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Last month, Edmonton MP Brent Rathgeber stood up to remind the House of Commons about the Magna Carta.

“Magna Carta’s concept is that the Crown is bound by a contract with the people and that nobody is above the law,” he said, reiterating a basic principle that most Canadians learned in elementary school.

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Next up was Brant, Ontario MP Phil McColeman, who told the House that his constituents were doing a great job at cleaning up a local lake.

Then a B.C. MP stood up to say that Vancouver housing was too expensive. A Quebec MP told everyone that her aunt had died. And Larry Macguire—from the border riding of Brandon-Souris—announced that the Baldur Regals had just been inducted into Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame.

This is an aspect of the House of Commons that is little known to the average Canadian. But a surprising amount of parliamentary time is spent on things that have very little to do with the business of drafting laws.