

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4784-462: The United States in the 2008 presidential election ) stated his intention , if elected, to create a presidential equivalent of the British conditional convention of Prime Minister's Questions . In a policy speech on 15 May 2008, which outlined a number of ideas, McCain said, "I will ask Congress to grant me the privilege of coming before both houses to take questions, and address criticism, much

4876-515: The actual question asked. For the most part, bilingual Members respond to the question in the language in which it was asked. The simultaneous translation provided to Members in the Chamber as well as visitors in the gallery is also available over the internet on either the website of the Parliament of Canada , or through services such as CPAC . The practice of holding a Question Period also takes place in provincial legislatures, where members of

4968-539: The affairs, they communicate them to the next better sort of their brethren; when they have been properly sounded and instructed, they meet with the heads; these are called the Petty Corkass: Here each recommends his friends, opposes others, juggle and trim, and often have pretty warm disputes; but by compounding and compromising, settle every thing before the Grand Corkass meets; tho' for form sake …

5060-422: The area of the minister's responsibility. Questions require that all facts be authenticated. Before a question is asked it is checked that it meets the requirements of the House's standing orders, before being transmitted to the relevant ministers. In New Zealand oral questions are asked at 2pm on each sitting day. Twelve principal oral questions are asked, with supplementary questions also given that must relate to

5152-510: The chamber. If unable to settle who the next speaker is, usually the Leader of the House will intervene. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , call lists had been in use in the Lords from April 2020 to December 2021 as some Peers participated virtually. A peer may also table up to six questions for written answer on any day the House is sitting. In Finland's parliament Question hour ( kyselytunti )

5244-440: The conclusion of questioning. Also, New Zealand's free-to-air digital television network, Freeview , provides live coverage of the debating chamber when it is in session on Parliament TV . There is no limit to the written questions that any MP can ask and can be submitted each working day before 10.30am. Submission and publication of the question is an electronic process with no hard copy record. Ministers have 6 days to respond to

5336-655: The first meeting of a session, a meeting at which the president (the speaker ) of the council is elected, or the Chief Executive delivers the annual policy address to the Council. No more than 22 questions, excluding urgent questions that may be permitted by the president, may be asked at any one meeting. Replies to questions may be given by designated public officers, usually secretaries , orally or in written form. For questions seeking oral replies, supplementary questions may be put by any member when called upon by

5428-473: The first question asked to Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi was "Prime Minister, what did you have for breakfast this morning?". Japan's question time was closely modeled after that of the UK, and many Diet members travelled to the House of Commons to study the British application of the concept. Question time is 45 minutes long and questions are limited to the leaders of parliamentary caucuses (which must consist of at least ten members of either house). Although it

5520-416: The general subject of the matter raised in the question, it is usually considered relevant to the question, even if it does not address the specific issue raised in the question at all. State parliaments adopt similar practices to the federal Parliament with the exception of the Parliament of Victoria , where, since 2015, government backbenchers are no longer entitled to ask questions during question time. As

5612-409: The government side. In the House of Representatives , the first question is usually asked of the prime minister by the Leader of the Opposition. Similar arrangements apply in the Senate. To accommodate the distribution of ministers between both chambers, ministers also take on representative roles, answering questions relating to portfolios that are not their own because the responsible minister sits in

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5704-437: The government. This is followed by a further two-hour question-and-answer session consisting of questions that were submitted in advance in writing. The questions in the Legislative Council are aimed at seeking information on government actions on specific problems or incidents and on government policies, for the purpose of monitoring the effectiveness of the government. Questions may be asked at any council meeting except

5796-501: The growth and advancement of the Internet. Other congressional caucuses such as the Out of Iraq Caucus , are openly organized tendencies or political factions (within the House Democratic Caucus , in this case), and strive to achieve political goals, similar to a European "platform", but generally organized around a single issue. The term is also used in certain Commonwealth nations, including Australia , Canada , New Zealand and South Africa . When used in these countries, "caucus"

5888-442: The initial subject matter. The opportunity to ask questions is equally shared amongst the members of the house, excluding ministers. Urgent questions, while possible, are uncommon. The question is addressed to the portfolio of the minister receiving the question, and the questioner must ask the question as written. Once a question is asked, supplementary questions can be asked. SKY News New Zealand broadcasts this session from 2pm to

5980-428: The largest of them, the Liberal Party , used it to refer to its parliamentary members. In New Zealand, the term is now used by all political parties, but in Australia, it continues to be used only by the Labor Party . For the Australian Liberal , National and Green parties, the usual equivalent term is "party room". In South Africa all parties use the term "caucus". In Canada, "caucus" refers to all members of

