Samuel Phillips Data Bank in Parliamentary Procedure‪.‬

Parliamentary institutions in Canada and Quebec are based on the British model. Our history in the new world bequeathed to us structures and principles which we have adapted over the years to suit our own needs. Even today we refer frequently to the rules of procedure in use at Westminster and to commentaries on those rules. We also look at the decisions and practices of other Canadian legislatures and from time to time at precedents established in other Commonwealth parliaments. Contacts between Clerks of these parliaments are one way to obtain information about parliamentary procedure. There is also an incredible variety of books and periodicals available but the sheer abundance of the documentation can become burdensome to keep on library shelves or in filing cabinets. Furthermore it may not be consulted as much as it should if it is not suitably structured. This problem of records management led the National Assembly to initiate a pilot project to be carried out by its Procedural Research Branch.