The Legislative Assembly Service (LAS) provides the administration and support services required for the operation of the Legislative Assembly. The LAS was formally established in 2005 by The Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act. It is overseen by the Speaker and consists of the Clerks at the Table, the Legislative Library, the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel, and several central and support services.
The service has a number of responsibilities. By agreement, the LAS provide services to several independent officers of the Legislative Assembly, such as the Chief Electoral Officer and the Children’s Advocate. The Legislative Library has a provincial function as the deposit library for all Saskatchewan government publications. The Sergeant at Arms provides security in the Legislative Building and the surrounding grounds.
Clerk of the Legislative Assembly
The Clerk of the Legislative Assembly is the chief permanent officer of the Legislative Assembly. The position is accountable to the Speaker for the administration and organization of the Legislative Assembly Service. The Clerk is an officer of the Legislative Assembly and provides all members with professional and confidential advice on parliamentary procedure and rules.
The Clerk is mentioned in the earliest records of the English parliament and was noted in the first written account of the House of Commons, which was printed in 1327. This traditional title has been retained by most parliaments that use the British form of parliamentary democracy.
Administration of the Assembly
The administrative responsibilities of the Clerk include the coordination of Assembly-wide budgeting; the establishing of financial controls; ensuring adequate financial, human and material resources to all branches; planning, policy and staff development; and monitoring the application of The Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, 2007 and other provincial statutes that relate to the operation of the Legislative Assembly.
The Office of the Clerk also provides full administrative support to the Board of Internal Economy. Duties range from the provision of advice to the Speaker on all Board matters to the implementation of all Board directives through the appropriate Assembly branches.
Operation of Parliament
The Clerk is responsible for the many services required to support the proceedings of the Legislative Assembly and the many legislative committees. During sittings of the Assembly, the Clerk ensures that all forms of business pass through each of the required procedural steps. The Office of the Clerk prepares, processes, and maintains all legislative records and documents of the Assembly.
The Clerks at the Table provide confidential and impartial advice to the Speaker and to members of the Assembly. This advice pertains to matters of parliamentary procedure and the interpretation of the rules and practices of the Assembly. Committee Clerks provide a similar role to the Chairs and members of Standing and Special Committees.
The Parliamentary Publications branch prepares the public record of proceedings.
The principal documents are:
- the daily Debates (Hansard), a verbatim record of what is said by members;
- the Minutes (Votes), also known as Journals, the official daily record of decisions and proceedings;
- the Orders of the Day or daily agenda.
The Committees branch is responsible for the preparation of the minutes and reports of the various legislative committees.
Through the services of the Communications and Technology Services branch, proceedings of the Assembly are broadcast on television and the Internet.
The Office of the Clerk handles matters of protocol and interparliamentary relations. The office coordinates all official parliamentary ceremonies and other formal occasions that involve the Legislative Assembly, such as the official opening of the parliamentary sessions, election of Speaker, royal assent, prorogation, dissolution, swearing in of members and visiting parliamentarians. The office also provides secretarial and administrative support to the Saskatchewan branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA).
The Office of the Clerk is also responsible for the recruitment, training and supervision of sessional Pages and administers the Saskatchewan Legislative Internship Program.
The Visitor Services branch welcomes citizens to the Legislative Building. Visitor Services offers programs that publicize and promote our parliamentary institution. The branch also publishes and distributes a series of pamphlets on different aspects of the Assembly, creates parliamentary education video productions, delivers orientation programs for civil servants, and maintains an effective parliamentary visitor program.
The Office of the Speaker is responsible for SSTI (Saskatchewan Teachers' Institute on Parliamentary Democracy), a parliamentary outreach program offered to Saskatchewan teachers through the office of the Speaker.