<Table> <Tr> <Td> The Queen </Td> <Td> The Senate </Td> <Td> The House of Commons </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> The Queen </Td> <Td> The Senate </Td> <Td> The House of Commons </Td> </Tr> <P> The sovereign's place in the legislature, formally called the Queen - in - Parliament, is defined by the Constitution Act, 1867, and various conventions . Neither she nor her viceroy, however, participates in the legislative process, save for signifying the Queen's approval to a bill passed by both houses of parliament, known as the granting of Royal Assent, which is necessary for a bill to be enacted as law . All federal bills thus begin with the phrase "Now, therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows ..." and, as such, the Crown is immune from acts of parliament unless expressed otherwise in the act itself . The governor general will normally perform the task of granting Royal Assent, though the monarch may also do so, at the request of either the Cabinet or the viceroy, who may defer assent to the sovereign as per the constitution . </P> <P> As both the monarch and his or her representatives are traditionally barred from the House of Commons, any parliamentary ceremonies in which they are involved take place in the Senate chamber . The upper and lower houses do, however, each contain a mace, which indicates the authority of the Queen - in - Parliament and the privilege granted to that body by her, both bearing a crown at their apex . The original mace for the Senate was that used in the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada after 1849, while that of the House of Commons was inherited from the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, first used in 1845 . Following the burning of the Centre Block on 3 February 1916, the City of London, England, donated a replacement, which is still used today . The temporary mace, made of wood, and used until the new one arrived from the United Kingdom in 1917, is still carried into the Senate each 3 February . The Senate's 1.6 - metre - long mace comprises brass and gold . The Senate may not sit if its mace is not in the chamber; it typically sits on the table with the crown facing the throne, though it may, during certain ceremonies, be held by the Mace Bearer, standing adjacent to the governor general or monarch in the Senate . </P>

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