Who we are
The Hansard Association of Canada, or
HAC, was founded in 1972 and comprises 17 jurisdictions, all
dedicated to the accurate and professional production of official
reports of legislative debates.
HAC members meet on an annual
basis to share production approaches regarding reporting
technologies, editing and grammar, fact-checking, and
staffing/training and to network for the general advancement of
legislative debate reporting.
Hansard, explained
Briefly, Hansard is the official,
complete report of proceedings in a parliament or Legislature. It's
named after Thomas Hansard, the publisher of the report of debates at
the U.K. Parliament in the early 19th century. Two of the parliamentary
rule books used across Canada provide the following general, official
definitions.
The first official definition is from
Beauchesne's Parliamentary Rules & Forms, 6th Edition. This book is
a compilation of procedures and practices in Canada's federal
Parliament.
1117. (1) The
Official
Report of Debates, commonly referred to as
Hansard, is the
record of speeches made in the House; it also contains answers to
written questions on the Order Paper. The debates of the House
of Commons are reported verbatim, recording correctly what was said by
each Member in the House. Slight verbal alterations are allowed to be
made by a Member in order to make the meaning more precise and accurate;
however, no words or phrases may be inserted to effect material changes
in the meaning of what was actually said in the House.
The second definition is from
Erskine May, Parliamentary Practice, 21st Edition. This book is a compilation of
the rules and practices of the U.K. Parliament at Westminster.
(2) Corrections may be made
to Hansard. If the correction is of a very important nature the
Member shall rise in the House when Motions are called to explain the
correction. At this time the House gives its approval to the change.
However, if the change is minor the Member should inform the Editor of
Debates directly, in order to have the correction made.
Each legislature or parliament, of course, has
developed its own specific rules and practices governing editing style,
deadlines for publication, and the like.
Hansard Association of Canada Style
Guide