<P> Carved above the speaker's chair are the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom . This chair was a gift from the United Kingdom Branch of the Empire Parliamentary Association in 1921, to replace the chair that was destroyed by the fire of 1916, and was an exact replica of the chair in the British House of Commons at the time . These arms at its apex were considered the royal arms for general purposes throughout the British empire at the time . Since 1931, however, Canada has been an independent country and the Canadian Coat of Arms are now understood to be the royal arms of the Queen of Canada . Escutcheons of the same original royal arms can be found on each side of the speaker's chair held by a lion and a unicorn . </P> <P> In response to a campaign by Bruce Hicks for the Canadianization of symbols of royal authority and to advance the identity of parliamentary institutions, a proposal that was supported by Speakers of the House of Commons John Fraser and Gilbert Parent, a Commons committee was eventually struck following a motion by MP Derek Lee, before which Hicks and Robert Watt, the first Chief Herald of Canada, were called as the only two expert witnesses, though Senator Serge Joyal joined the committee on behalf of the Senate . Commons' Speaker Peter Milliken then asked the governor general to authorize such a symbol . In the United Kingdom, the House of Commons and the House of Lords use the royal badge of the portcullis, in green and red respectively, to represent those institutions and to distinguish them from the government, the courts and the monarch . The Canadian Heraldic Authority on April 15, 2008 granted the House of Commons, as an institution, a badge consisting of the chamber's mace (as described above) behind the escutcheon of the shield of the Royal Arms of Canada (representing the Queen herself, in whose name the House of Commons deliberates). </P> <P> Like the Senate, the House of Commons meets on Parliament Hill in Ottawa . The Commons Chamber is modestly decorated in green, in contrast with the more lavishly furnished red Senate Chamber . The arrangement is similar to the design of the Chamber of the British House of Commons . The seats are evenly divided between both sides of the Chamber, three sword - lengths apart (about three metres). The Speaker's chair (which can be adjusted for height) is at the north end of the Chamber . In front of it is the Table of the House, on which rests the ceremonial mace . Various "Table Officers"--clerks and other officials--sit at the Table, ready to advise the Speaker on procedure when necessary . Members of the Government sit on the benches on the Speaker's right, while members of the Opposition occupy the benches on the Speaker's left . Government ministers sit around the Prime Minister, who is traditionally assigned the 11th seat in the front row on the Speaker's right - hand side . The leader of the Official Opposition sits directly across from the Prime Minister and is surrounded by a Shadow Cabinet, or critics for the government portfolios . The remaining party leaders sit in the front rows . Other Members of Parliament who do not hold any kind of special responsibilities are known as "backbenchers". </P> <P> The House usually sits Monday to Friday from late January to mid-June and from mid-September to mid-December according to an established calendar, though it can modify the calendar if additional or fewer sittings are required . During these periods, the House generally rises for one week per month to allow members to work in their constituencies . Sittings of the House are open to the public . Proceedings are broadcast over cable and satellite television and over live streaming video on the Internet by CPAC owned by a consortium of Canadian cable companies . They are also recorded in text form in print and online in Hansard, the official report of parliamentary debates . </P>

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