Parliamentary Press Gallery
Encyclopedia
Voluntary association
A voluntary association or union is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement as volunteers to form a body to accomplish a purpose.Strictly speaking, in many jurisdictions no formalities are necessary to start an association...
established to oversee rules and responsibilities of Canadian journalists when at Parliament Hill
Parliament Hill
Parliament Hill , colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. Its Gothic revival suite of buildingsthe parliament buildings serves as the home of the Parliament of Canada and contains a number of architectural...
. The organization was formed the same year as Canada's Confederation
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
in 1867, by The Honourable Thomas White
Thomas White (Canadian politician)
Thomas White, was a Canadian journalist and politician.He was born in Montreal, Lower Canada in 1830, the son of Thomas White, a leather merchant who came to Canada from Ireland in 1826. White worked at a number of jobs before entering the printing trade with the Queen's Printer in Toronto around...
. During the early years of the association, the members were associated with political parties. Membership of the Gallery is determined by the association, but, the final decision lies with the Speaker of the House of Commons
Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada and is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow Members of Parliament...
. The headquarters of the organization is the National Press Building
National Press Building
The National Press Building in Ottawa, Canada is a building on Wellington Street, just across from the West Block of the Parliament Buildings that houses the Parliamentary Press Gallery. The building is owned by the federal government. Originally the press had their offices inside the Centre Block...
at 150 Wellington Street
Wellington Street (Ottawa)
Wellington Street is an important street in Ottawa, Canada most notable for being one of the first two streets laid out in Bytown in 1826 Wellington Street (French: Rue Wellington) is an important street in Ottawa, Canada most notable for being one of the first two streets laid out in Bytown in...
. Before hansard was introduced, in 1875, records were dependent upon the newspapers of the time.
Each province of Canada also has its own press gallery.