Tabled Documents
Documents made public by an MNA during a sitting of the National Assembly or a parliamentary committee are called tabled documents.
Documents Tabled in the National Assembly
Basically, the Standing Orders of the National Assembly set out three types of tabled documents:
- documents of public interest
- reports from parliamentary committees
- petitions
There is a rubric or category of business of Routine Proceedings devoted to tabling documents.
Documents of Public Interest
In addition to the Documents required by law to be tabled (PDF document), ministers and the President of the Assembly may table any document they consider to be of public interest. Ministers must request leave of the Assembly if they wish to table a document outside the prescribed period.
Reports From Parliamentary Committees
A committee report is tabled in the Assembly by the committee chair or by any other member the committee designates.
Petitions
Any MNA except the President of the Assembly may present to the Assembly a petition he or she received from a person or association of persons, unless the MNA also signed the petition.
In presenting a petition, the MNA acts as an intermediary between the people and the Assembly. The MNA need not approve the objective of the petition and is not compelled to table it in the Assembly. If the MNA refuses to table a petition, the petitioners may ask another MNA to act for them.
More on presenting petitions
Other Documents
With the permission of the Assembly, an MNA may table any document he or she considers relevant even outside the period for tabling documents prescribed by the Standing Orders.
Documents Tabled in Parliamentary Committee
Anyone may table a document in committee with the permission of the committee chair.
Conditions for Tabling Documents
To be tabled in the Assembly or in committee, a document must
- be printed or handwritten
- be readable without specialized apparatus
- be reproducible by photocopier
These conditions were set by the President of the National Assembly given the impossibility to date of ensuring the medium and long-term viability of audiovisual documents, in particular with regard to their conservation, reproduction and distribution. Consequently, only the printed version of a document, physically presented to the Assembly or in committee, is official.
Consulting Tabled Documents
List of Documents Accessible Online
The following documents tabled in the National Assembly are accessible online:
- reports by Officers of the National Assembly
- annual reports, activity reports and strategic plans of Québec government departments and bodies
- parliamentary committee reports
- abstracts of petitions
- Government replies to petitions
- replies to written questions
Online Accessibility
The above documents are accessible within two working days after being tabled. They can be found using the search engine in the Documents Tabled in the National Assembly and in Committee section.
Obtaining a Document not Accessible Online
To obtain a document tabled in the National Assembly, contact the Sittings and Parliamentary Procedure Directorate.
- Telephone:
- Québec City area: 418-643-2793
- Toll free: 1-866-337-8837
- Fax: 418-643-0931
- Email: seance@assnat.qc.ca
- By mail:
Édifice Pamphile-Le May
1035, rue des Parlementaires, 3e étage
Québec (Québec) G1A 1A3
To obtain a document tabled in parliamentary committee, contact the Parliamentary Committees Directorate.
- Telephone:
- Québec City area: 418-643-2722
- Toll free: 1-866-337-8837
- Fax: 418-643-0248
- Email: commissions@assnat.qc.ca
- By mail:
Édifice Pamphile-Le May
1035, rue des Parlementaires, 3e étage
Québec (Québec) G1A 1A3