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B. Thomas Hall

B. Thomas Hall is former House of Commons procedural clerk. 

Want electoral reform? Let the voters decide

  • An ‘instant-runoff’ style ballot system is the least disruptive, and ensures that the wishes of the majority of voters are respected.
Opinion | BY B. THOMAS HALL | February 12, 2024
Any electoral reform must be designed to benefit voters without regard to partisanship, writes B. Thomas Hall. Pexels photograph by Edmond Dantès

Want electoral reform? Let the voters decide

Opinion | BY B. THOMAS HALL | February 12, 2024
  • An ‘instant-runoff’ style ballot system is the least disruptive, and ensures that the wishes of the majority of voters are respected.

Want electoral reform? Let the voters decide

Opinion | BY B. THOMAS HALL | February 12, 2024
  • An ‘instant-runoff’ style ballot system is the least disruptive, and ensures that the wishes of the majority of voters are respected.
Any electoral reform must be designed to benefit voters without regard to partisanship, writes B. Thomas Hall. Pexels photograph by Edmond Dantès

House clerk selection process wrongly attacked

  • It is in the government’s best interest to appoint a competent and impartial clerk. We don’t have an American-style Congress which operates as a
Opinion | BY B. THOMAS HALL | February 9, 2023
Charles Robert, former clerk of the House of Commons, recently retired after working nearly 42 years on the Hill. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

House clerk selection process wrongly attacked

Opinion | BY B. THOMAS HALL | February 9, 2023
  • It is in the government’s best interest to appoint a competent and impartial clerk. We don’t have an American-style Congress which operates as a

House clerk selection process wrongly attacked

Opinion | BY B. THOMAS HALL | February 9, 2023
  • It is in the government’s best interest to appoint a competent and impartial clerk. We don’t have an American-style Congress which operates as a
Charles Robert, former clerk of the House of Commons, recently retired after working nearly 42 years on the Hill. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Minimum age to be a Senator should 40, not 30, and other easy fixes to make a better Senate

  • These legislative changes would represent a comprehensive modernization of the Senate, enabling the non-party Senators appointed in the last few years to take control
Opinion | BY B. THOMAS HALL | December 12, 2022
The process of Senate modernization only began with the increase in the number of Senators who don’t belong to any political party. To achieve its purpose, modernization requires changes both in the way Senators organize themselves and in the Senate procedures. But Senators cannot do all the heavy lifting on their own, writes B. Thomas Hall. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Minimum age to be a Senator should 40, not 30, and other easy fixes to make a better Senate

Opinion | BY B. THOMAS HALL | December 12, 2022
  • These legislative changes would represent a comprehensive modernization of the Senate, enabling the non-party Senators appointed in the last few years to take control

Minimum age to be a Senator should 40, not 30, and other easy fixes to make a better Senate

Opinion | BY B. THOMAS HALL | December 12, 2022
  • These legislative changes would represent a comprehensive modernization of the Senate, enabling the non-party Senators appointed in the last few years to take control
The process of Senate modernization only began with the increase in the number of Senators who don’t belong to any political party. To achieve its purpose, modernization requires changes both in the way Senators organize themselves and in the Senate procedures. But Senators cannot do all the heavy lifting on their own, writes B. Thomas Hall. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

How to fix the Senate’s procedure and practice

  • Well-designed procedural rules and practices can also increase Senators’ effectiveness and efficiency. In this column, I’ll offer a few suggestions for modernizing the Senate’s
Opinion | BY B. THOMAS HALL | December 5, 2022
The Senate's Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration Committee, pictured at a meeting on May 9, 2019, in the Senate Building. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

How to fix the Senate’s procedure and practice

Opinion | BY B. THOMAS HALL | December 5, 2022
  • Well-designed procedural rules and practices can also increase Senators’ effectiveness and efficiency. In this column, I’ll offer a few suggestions for modernizing the Senate’s

How to fix the Senate’s procedure and practice

Opinion | BY B. THOMAS HALL | December 5, 2022
  • Well-designed procedural rules and practices can also increase Senators’ effectiveness and efficiency. In this column, I’ll offer a few suggestions for modernizing the Senate’s
The Senate's Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration Committee, pictured at a meeting on May 9, 2019, in the Senate Building. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Modernization should reclaim the Senate’s intended mission as a House of Revision

  • The appointment of Independents created a Senate with a fleet of modern electric vehicles, but they are still hitched to horses following the same
Opinion | BY B. THOMAS HALL | November 28, 2022
Minister of Justice David Lametti appears before the Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairson Sept. 21, 2022. To correct that old caucus-model of arranging Senate business, many observers like me have proposed a special kind of Senate co-ordinating or business committee. Let’s call it the Senate Council, B. Thomas Hall. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Modernization should reclaim the Senate’s intended mission as a House of Revision

Opinion | BY B. THOMAS HALL | November 28, 2022
  • The appointment of Independents created a Senate with a fleet of modern electric vehicles, but they are still hitched to horses following the same

Modernization should reclaim the Senate’s intended mission as a House of Revision

Opinion | BY B. THOMAS HALL | November 28, 2022
  • The appointment of Independents created a Senate with a fleet of modern electric vehicles, but they are still hitched to horses following the same
Minister of Justice David Lametti appears before the Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairson Sept. 21, 2022. To correct that old caucus-model of arranging Senate business, many observers like me have proposed a special kind of Senate co-ordinating or business committee. Let’s call it the Senate Council, B. Thomas Hall. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Government missing golden opportunity to correct serious error in distribution of House seats

  • On Bill C-14, An Act to Amend the Constitution Act, 1867, (Electoral Representation), the government is missing a golden opportunity to correct a serious
Opinion | BY B. THOMAS HALL | April 28, 2022
This serious error in the distribution of seats in the House started when previous governments introduced bills to amend Sec. 51 of the Constitution Act, 1867, to give results they wanted for purely political reasons. The error has continued under the current representation formula legislated under Stephen Harper’s government, writes Thomas Hall. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Government missing golden opportunity to correct serious error in distribution of House seats

Opinion | BY B. THOMAS HALL | April 28, 2022
  • On Bill C-14, An Act to Amend the Constitution Act, 1867, (Electoral Representation), the government is missing a golden opportunity to correct a serious

Government missing golden opportunity to correct serious error in distribution of House seats

Opinion | BY B. THOMAS HALL | April 28, 2022
  • On Bill C-14, An Act to Amend the Constitution Act, 1867, (Electoral Representation), the government is missing a golden opportunity to correct a serious
This serious error in the distribution of seats in the House started when previous governments introduced bills to amend Sec. 51 of the Constitution Act, 1867, to give results they wanted for purely political reasons. The error has continued under the current representation formula legislated under Stephen Harper’s government, writes Thomas Hall. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
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