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45th Parliament, 1st Session
(May 26, 2025 - Present)
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The Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament derives its authority and mandate from several sources, including the Parliament of Canada Act, the Standing Orders of the House of Commons, and the Rules of the Senate of Canada.

The joint committee is created under the authority of the Parliament of Canada Act, which calls for the establishment of a joint committee to be appointed by the Senate and the House of Commons. Its mandate is to assist the Speakers of both chambers, who are charged with the authority under the Act to direct and control the Library of Parliament and its officers and staff.

In effect, the Speakers of both chambers, assisted by the joint committee, direct the functioning of the Library, and, with the approval of both houses, may make orders and regulations to govern how the Library is managed and how moneys are expended.

Another significant role for the joint committee is contemplated in section 78 of the Parliament of Canada Act, which requires that Library officers and other staff are to discharge their official duties faithfully. The mechanism for defining what constitutes a faithful discharge of duties is a regulation to be approved by the Speakers of both houses. That regulation, however, must be concurred in by the joint committee.

In addition to the statutory basis for the joint committee’s mandate to assist the Speakers of both houses in their direction of the Library, the procedural rules of both houses supplement the joint committee’s mandate. Both houses may give an order of reference to the joint committee to enquire into any matter that would be appropriate for the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament to study given the reason for its existence.

Rule 12-9 of the Rules of the Senate gives all committees the power to:

  • inquire into and report upon matters referred to them by the Senate;
  • send for persons, papers and records; and
  • publish from day to day such papers and evidence as may be ordered by them.

Standing Order 108(1) of the Standing Orders of the House of Commons also grants all standing committees the power to:

  • examine and enquire into all matters referred by the House;
  • report from time to time to the House;
  • send for persons, papers and records; and
  • delegate to subcommittees all or any of their powers except the power to report directly to the House.

The specific mandate of the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament is defined in Standing Order 108(4) as: “the review of the effectiveness, management and operation of the Library of Parliament; … [p]rovided that both houses may, from time to time, refer any other matter to any of the aforementioned standing joint committees.”

Standing Order 111.1(1) and (2) gives the joint committee the mandate to review the appointment of the Parliamentary Librarian.

The roots of the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament can be traced back to before Confederation. The Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada each had a separate library. On 3 June 1850, a Select Committee of the Legislative Assembly recommended that a joint library be established for both houses, and that a joint committee be appointed for the attainment of this objective. Both houses approved the proposal and the joint library was established. The first meeting of the newly created Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament was held on 27 June 1850.

The first meeting of the joint committee after Confederation occurred on 11 December 1867. On 14 April 1871, the Library of Parliament Act received Royal Assent. The Act provided for the appointment of a joint committee of both the Senate and the House to assist the Speakers in the direction and control of the Library of Parliament. In 1985, the Act was consolidated into the Parliament of Canada Act. The provisions of this Act regarding the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament are essentially the same as those of the 1871 Act.

The Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament met from time to time until 1986, dealing with issues such as staffing, salaries and physical maintenance of the Library building. In 1986, the joint committee stopped meetings when references to it were removed from the Standing Orders of the House of Commons. The Rules of the Senate of Canada, however, remained unchanged and still contained a provision for such a committee.

In 1991, the Auditor General of Canada released an audit of the Library of Parliament, noting that the absence of a joint committee meant that “compliance with the Parliament of Canada Act cannot be achieved.” In April 1993, the Standing Committee on House Management released a report entitled Parliamentary Reform. One of its recommendations was to re-establish a joint committee of the Senate and the House of Commons for the Library of Parliament. Changes made to the Standing Orders in January 1994 for the 35th Parliament included a provision for such a committee. On 17 March 1994, the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament met for the first time since its re-establishment. He has remained active since that time.

During the 44th Parliament, the joint committee has held meetings to :

  • study the implementation of the 2023–2028 Strategic Plan of the Library of Parliament; and
  • approve the nomination of a new Parliamentary Librarian (2023 and 2024).

Staff Assigned to the Committee

In the execution of its functions, each committee is normally assisted by a committee clerk, a committee assistant, and one or more analysts. Occasional assistance is also provided by legislative clerks and lawyers from the Office of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel. These individuals are non-partisan and serve all members of the committee and representatives of all parties equally.

Committee Clerk

The clerk performs their duties and responsibilities under the direction of the committee and its Chair. As an expert in the rules of the House of Commons, the clerk may be requested to give advice to the Chair and members of the committee should a question of procedure arise. The clerk is the coordinator, organizer and liaison officer for the committee, and as such, is in frequent contact with Members’ staff. The clerk is also responsible for inviting witnesses and dealing with all the details regarding their appearance before the committee.

Committee Assistant

The committee assistant provides a wide range of specialized administrative services for the organization of committee meetings and the publishing of documents on the committee’s website. The committee assistant works with the clerk to meet the needs of the committee.

Committee Analyst

The Library of Parliament’s analysts, who are subject-matter experts, provide authoritative, substantive, and timely research, analysis and information to all members of the committee. They are part of the committee’s institutional memory and are a unique resource for parliamentarians. Supported by research librarians, the analysts work individually or in multidisciplinary teams.

Analysts can prepare briefing notes on the subjects being examined, detailed study plans, lists of proposed witnesses, analyses of an issue with a list of suggested questions, background papers, draft reports, news releases, and formal correspondence.

OTHER RESOURCES AVAILABLE AS REQUIRED

Parliamentary Counsel

Within the Office of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel, parliamentary counsel (Legislation) are available to assist Members who are not in Cabinet with the preparation of private Members’ bills or of amendments to government bills or other bills.

At various stages of the legislative process, Members may propose amendments to bills. Amendments may first be proposed at the committee stage, during a committee’s clause-by-clause review of a bill. Amendments may also be proposed at the report stage, once a bill returns to the House.

Once a bill is sent to committee, the clerk of the committee provides Members the name of the parliamentary counsel (Legislation) responsible for drafting the amendments for that bill.

Legislative Clerk

The legislative clerk serves all members of the committee as a specialist of the process by which a bill becomes law. They are available to give, upon request from Members and their staff, advice on the admissibility of amendments when bills are referred to committee. The legislative clerk organizes the amendments into packages for committee stage, reviews all the committee amendments for procedural admissibility and prepares draft rulings for the Chair.

During clause-by-clause consideration of bills in committee, a legislative clerk is in attendance to assist the committee with any procedural issues that may arise. The legislative clerk can also provide members with advice regarding the procedural admissibility of report stage amendments. When a bill is sent to committee, the clerk of the committee provides Members the name of the legislative clerk assigned to the bill.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO)

The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) is an officer of Parliament created by the Parliament of Canada Act who supports Parliament by providing analysis, including analysis of macroeconomic and fiscal policy, for the purposes of raising the quality of parliamentary debate and promoting greater budget transparency and accountability.

The Parliament of Canada Act also provides the PBO with a mandate to, if requested by a committee, estimate the financial cost of any proposal over which Parliament has jurisdiction. Certain committees, including the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, can also request research and analyses of the nation’s finances or economy, or of the estimates.

Further information on the PBO may be found at: http://www.pbo-dpb.gc.ca/en/