A joint address is a special procedure of the Canadian Parliament, in which members of the House of Commons and Senate sit jointly in the former chamber, the latter acting, for the occasion, as an auditorium. The speaker of the House of Commons takes his chair, as normal, with the speaker of the Senate seated to their right. Members of Parliament also take their usual seats, with senators and justices of the Supreme Court positioned on the floor of the House, in front of the clerk's table. Gallery privileges are suspended during a joint address and access to those areas is strictly limited to invited guests.
Circumstances
Such an event is used most commonly when a visiting dignitary—such as a foreign head of state or head of government—is asked to address Parliament. However, on more rare occasions, the process may also be used to make a formal, binding request of the Canadian monarch; for example, this was part of the process used to amend the constitution of Canada prior to patriation in 1982. In extreme circumstances, a joint address may also be used to remove a person previously appointed by the King-in-Council—such as a judge or ambassador—if other avenues of doing so have failed. For example, Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson announced a joint address in 1967 to have Leo Landreville removed from the bench of the Supreme Court of Ontario, due to allegations of improper stock trading. Landreville had previously refused to resign, as he had not actually been convicted of a crime, but, resigned voluntarily after the government declared its intention to forcibly remove him from office.
Although most addresses are made to joint sessions of Parliament, on 7 May 1941, Robert G. Menzies, Prime Minister of Australia, spoke only to the House of Commons. On 25 August 1943, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States, addressed senators, members of Parliament, and the general public outside the houses of Parliament.
Dignitaries
The following persons have addressed a joint session of Parliament:
Winston Churchill
During the Second World War, Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, stopped in Ottawa after meetings with the United States government in Washington, D.C. Churchill spoke to a joint meeting of Canada’s parliamentarians in the House of Commons on 30 December 1941, delivering an "electrifying address that stirs the passions and strengthens the resolve of a nation at war." In responding to a French general's claim that, "England will have her neck wrung like a chicken" in three weeks time from a German invasion, Churchill declared, "some chicken! Some neck!" The response was met by a roar of laughter and thunderous applause. Churchill would go on to lead the Allied effort to victory in the Second World War.
Richard Nixon
President of the United States Richard Nixon arrived in Ottawa on a state visit on 13 April 1972. He met with Governor General Roland Michener and Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau before addressing a joint meeting of the Parliament of Canada. Nixon, invoking his Nixon Doctrine on foreign policy, struck a blunt tone in his remarks. "Canadians and Americans [must] move beyond the sentimental rhetoric of the past. It is time for us to recognize that we have very separate identities [...] Each nation must determine the path of its own progress." Bruce Muirhead wrote that, after the state visit, "Nixon returned to Washington with a reinforced dislike of Ottawa, Trudeau, and most things Canadian. He told his Chief of Staff, H.R. Haldeman, that he had put it to these people for kicking the US around after what we did for that lousy son of a bitch [Trudeau]. Wasting three days up there. That trip we needed like a hole in the head."
Ronald Reagan
After meeting with Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, American President Ronald Reagan addressed the Canadian Parliament on 11 March 1981, speaking humbly about the strong Canada-US relationship. "America counts many friends across the globe, surely we have no better friend than Canada." Reagan even demonstrated his ability to use both of Canada’s official languages when he spoke several phrases in French. The President concluded his remarks by offering an olive branch to the people of Canada: "We're happy to be your neighbour. We want to remain your friend. We're determined to be your partner and we're intent on working closely with you in a spirit of cooperation." Reagan addressed the Canadian Parliament once more as President, in 1987.