Parliament and the press gallery.

• Author: Vaive, Robert

The press gallery is an essential part of the democratic system. It is instrumental in helping Parliament perform its primary function in making government accountable for its actions. The public observes events through the eyes of the collective reporters who make up the press gallery. When Parliament is not adequately covered, the democratic process suffers. This article looks at a few of the issues surrounding the operation of the press gallery.

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Half a century before Confederation the legislatures of British North America provided space for journalists covering the proceedings. In fact press reports were the best official reports available until Hansard was introduced in the mid-1870s. This was an era of partisan press with journalists having close ties with politicians they supported. Press gallery members were not only observers of politics, they were very active participants. This changed with the establishment of the Canadian Press in 1917. It served a number of newspapers with different political outlooks and journalism gradually became distinct from the partisan political process.

Another milestone was the introduction of television in the House which introduced a new dimension in the relationship between the press gallery and Parliament. Electronic Hansard enables the public to bypass the filtering and sometimes excesses of the print reporters. TV in the House, therefore, created a greater public awareness and interest in Parliament, but also enhanced the importance of the press gallery as interpretors rather than reporters of what was taking place.

The press gallery is technically under the authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons. By tradition it is forbidden to take notes from any of the parliamentary galleries (lest the proceedings be reported to the Monarch). In theory the press gallery is not exempt from this prohibition but since it is situated directly above and behind the Speaker's chair, it was "out of sight, out of mind" as far as note-taking was concerned.

In fact, the Speaker delegates to the gallery self-governing functions including the important responsibility of accreditation of its members. The gallery's constitution outlines how it is to be governed, its membership and accreditation criteria, and its self-disciplinary measures for unethical or unbecoming conduct. Memberships vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In British Columbia the membership is about 50, in Ottawa it is closer to 100.

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