The Senate Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances (the committee) has scrutinised legislation to guard against the inappropriate exercise of executive power for almost ninety years. This report makes a number of recommendations to improve the committee's existing scrutiny practices.

During the 2015 federal election campaign, the Liberal Party under Justin Trudeau promised a new “nonpartisan, merit-based” appointments process for the Senate of Canada. This study investigates how the Senate’s functioning has evolved since 2015, with specific attention to the relationship between the government and the second chamber.

This report uses the information that Members and Senators disclose on the Federal Registers of Interests to analyse the top funders of our federal parliamentarians’ overseas travel.

This paper provides some background to the importance of the separation of the legislature, executive and judiciary, and examines how modern parliaments in the Westminster system, including the Victorian Parliament, are faring in their attempt at preserving and maintaining a degree of independence from the executive.

This paper examines the potential for e-petitions to enhance the political engagement function of petitioning and assesses the procedural and technical requirements that have to be taken into account in planning an e-petition system.