Parliamentary Society of Toronto (PST)

Parliamentary Resources

Here are some resources to help explain parliamentary procedure, to provide links for further information, and to indicate the kind of issues members discuss at our meetings.

Parliamentary Procedure and Rules of Order

Parliamentary procedure originally arose from the rules and customs for conducting business in the English Parliament (and subsequently in the British Parliament after 1707), and was developed through a continuing process of decisions and precedents somewhat like the growth of the common law.

These rules and customs migrated to North America during colonization, and became the foundation for legislative bodies in Canada and the United States. This body of 'parliamentary law', as it is used in parliaments and legislatures, has evolved into 'general' or 'common' parliamentary law, which is applicable to a variety of non-governmental organizations, associations, societies, unions, and clubs.

Although the terms 'parliamentary procedure' and 'rules of order' are often considered to be the same thing, they actually have slightly different meanings. Basically, rules of order apply to meetings of an organization, and codify how business is to be conducted at a meeting and the role of officers in those meetings. Parliamentary procedure, on the other hand, is a broader concept that includes rules of order, but extends to the structure and governance of an organization beyond its meetings, including the role and responsibilities of officers outside a meeting.

Parliamentary Authorities

At the Parliamentary Society of Toronto, consistent with the approach of the American Institute of Parliamentarians, we have an interest in studying a broad range of parliamentary authorities and perspectives from Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The parliamentary authority we have adopted to govern our own meetings is the AIP Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure, published in 2012 by the American Institute of Parliamentarians. A new edition is in preparation; members of the Parliamentary Society of Toronto have participated on the authorship teams of both the current and forthcoming editions.

The other major authority we study, of course, is Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, the 12th edition of which was published in August 2020. The same authorship team has also written Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised In Brief, a shorter work that covers the basics, and provides a useful introduction to the subject. (The National Association of Parliamentarians, the other major international parliamentary organization besides the AIP, certifies professional parliamentarians based exclusively on their knowledge and expertise in Robert's Rules.)

PST member Jim Lochrie has written his own manual, Meeting Procedures: Parliamentary Law and Rules of Order for the 21st Century, published in 2003, and it has been adopted as a parliamentary authority by a number of municipal councils.

Other Canadian-authored authorities include: Bourinot's Rules of Order, originally written in the late 1890s by Sir John Bourinot, a former Clerk of the House of Commons (and updated by Geoffrey Stanford in 1995); M. K. Kerr and H. W. King's Procedures for Meetings and Organizations, 1996; and Nathan's Company Meetings (originally Wainberg's Meetings), published in 2007, and used primarily for corporate board and shareholder meetings.

The AIP also encourages the study of Cannon's Concise Guide to Rules of Order (2001), written by Hugh Cannon (a former parliamentarian to the Democratic National Convention in the US), containing particularly useful advice on the importance of good presiding.

The standard text on parliamentary procedure used by unions and other non-governmental organizations in the UK is Sir Walter Citrine's The ABC of Chairmanship, last updated in 1982, but re-printed as recently as 2016 by its publisher, the Fabian Society.
Another useful source for those interested in the history and development of procedurehe in Westminster Parliaments is Sir Thomas Erskine-May's Treatise on the Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament, the 25th edition of which (2019) is for the first time available on line, fully searchable, and free of charge. Originally published in 1844, when Erskine-May was Assistant Clerk to the UK House of Commons (he subsequently became the Clerk), this work describes the evolution of parliamentary rules and conventions.

Member Presentations at Past PST Meetings

Here is a partial list of research presentations prepared by members or guest speakers, and delivered at previous PST meetings.

2025

The History and Role of the City Clerk by John D. Elvidge

Changing Something Done (or Defeated) Before by Thomas Balch

Conventions and Resolutions by Henry Miller

Creating and Filling Blanks TSP by Coco Siewert, PRP

2024

Disciplinary Procedures RONR by Thomas Balch

Financial Oversight and Risk Management for Boards and Assemblies (September 2024) by Henry Miller

Motion to Commit (Refer to a Committee) by Gretchen Denton

AIP Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure, Second Edition by Atul Kapur, CPP-T, PRP