Government Information: Parliaments, Legislative Assemblies, Municipal Councils & other systems of Government

Main site:

• Parliament of Canada: 
  • Debates (“Hansard”), Journals, Committee Proceedings & other information from the House of Commons can be found under "Parliamentary Business", and from the Senate, under "In the Chamber" and "Committees".

• Library of Parliament's Research Publications: Non-partisan analysis from the Library of Parliament on current and emerging issues, legislation, and major public policy topics.

Quick overviews & explanations:

• How Parliament Works:  A quick overview about Canada's parliamentary system & the electoral process. 
  • Learn about Parliament (Library of Parliament)
• Canadian Parliamentary System (House of Commons)

Indepth or technical explanations:

• ProceduralInfo (House of Commons)  "A collection of tools and resources used to facilitate the understanding of the procedural rules and practices of the House of Commons and its committees, and their application in proceedings."
• Our Procedure (House of Commons)   "A collection of articles on topics relating to parliamentary procedure. It is designed to assist those seeking a better understanding of the workings of the House of Commons and its committees."

Main site:

• Legislative Assembly of Ontario: 
  • Debates (“Hansard”), Journals, Committee Proceedings & other information can be found under "Parliamentary Business", in the upper menu bar.

• Ontario Legislative Library and Legislative Research's Research Papers: Non-partisan analysis from the Ontario Legislative Library on current and emerging issues, legislation, and major public policy topics.

Quick overviews & explanations:

• FAQ - General legislative questions (Ontario Legislative Assembly)
• Parliament and Government (Ontario Legislative Assembly)
• What you can find in daily House documents (Ontario Legislative Assembly)
• 360° virtual experience (Ontario Legislative Assembly)​​​​​​

Main sites:

Legislative Assemblies of Canada (Canadian Study of Parliament Group)

• Ontario Municipalities
  • Municipal 101 & How Local Government Works: explanations of how Municipal Government works in Ontario

Main sites (federal):

• Congress.gov
  "Presented by the Library of Congress, Congress.gov is the official website for U.S. federal legislative information."

• United States House of Representatives
  "Elected to a two-year term, each representative serves the people of a specific congressional district by introducing bills and serving on committees, among other duties."

• United States Senate

• Congressional Chronicle (from C-SPAN):
  "A public service created by the American Cable Television Industry, this site provides videorecordings of the live proceedings of Congress (the House of Representatives and the Senate), the Executive Branch (the White House and the President), and the U.S. Supreme Court."
  • House of Representatives
  • Senate
  • Joint Chambers
  • The Executive Branch (the President, the White House and federal government agencies)
     

The U.S. Supreme Court
https://www.c-span.org/supremeCourt/
 

Quick overviews & explanations:

• The Legislative Process (from Congress.gov)
  "Nine videos explain each of the common legislative stages, and that the process by which a bill becomes law is rarely predictable."
• The House Explained (United States House of Representatives)
• Research Guides (United States Senate)
   

Indepth or technical explanations:

States & Territories

• State governments: Official sites for U.S. state and territory governments.

   

• National Conference of State Legislatures
  "...serves America’s 50 states, commonwealths, territories and the District of Columbia....access to the latest in bipartisan policy research..."
  • Research & Policy
    "...policy research in areas ranging from agriculture and budget and tax issues to education and health care to immigration and transportation..."

Indepth or technical explanations:

•  Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure (2010) (from the Internet Archive, borrow for an hour at a time; free sign up for an account is needed)
  "Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure, commonly referred to as Mason's Manual, is an official parliamentary authority for more than 70% of the state legislative chambers in the United States. Mason's Manual is updated every 10 years; the National Conference of State Legislatures published editions in 1989, 2000, 2010 and 2020."

Regions, Counties & Municipalities

• Local governments: Official sites for county or municipal governments, by U.S. state and territory.