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The South Corridor, where the portraits of former Prime Ministers are displayed, links Confederation Hall to the Commons Chamber. At the west end of the corridor is the spacious, high‑ceilinged foyer of the House of Commons, which may also be accessed from the Members’ entrance at the western end of the Centre Block. On the four walls of the foyer, just below the balcony which overlooks it from the floor above, is a series of 10 bas‑relief sculpture panels depicting 25,000 years of Canadian history from the arrival of the aboriginal peoples to that of the United Empire Loyalists in the late eighteenth century.[30] Opening off the foyer are the doors to the south lobby which leads into the Chamber itself.[31] The doors, known as the Canada Doors, are made of white oak and trimmed with hand‑wrought iron. The Canada Doors are usually open only for the Speaker’s Parade, the Speech from the Throne, and Royal Assent ceremonies. Members use the smaller doors on either side of the Canada Doors that lead into the south lobby. A second set of doors in the south lobby lead into the Chamber while doors on the west and east sides lead into the government and opposition lobbies. The lobbies also open onto the Chamber. Each day when the House meets to conduct business, the Speaker’s Parade[32] leaves the Speaker’s office and passes through the Speaker’s Corridor, the Hall of Honour, and the hall connecting the Hall of Honour to the Chamber. The Parade enters the south lobby of the House through the Canada Doors and proceeds into the Chamber. The Chamber itself is rectangular in shape, measuring approximately 21 metres in length and 16 metres in width; it is also sheeted with Tyndall limestone as well as white oak and, like its counterpart at Westminster, it is decorated in green.[33] (See Figure 6.3, The House of Commons Chamber.) The 14.7‑metre high ceiling is made of linen canvas, hand‑painted with the provincial and territorial coats of arms. The floral emblems of the 10 provinces and 2 of the territories are depicted in 12 stained‑glass windows on the east, west and north walls of the Chamber.[34] On the east and west walls, above the Members’ galleries and between the stained‑glass windows, is the noted British North America Act (BNA) series of sculptures. It consists of 12 separate bas‑relief sculptures in Indiana limestone. Each one depicts, in symbolic and story form, the federal roles and responsibilities arising out of the BNA Act (now called the Constitution Act, 1867).[35]
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