6072-419: The lead of the Anti-Masonic Party 1831 convention. The term caucus is frequently used to discuss the procedures used by some states to select presidential nominees such as the Iowa caucuses , the first of the modern primary presidential election cycle , and the Texas caucuses . Since 1980 such caucuses have become, in the aggregate, an important component of the nomination process. Another meaning

6164-434: The legislature. Will ended the piece by saying, "Congress should remind a President McCain that the 16 blocks separating the Capitol from the White House nicely express the nation's constitutional geography." In February 2009, just over a month after his inauguration , President Barack Obama invited serving members of the US Senate to a "fiscal responsibility" summit at the White House , during which Senators asked

6256-484: The lower house, to which the government of Ireland is responsible. The Ceann Comhairle (speaker) has wide discretion on allowing questions, which are directed to the minister in charge of the relevant Department of State . A question may be answered by any cabinet minister due to cabinet collective responsibility , or by a (non-cabinet) Minister of State at the relevant Department of State. Questions requiring departmental research may not have an answer available within

6348-426: The many Congressional caucuses , one of the best-known is the Congressional Black Caucus , a group of African-American members of Congress. Another prominent example is the Congressional Hispanic Caucus , whose members voice and advance issues affecting Hispanics in the United States, including Puerto Rico . In a different vein, the Congressional Internet Caucus is a bipartisan group of Members who wish to promote

6440-411: The more laudable activities of "the old and true Corcas". A February 1763 entry in the diary of John Adams demonstrates that the word already held its modern connotations of a " smoke-filled room " where candidates for public election were pre-selected in private: This day learned that the Caucas Clubb meets at certain Times in the Garret of Tom Daws , the Adjutant of the Boston Regiment. He has

6532-501: The north end of the town, where all the ship business is carried on, used to meet, make a caucus, and lay their plan for introducing certain persons into places of trust and power. An analogical Latin-type plural "cauci" is occasionally used. In United States politics and government, caucus has several related but distinct meanings. Members of a political party or subgroup may meet to coordinate members' actions, choose group policy, or nominate candidates for various offices. There

6624-518: The opinion of the Speaker carries the most weight, as the actions of the Speaker set precedents when a new Point of Order or questions arises about practices during Question Period. Question Period lasts 45 minutes pursuant to Standing Order 30(5), beginning no later than 2:15 pm or 11:15 am, as the case may be. Typically, 2:15 pm is the start time for Question Period Monday through Thursday, with Question Period starting at 11:15 on Fridays. Every Wednesday, Question Period starts slightly after 2:15 due to

6716-412: The opposition, with the opposition going first. Questions of ministers are generally asked by their counterpart shadow ministers (or in the case of a minister and corresponding shadow minister are each members of a different House of Parliament, then the shadow minister's representative in the other House asked questions to the relevant minister) in the opposition, and are always asked by backbenchers on

6808-538: The organisers of each party, although the questions are usually without notice. Questions from government backbenchers are either intended to allow the Minister to discuss the virtues of government policy, or to attack the opposition. Question time, formally known as questions without notice , is an institution in the Commonwealth Parliament and in all state parliaments. Questions to government ministers normally alternate between government members and

6900-437: The organization may meet prior to the convention as a caucus. Each caucus may decide how the group would vote on various issues that may come up at the convention. Unless the votes are made binding, however, each delegate is still free to vote in any fashion. The term caucus is also used in mediation , facilitation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution to describe circumstances wherein, rather than meeting at

6992-425: The other chamber. This allows questioners to ask questions about any government portfolio in either chamber. This normally includes the Leader of the Government in the Senate representing the prime minister in response to questions asked by senators about general government policy. Sometimes a government Minister will arrange for a government backbencher to "ask" a question, commonly called a Dorothy Dixer , to enable

7084-553: The party is in government. For example, this is traditionally so in the Australian Labor Party and the New Zealand Labour Party . The word "caucus" had a wide currency in the United Kingdom in the late 19th century, meaning a highly structured system of management and control within a political party, equivalent to a " party machine " in the United States. It was used with specific reference to

7176-415: The party's parliamentary leader. The caucus system is a departure from the Westminster tradition in giving members of the upper house a say in the election of the party leader, who may become head of government. The caucus also determines some matters of policy, parliamentary tactics, and disciplinary measures against disobedient MPs. In some parties, the caucus also has the power to elect MPs to Cabinet when

