How To Make a Presentation
A Guide for the Public Presentations Before a Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
After a Bill has received First and Second Reading, it is then referred to a Standing Committee of the House. It is at this stage that members of the public may make oral presentations or offer written submissions expressing their opinions and observations. The following is a general guide for persons wishing to appear before Standing Committees of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.
Registration
Individuals or groups wishing to make an oral presentation on a piece of legislation (Bill) at Committee stage must register with the Office of the Clerk. If you simply wish to express your opinion or view of a Bill but do not wish to present or provide a written submission, you should contact either your MLA or the Minister responsible for the Bill.
Members of the public may register to present to a Committee or submit a written submission with the Office of the Clerk by completing the Online Presenter Registration form on our website. Alternately, you may register by phoning the Office of the Clerk at 204-945-3636.
Registrations will only be accepted after the Bill has received First Reading in the House. When registering you must provide your name, address and contact information. You will also be asked to indicate whether you will be speaking as a private citizen or on behalf of an organization and, if so, which organization you are representing. Only one person may register to speak on behalf of an organization and each presenter is only allowed to speak once on a given Bill.
Please note that online registrations for a 6:00 pm Committee meeting will not be accepted after 5:00 pm on the day of the meeting, though walk-in registrations will continue to be accepted after that time and during the meeting.
Standing Committees may hear a maximum of two presentations from presenters who reside outside of Manitoba who wish to present virtually. The two out-of-province virtual presentation slots will be filled by the first two presenters to register. There is no limit to the number of presenters who reside out-of-province who may present in person at a Committee meeting. If there are more than two out-of-province presenters who wish to present virtually, the Committee may agree to hear the additional virtual presentations by unanimous consent.
In accordance with our Rules, registrations will not be accepted after midnight on the third evening that a Committee meets to consider a specific Bill.
Written Submissions
In lieu of an oral presentation, you may submit a written submission regarding a Bill using this form. Please note that an individual or group cannot make both an oral presentation and submit a written submission to the same Bill. Submissions must be received before a Standing Committee has completed its consideration of the Bill in question.
Written submissions must contain only text – no photos, graphs, etc. – and there is a limit of 9,999 characters.
Notice of Meetings
The Government House Leader must give two days notice in the House of the first meeting of a Standing or Special Committee considering Bills if presenters are registered to speak when the meeting is set.
Supplementary Written Materials
Should you wish to provide supplementary information to accompany your oral presentation (optional), we request that you provide us with 12 copies of that material. Examples of supplementary information might be statistics, graphs, letters or other information you deem pertinent to supplement your presentation.
Please note that it is not necessary to provide a written copy of your oral presentation.
Copies of your supplementary information will be distributed to Committee Members (MLAs) to assist them in preparing questions regarding your presentation. A copy will also be kept by the Committee Clerk and one will be provided to the Hansard staff. However, supplementary information will NOT be included in the Committee Hansard (verbatim transcript of proceedings).
If you are unable to make copies, our staff may be able to assist you with this before or during the meeting, however if the document is many pages long this may not be possible. It is requested that presenters hold on to their 12 copies until they are called to the podium to speak.
Presenting in a language other than English and other Accessibility needs
We can provide simultaneous interpretation to Committee Members (MLAs) in the event that you wish to make your presentation in French. Please ensure to check the correct options when registering online so that the translation services can be provided.
If you wish to present in any language other than English or French, please contact one of our Committee Clerks and make them aware of this once you have completed the online registration process. We can discuss options for providing interpretation services in other languages.
If you require any additional supports or accessibility requirements in order to present to a Committee, please contact one of our Committees Clerks at the earliest possible opportunity so that they can work with you to understand how we can help.
What Happens After You Register?
Your name will be placed on a "List of Presenters" in the order of registrations received. Once the Government House Leader has announced the meeting to consider the Bill you registered for, staff from the Office of the Clerk will contact you to advise of the meeting's date, time and location. Upon arrival at the meeting, you will find a "List of Presenters" posted outside the Committee Room indicating your position on the list.
Registered presenters are not given designated speaking times. It is advised that you be in attendance at the beginning of the meeting so that you are aware of where you are on the list and how long the meeting may run.
Times of Meetings
Meetings held in the evening to consider legislation must commence at 6:00 p.m. In exceptional circumstances, meetings may be held during the day if the House is not sitting at the same time. If a Committee considering a bill in the afternoon has not finished hearing public presentations at 6:00 p.m., the Committee may recess and reconvene at 7:00 p.m.
A Standing or Special Committee must not hear public presentations past midnight, except with the unanimous consent of the Committee.
Answers to Questions at Committee
Listed below are answers to the most frequently asked questions by public presenters at Committee.
Are there time limits?
Yes. Manitoba's rules provide for time limits on public presentations. Presenters are allowed a maximum of 10 minutes to make a presentation and an additional 5 minutes to respond to questions from the Committee.
Who do I address my written submission to?
Until the Government House Leader announces the Standing Committee we will not be able to answer this. Once the Committee meeting is announced, your submission should be addressed to the Standing Committee on (here you would insert the Committee name, e.g. Justice, Agriculture and Food, etc.).
What happens if a presenter is not present when their name is called?
Manitoba's rules indicate that if a presenter is not in attendance when their name is called, their name is dropped to the bottom of the list. If the presenter is not present when their name is called a second time, their name will be removed from the list.
Are there special considerations?
Decisions are made at the opening of each meeting regarding whether or not certain groups of people will be allowed to make their presentations ahead of others. These include but are not limited to: out of town presenters, presenters requiring translation services, and persons with disabilities.
What is a written submission?
Instead of making a verbal presentation, you also have the option of providing a written submission which would be distributed to all MLAs on the Committee. Additionally, the Committee will be asked to include your submission at the end of the Hansard transcript of the meeting, which will be published in hard copy and also appear on the Legislative Assembly website.
What if I attend the meeting and want to make a presentation but am not registered?
As long as the Committee has not concluded the public presentation process, or it is not after midnight on the third evening that a Committee has met to consider a specific bill, you may still register to make a presentation any time during the meeting. To register during a meeting, you should speak with staff at the entrance of the Committee room.
Can the public view Committee proceedings?
The public may watch the proceedings of a Committee meeting in Rooms 254 and/or 255 of the Legislative Building. Both rooms are wheelchair accessible. All Standing Committee meetings are also broadcast and are available to watch on our website: Committee Broadcasts and on our YouTube channels: Room 255 and Room 254.
We have attempted to answer the most frequently asked questions with this document. Should you have further questions please contact either the Office of the Clerk (204) 945-3636, or the Clerks of Committees at (204) 945-4729 or (204) 804-3606. You may also contact us by email at committees@mbassembly.ca.