Black Rod leads the Speaker's Parade at the beginning of each sitting of the Senate[1] and oversees protocol and administrative and logistical details of important events taking place on Parliament Hill, such as the opening of parliament and the Speech from the Throne.

[2][3] The office is modelled on the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

[5] The current rod was crafted the same year by then-Crown Jeweller Garrard & Co..[5] The rod was snapped in half in 1967, and underwent only amateur repairs at the hands of Senator Henry Davies Hicks in his personal workshop; over the years it has additionally suffered scratching, cracking, and loss of pieces.

[5] The top consists of a lion on its hind legs displaying a shield decorated with the royal cypher of George V of the United Kingdom, the monarch when the rod was crafted,[5] and bearing the motto Honi soit qui mal y pense.

After the first female (Mary C. McLaren) was appointed to the position, the term gentleman was dropped from the title.