Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal assent by the lieutenant governor of Ontario to become law.

[1][2][3] The assembly meets at the Ontario Legislative Building at Queen's Park in the provincial capital of Toronto.

[4] In accordance with the traditions of the Westminster system, most laws originate in the provincial cabinet (government bills) and are passed by the legislature after multiple rounds of debate and decision-making.

Legislative scrutiny of the executive is also at the heart of much of the work carried out by the Legislature's Standing Committees, which are made up of ordinary backbenchers.

Depending on personal inclination and political circumstances, some Members concentrate most of their attention on House matters while others focus on constituency problems, taking on something of an ombudsman's role in the process.

A late-night rebroadcast of Question Period is also occasionally aired on TVO, the provincial public broadcaster.

[17] The Legislative Assembly of Ontario, like the federal House of Commons, also includes procedural officers who administer the business of the legislature and impartially assist the Speaker and MPPs with their duties.

The Clerk of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario is the chief permanent officer of the Legislative Assembly, with the rank and status of a Deputy Minister, responsible for administering the legislature and advising MPPs on questions of procedure or interpretation of the rules and practices of the House.

The royal crowns (left 1992, right 1792) recognize the parliamentary bicentennial and represent Ontario's heritage as a constitutional monarchy.

They were granted as a special honour by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the recommendation of the Governor General.

[23] In the base, the maple leaves are for Canada, the trilliums for Ontario and the roses for York (now Toronto), the provincial capital.

[24] The first mace was used by the Chamber of Upper Canada's first Parliament in 1792 at Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake) and then moved to York (now Toronto).

[25] The primitive wooden mace was painted red and gilt, and surmounted by a crown of thin brass strips.

The four-foot mace is made of copper and richly gilded, a flattened ball at the butt end.

Initially, the head of the mace bore the crown of Queen Victoria and in a cup with her royal cypher, V.R.

[25] Through some careful detective work on the part of Legislative Assembly staff, the original cup with Queen Victoria's cypher was recently[when?]

The seating chamber is similar in layout to that of the British House of Commons and the original St. Stephen's Chapel in the Palace of Westminster.

[27] The Parliament of Ontario, however, may be easily distinguished from this model by its use of individual chairs and tables for members, absent in the British Commons' design.

The legislature's former host building and site, home to the Upper Canada and Union Houses, once boasted of a similar layout.