Legislature

I could go on and on about Manitoba's legislature building. The artistic masonry, the marble floors, the beautiful sculptures and artwork, and the limestone walls dotted with fossils. But for now, I'll just talk about the legislature.

They were not in session, but I was able to hear brief talk about the legislative process in the session room. There is a throne (I guess to represent the crown or head of state) sitting prominently at the head of the room. The center of the room has a table with 4 chairs. On the left and right sides of the room is a semi-circle of chairs and tables, like a smaller version of the UN. In the balconies above are viewing areas for the public.

Listening to the talk, it seems that the center table has people who checks and verifies rules. The person sitting at the foot of the table has a gold mace with a crown on top, serving as the head of security.

The left side of the semi-circle is for the rule-makers. The right side is for the opposition. If they don't like what the rule-makers are doing, they oppose them.

The public sitting in the balconies above can only listen and not participate.

Sounds a little odd? Okay, I admit it, the talk was for a group of 10 year-olds, but it made things easier for me to understand. After all, it is based on the British way of doing things. I saw some of this on TV before, and it was all so confusing! However, I loved the pageantry and Old World tradition of it all.