Manitoba Legislative Building - Legislative Chamber

Legislative Chamber

The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba and the Lieutenant Governor form the Legislature of Manitoba, the legislative branch of government in the Canadian Province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly in provincial general elections, all in single-member constituencies with first-past-the-post voting. Originally, in 1870, there were 24 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs). As the province grew in population and size, more electoral divisions were added. Winnipeg was once the third largest city in Canada, and often called Chicago of the North.

Manitoba's Legislative chamber is unique among Provincial Legislatures in that the Members' benches are grouped in a horseshoe shape. The Speaker of the House's chair is located on the south wall below the press gallery of 13 seats. All debate is addressed to the Speaker, who rules on points of order and procedure and has the responsibility of maintaining order and decorum.

When the Legislature is in session, each day begins in accordance with procedures that have origins in the early beginnings of Parliamentary rule. The speaker enters the Legislative Chamber followed by the clerks of the Legislative Assembly and preceded by the Sergeant-at-arms bearing Manitoba's Mace.

The original desks and chairs of the Chamber are fashioned of walnut with inlaid ebony. They are arranged in three tiers rising from a sunken floor in the centre of the Chamber. Each desk is equipped with a microphone connected to a public address system and a recording machine used in the publication of Hansard, a verbatim report of debates and proceedings in the Legislature. During question period, translators provide simultaneous translation from French to English. The Chamber is also equipped for video and internet broadcasts of question period and special events such as throne and budget speeches. Yet even as such changes have brought the assembly into the future, the original inkwells employed by an earlier generation of Manitoban politicians are still visible. To the right of the speaker is a statue of Moses holding the Ten Commandments, to the left is Solon, a famous lawmaker of ancient Athens. Each statue is made of bronze and sculpted by Gardet.