DossierCanada — who sits and votes in Canada's Parliament
Challenged bills
✋ Challenge a billFederal MPs
Who represents you, how they vote, how often they sit.
The federal Cabinet
Who decides what, since when, and how they vote.
Up to date. These ministers come directly from the official Cabinet page on pm.gc.ca, scraped live — not a hand-maintained list.
S-1 — An Act relating to railways
Every bill summarized in plain language. Not clear enough? Ask for an explanation.
S-1
An Act relating to railways
Pro forma
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BILL S-1
An Act relating to railways
Last activity : Introduced as pro forma bill
Pro forma
Senate · 1st2025-05-26Senate · 2ndSenate · 3rdCommons · 1stCommons · 2ndCommons · 3rdRoyal assent
Sign-in required — one request per person, no anonymous requests
Why this bill is empty
A pro forma bill is an opening ritual, not legislation. Before hearing the Speech from the Throne, each chamber introduces a token bill to assert that it legislates of its own accord and not at the Crown's bidding. It is never printed, never debated, never voted on.
Its title is traditional and has nothing to do with any content — there is none. The Senate's is always about railways; the Commons' is always about oaths of office.
✋ What does “challenging” mean?
Clicking “Ask for an explanation” is a citizen request for the bill's sponsor to explain it in plain language — and for us to keep an eye on it together.
An account (email) is required — one request per person, no anonymous requests. 🔥 At 1,000 requests on the same bill, a public post is made, in the hope an MP agrees to sponsor a petition to the House.
It works on any bill, including one that has already received royal assent — that is often the one people want to understand.
Votes in the Commons
Every recorded vote — who voted what, and by what margin.
On the “who voted what” detail — the House of Commons publishes each member's name for every recorded (nominal) vote (Yea / Nay / paired). The by-member breakdown above (the "+" button on each row) comes directly from that official source (ourcommons.ca), not an estimate. The party shown next to each name is taken from the current House roster; people who have since left the House appear separately under "Former members".
How to read a vote
Recorded vote
Members vote one by one and each choice is entered in the public record. That is what lets us say exactly who voted what — no interpretation.
Passed is not law
A passed vote clears ONE stage. A bill must pass both chambers and then receive royal assent before it becomes law.
Paired is not absent
In the Commons, two members from opposing sides can agree not to vote: their voices cancel out. It is neither an absence nor an abstention.
DossierCanada updates
What changed on the site, newest first
Hi! My name is
Martin Archambault
I'm 45, and dossiercanada.ca is your first step into democracy!
If we want people to understand politics, it has to be brought down to their level.
When I first tried to take an interest in it, on top of not knowing the jargon, bills came as two lines… and fifty PDFs. Most people would simply walk away.
So I had an idea: use artificial intelligence first to read through all of it, then to put it in plain words. That's how DossierCanada was born.
Alongside the AI recap, I've given people a lexicon that explains the basics of political jargon. Plain-language law exists — think of this as its equivalent for politics!
Parliament glossary
Parliamentary jargon, translated into everyday language.
Account and follows