7268-572: The president about his fiscal policies in an event which was compared to Prime Minister's Question. Eleven months later, Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner invited Obama to the annual House Issues Conference in Baltimore , Maryland , where the president answered questions and criticisms from Republican members of Congress. Commenting on the event, Peter Baker in The New York Times , said "[the] back and forth resembled

7360-439: The president of the council for the purpose of elucidating that answer. Where there is no debate on a motion with no legislative effect at a meeting, no more than ten questions requiring oral replies may be asked; otherwise, no more than six questions may require an oral reply. The Chief Executive, who is the head of the region and head of government, attends Question and Answer Session of the council which are held several times in

7452-404: The prime minister), which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be cancelled in exceptional circumstances. Question time originated in the Westminster system of the United Kingdom , and occurs in other countries, mostly Commonwealth countries, who use the system. In practice, the questions asked in question time are often pre-arranged by

7544-612: The record of debates for November 29, 1867, a question was posed to Chairman of the Printing Committee before Orders of the Day were called. In the absence of formal rules, the Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada exerted great control over form, nature, and admissibility of questions. The first codification of formal rules to govern Question Period occurred in April 1964, and subsequent rule changes have been adopted; however,

7636-434: The same Member of Parliament to follow up on the answer provided to the lead question, or they may be given to another member of the Official Opposition. When the Official Opposition has exhausted its initial three questions, the lead questioners of the other officially recognized opposition parties are permitted an initial question and one supplementary question each, in order of size. In the 43rd Canadian Parliament , once

7728-470: The same as Government and Opposition members. This was reduced from 45 seconds when the standing orders were amended on 2 August 2022. In the Senate, a questioner may ask an initial question and two supplementary questions related to their initial question. Each question has a one-minute time limit. Answers to initial questions are limited to three minutes, and answers to supplementary questions are limited to one minute. A senator may also move to 'take note' of

7820-399: The same as the Prime Minister of Great Britain [ sic ] appears regularly before the House of Commons ." George F. Will of The Washington Post criticized the proposal in an op-ed piece, saying that a presidential question time would endanger separation of powers as the president of the United States, unlike the prime minister of the United Kingdom, is not a member of

7912-566: The secretary of the Birmingham Liberal Association, William Harris (later dubbed the "father of the Caucus") devised a four-tier organizational structure (of ward committees, general committee, executive committee, and management committee) through which Liberal voters in different wards could be instructed in the precise combinations in which to cast their votes. In 1877 the newly formed National Liberal Federation

8004-428: The session be held every Tuesday for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to answer questions that are addressed to him and on Thursday, there will be the Minister's Question Time (MQT) session." He described this as a pilot, and said that amendments to the house's standing orders would be required to make question time a regular part of parliamentary proceedings. Questions asked to ministers must be concise and related to

8096-505: The speaker. Reflecting the nature of Bilingualism in Canada , Question Period is bilingual. Questions may be posed in either English or French and responses may be in either official language . Although English was the primary language in parliament in its early days, French is now spoken just as much as English. Simultaneous interpretation is provided on English and French broadcasts of Question Period, on many news networks, as well as

8188-528: The start of a typical Question Period, the Speaker recognizes the Leader of the Opposition to ask the lead question. It is possible for the question to be asked by a designee of the Leader of the Opposition, yet this Member of Parliament must be a member of the Official Opposition . Following the answer to the lead question, the lead questioner has two more questions permitted, referred to as supplementary questions. These questions may be asked by

8280-585: The structure of the Liberal Party . Originally a pejorative term, used by detractors of the system with overtones of corrupt American practices, the name was soon adopted by the Liberals themselves. The system had originated at a local level in Birmingham in preparation for the 1868 general election , when, under the 1867 Reform Act , the city had been allocated three parliamentary seats , but each elector had only two votes. In order to spread votes evenly,

8372-550: The three-day notice period; these tend to be submitted for written rather than oral response. The Ceann Comhairle may permit a supplementary question to an oral response. Reforms in 2016 at the start of the 32nd Dáil created separate time slots for different types of question, and empower the Ceann Comhairle to demand a further response if the initial one is deemed inadequate. The Diet of Japan held its first question time ( 党首討論 , tōshu tōron ) on 10 November 1999;

8464-532: Was given a similar structure, on the initiative of Joseph Chamberlain , and again worked out in detail by Harris. Shortly afterwards the term "caucus" was applied to this system by The Times newspaper, which referred to "the 'caucus' with all its evils", and by the Conservative prime minister, Benjamin Disraeli . In 1880 Queen Victoria , following a meeting with Disraeli, wrote disapprovingly in

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