Once the list of bills is complete, the Clerk of the Senate states: "in Her Majesty's name, His Excellency the Governor General doth assent to these bills. In the Senate, those from the Commons stand behind the bar, while Black Rod proceeds to stand next to the governor general, who then nods his or her head to signify Royal Assent to the presented bills which do not include supply bills. The Usher of the Black Rod is then commanded by the speaker to summon the members of parliament, who follow Black Rod back to the Senate, the Sergeant-at-Arms carrying the mace of the House of Commons. The speaker moves to sit beside the throne the Mace Bearer, with mace in hand, stands adjacent to him or her and the governor general enters to take the speaker's chair. The Senate thereafter cannot adjourn until after the ceremony. The Royal Assent ceremony takes place in the Senate, as the Sovereign is traditionally barred from the House of Commons. However, the act provides that a grant of royal assent is not rendered invalid by a failure to employ the traditional ceremony where required. Under the Royal Assent Act, however, the alternative practice of granting assent in writing, with each house being notified separately the Speaker of the Senate or a representative reads to the senators the letters from the governor general regarding the written declaration of Royal Assent, was brought into force.Īs the act also provides, royal assent is to be signified-by the governor general, or, more often, by a deputy, usually a Justice of the Supreme Court, at least twice each calendar year: for the first supply appropriation measure and for at least one other act, usually the first non-supply measure passed. One result, conceived as part of a string of acts intended to demonstrate Canada's status as an independent realm, was that King George VI personally assented to nine bills of the Canadian parliament during his tour of Canada -85 years after his great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, had last granted royal assent personally in the United Kingdom. In Canada, the traditional ceremony for granting assent in parliament was regularly used until the 21st century, long after it had been discontinued in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms.
The governor-general then signs the bill, sending messages to the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives, who notify their respective houses of the governor-general's action. Now, the bill is sent to the governor-general's residence by the house in which it originated.
In Australia, the formal ceremony of granting assent in parliament has not been regularly used since the early 20th century.
In all of the realms, however, assent is more often granted or signified outside the legislature, with each house being notified separately. In Commonwealth realms, assent may be granted by the Sovereign in person, by the governor-general in person, or by a deputy acting for the governor-general.