Legislature Tour!!!! Legislature Tour!!!! By Rebecca Lee By Rebecca Lee

Introducing the Legislature. Hello, I am Rebecca Lee and I will be your tour guide. Well, first you should know that this building is the legislature. Inside it are many cool artifacts. Let’s begin

Main Floor “Rotunda” Well as you know this is the first floor in the legislature or as it is called the Rotunda. They named the first level Rotunda because “Rotunda means round and the first floor in the legislature is round”. There are flags hanging in the Rotunda representing the world wars. The legislature is made from a large amount of marble and the marble comes from Quebec and Pennsylvania.

Still in the “Rotunda” Here is the Rotunda again but from a bird’s eye view. Did you know that the red carpet only comes out on July 1 st and at Christmas? If you look up you can see palm trees in the dome. There are 5 palm trees in total. California gave us those palm trees in 1932.

Outside the Chambers  This is outside the chambers. As you can see there is the carving of the Coat Of Arms. On the right side is an antelope, and on the left is a lion and on the top is a crown representing Queen Elizabeth the second. And, you should know it took 500 hours to carve.

Inside the Chambers. Inside the Chambers. This is inside the legislature chambers. As you can see the ceiling is stained glass painted in a very beautiful pattern. Also in the chamber there are pictures of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Edward. They were placed in the chambers to represent royalty. Inside the chambers they make bills into laws. And that’s how we got the laws we have.

The Mace The mace is a symbol that represents the assembly’s authority to pass laws. When the speaker leaves the chambers the mace is placed down saying the speaker is not in the chambers. When the speaker comes in the mace goes on the table. Way back in the early 1900’s the government wanted a symbol so they made the mace. The first mace was made from household items like a mug, toilet floats, etc. This mace was painted with gold paint and was used for 50 years!

The Black Rod The black rod is a symbol of the lieutenant governor and the Queen. When the lieutenant governor comes in the chambers the mace is covered and the Sergeant-at-arms knocks on the door 3 times. He comes in carrying the black rod saying that the lieutenant governor is in the chambers.

The legislature grounds The legislature grounds On the legislature grounds they have an irrigation system to help plants grow. Also they have a piece of petrified wood and they found it at the Lethbridge river and guess what…….It is about 10 to 20 million years old!! Fascinating isn't it? Also they have a Ukrainian monument that has been there since 1981 and in 90 years they will dig under it because there is a time capsule!!!!!

The Speaker This is the speaker, Ken Kowalski. He is the one who keeps order in the whole assembly. He acts kind of like a referee in the chambers. Ken Kowalski was elected in The speaker has responsibilities but he is not allowed to answer questions at the oral question period.

This is the sergeant at arms. The Sergeant at Arms is Bryan Hodgson. The Sergeant at Arms is responsible for keeping the crowd quiet in the guest gallery; only if the speaker can’t. Then he will yell. The Sergeant at Arms also carries the sword to protect the mace and the black rod.

The Famous Five The Famous Five These women are called the famous five. They fought for equality for women in court. This case was called the Person’s Case. Henrietta Muir Edwards published Canada’s first women’s magazine. Louise McKinney was the first woman MLA elected to a legislature in Canada. Nellie McClung was a liberal MLA in Edmonton. Emily Murphy was the first female judge in the Commonwealth. Irene Parlby was the first female cabinet minister in Alberta.

The Lieutenant Governor Norman. L Kwong is our lieutenant governor. He is our 16 th lieutenant governor in Alberta. He is the first of Chinese heritage to serve as a lieutenant governor in Alberta. His role is to represent the Queen. He also makes the Speech from the Throne to open the assembly each time the house sits for a new session.

Thanks For Watching! Thanks For Watching! I would like to thank you for listening to my tour. I hope you come visit the Alberta Legislature. Come to the legislature. You will be AMAZED!!!!!!! And you might want to bring your camera to take pictures, just saying…