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Rules of the House
In the past there had been strict rules for the recording of
legislative proceedings. Aside from reporters, no visitors were
permitted to take notes in the Chamber, and reporters were very
protective of their right to write. If a reporter spotted a visitor
taking notes in the public gallery, a message would be sent to the
commissionaire, who would put a stop to it.No one, not even a reporter, was allowed to record sound in the
House. Reporters had to rely on their memories and their note-taking
skills in order to produce news stories. Interested citizens and
Members of the Assembly had to rely on those news stories to stay
informed of happenings in the Legislature.
Scrapbook Hansard
Recognizing that newspapers provided the most comprehensive record
of Alberta's House proceedings, Legislature librarians established a scrapbook Hansard. Painstakingly
maintained from 1905 until 1971, the scrapbook Hansard
assembled newspaper stories covering the business of the
Legislature. The news clippings were extracted mainly from the
major newspapers of Calgary and Edmonton, literally hand pasted
chronologically into a large album, and dated and indexed. As
in other jurisdictions, Alberta's scrapbook Hansard acted as
a precursor to the official record of debates. It is still
available for viewing today at the Alberta Legislature Library.
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