Publications

The Assembly personnel produces three publications to prepare the National Assembly’s sittings, record the decisions made during the sittings and provide access to parliamentary debates in the Assembly and in committee,

• Order Paper and Notices
• Journal des débats (Hansard) 
  • Online Posting
• Reconstituted Debates (before 1964)
• Votes and Proceedings 
  • List of Papers Required by Law to be Tabled

To find out what issues of the publications are available online

Order Paper and Notices

The Order Paper and Notices lists all the business that the Assembly may take up during a sitting in order to inform the MNAs of the matters that might be the subject of discussion. This important document allows them to prepare their interventions.

The publication includes other pertinent information for the MNAs, for example, a list of all the mandates currently before the Assembly and the titles of bills for which notice has been given but that have not yet been introduced.

The Order Paper and Notices is

• available in French and in English, in paper and electronic format
• posted online at 8 a.m. every day the Assembly sits

To consult the Order Paper and Notices

Journal des débats (Hansard)

The purpose of the Journal des débats is to accurately transcribe recordings of Assembly sittings, parliamentary committee sittings, press conferences and media briefings that take place in the Assembly buildings and are covered by the Digital Content Service. Subject to authorization by the Secretary General, certain special events may also be transcribed.

Transcription Rules

The editorial policy of the Journal des débats places the utmost importance on reproducing the debates verbatim. However, it also specifies the following:

• Minor changes in spelling and grammar may be made to improve readability.
• No change in style or vocabulary is authorized (even if there has been a slip of the tongue).

Transcribed Languages

Journal des débats (Hansard)

• The Journal des débats is not translated.
• It reproduces verbatim interventions made in English or French only.
• When another clearly identifiable language is used, that fact is mentioned, but the words are not transcribed. If the language is not clearly identifiable, the fact that another language was used is indicated.
• If a French interpretation service is available for a language other than French or English during a parliamentary committee sitting, the language in question is identified, the words spoken in French are transcribed, and the beginning and end of the transcribed interpretation are indicated. 
• The Journal des débats is available in paper and electronic format.

Online Posting

Assembly Sittings

An unrevised version of the debates in the Assembly is generally posted online within one hour.

The unrevised version is later replaced by a revised version, and then by the final version, with a table of contents, 48 hours after the sitting date.

To consult the Journal des débats (Hansard)

Committee Sittings

An unrevised version of the debates in committee is made available within 1 to 15 working days after the date of the sitting. However, the video of the sitting is available no later than one hour after the event (see the Audio/Video Excerpts section below).

Transcription is carried out in chronological order and in accordance with each room’s position in the order of precedence for television recording, except for interpellations, which are transcribed the same day. There may also be exceptions to this order in line with priorities relating to parliamentary proceedings.

The unrevised version is subsequently replaced by a revised version, and then by a final version, in continuous text and with a table of contents, on average 2 years following the sitting date.

Transcription Order for Committee Debates

When debates are taking place in a number of rooms on the same day, transcription precedence is in accordance with the rooms’ television recording precedence, which is as follows:

• National Assembly Chamber
• Legislative Council Chamber
• Pauline-Marois Room
• Marie-Claire-Kirkland Room
• Louis-Joseph-Papineau Room
• Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine Room
• Premiers’ Room (1.38, Pamphile-Le May Building)

Reconstituted Debates

Before the Journal des débats was created in 1964, there was no official transcript of parliamentary proceedings in Québec. To fill this gap, the Assembly decided in 1974 to reconstitute the debates held from 1867 to 1963. It using accounts published in newspapers by members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery as the main source of information.

The page for each reconstituted session contains

• the text of the debates
• a historical introduction presenting key events and issues
• an analysis and bibliography of the newspapers and other sources used to reconstitute the debates
• a list of the members of Cabinet (ministers) and Members of the Legislative Assembly (the National Assembly’s name at that time)

To consult the reconstituted debates (French only)

Votes and Proceedings

The Votes and Proceedings is the official record of a National Assembly sitting: it is an account of the Assembly’s decisions and the proceedings introduced and concluded during a sitting, including the stages in the consideration of a bill. In addition, it reports the decisions made by the President, of the National Assembly.

The Votes and Proceedings puts on record

• the full version of motions brought before the Assembly
• voting results
  • in the case of a recorded division, the name of each MNA who voted
• the title of each document tabled, the name of the tabling MNA and the chronological number assigned to the paper
• the time at which the sitting was opened, suspended, resumed and adjourned
• notices concerning committee proceedings
• a list of the bills assented to on that day or since the last sitting

The Votes and Proceedings is

• available in French and in English, in paper and electronic format
• posted online as a first draft, within about one hour after the end of the sitting

To consult the Votes and Proceedings

List of Papers Required by Law to be Tabled

At the beginning of each session, the President, tables the list of papers required by law to be tabled, enumerating all the documents that the ministers are legally required to table in the Assembly.

According to the Standing Orders, this list is appended to the Votes and Proceedings. However, since the 36th Legislature (March 2, 1999), it is no longer printed in the Votes and Proceedings but is electronically updated twice a year.  The updated list is available on the Assembly website shortly before the resumption of parliamentary proceedings in September and in February.

Additional Information

• Attending Parliamentary Proceedings