Professional assistance to legislators: The research branch of Canada's library of parliament

The extent of government involvement in public activity and the highly technical aspects of the issues arising in our legislatures, points to the need for expert assistance for lawmakers. In Canada, this need was addressed at the federal level by the establishment of a research service as a unit of the Parliamentary Library in 1965. This article gives an insight into the structure and variety of services provided by the 50 professionals of the research unit and the new directions it is taking in addressing the challenges in its work for Canada's two Houses of Parliament.