DUTIES

Pages report to the Usher of the Black Rod and are responsible for ensuring the effective operation of the Senate and its committees in keeping with the tradition of impartiality and non-partisanship in the Senate Administration. Pages assist Canada’s 105 senators in their duties as they scrutinize legislation and suggest improvements.

In the Red Chamber:

• Ensure senators have the materials they need to carry out their duties during Senate sittings and committee meetings, including bills, Journals, Order Papers, and Debates of the Senate and House of Commons.
• Ring the bells to summon senators to the Red Chamber for votes and sittings.
• Liaise between senators, clerks and staff to ensure all sittings, meetings, hearings and events are effectively run.
• Support operations when the Senate meets as the committee of the whole.
• Greet and seat VIPs, guests of senators and members of the public in the galleries during Senate sittings.

During Senate committee meetings:

• Greet and assist witnesses appearing virtually and in person.
• Support the clerk responsible for the administration of the committee.

Procedural and ceremonial activities:

• Participate in the Speaker’s Parade that opens and closes each sitting of the Senate.
• Support the Usher of the Black Rod in organizing ceremonies like the swearing-in of new senators, the Speech from the Throne and Royal Assent.
• Assist in other special events in the Senate, including provincial speakers’ conferences, Remembrance ceremonies and the installation of a new governor general.

Page program activities:

• Greet diverse groups in the Senate Chamber when they travel from across the country to Ottawa to participate in programs like the Forum for Young Canadians and the Teachers Institute on Canadian Parliamentary Democracy.
• Participate in running the Senate Page Program by assisting with promotion and outreach events.
• Join Senate Page Program committees, including promotion, outreach and yearbook committees.