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Senate
In the weeks leading up
to a lengthy adjournment it is not uncommon for the Senate to receive numerous bills
from the House of Commons. During this period, the work of the Senate takes on
an accelerated pace as efforts are made to accommodate the House without
jeopardizing the constitutional role of the Senate to give proper and careful
consideration to legislation. Such was the case in the weeks before the Senate
adjourned for the summer on June 13 when twenty-three bills, at various stages
in the legislative process, were debated on the floor of the Senate.
On June 4, Adrienne
Clarkson, Governor General of Canada, granted Royal Assent to the following
bills:
- C-15A, An Act to amend the
Criminal Code and to amend other Acts
- S-40, An Act to amend the
Payment Clearing and Settlement Act
- S-34, An Act respecting Royal
Assent to bills passed by the Houses of Parliament
- C-23, An Act to amend the
Competition Act and the Competition Tribunal Act
One of these
bills was particularly significant because it made changes to the practice of
Royal Assent. Bill S-34, An Act respecting Royal Assent to bills passed by
the Houses of Parliament, establishes an alternative procedure of Royal
Assent, whereby a bill adopted by Parliament is made law through the approval
of the Crown. In addition to the traditional ceremony that takes place in the
Senate Chamber, it will now be possible to signify Royal Assent through a
declaration of the Crown that will be announced in both the Senate and the
House of Commons by their respective Speakers. Bill S-34 requires, however,
that the traditional ceremony be followed at least twice each calendar year.
Other bills
received Royal Assent on June 13:
- C-43, An Act to amend certain
Acts and instruments and to repeal the Fisheries Prices Support Act
- C-10, An Act respecting the
national marine conservation areas of Canada
- C-50, An Act to amend certain Acts
as a result of the accession of the People's Republic of China to the
Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization
- S-41, An Act to re-enact
legislative instruments enacted in only one official language
- C-59, An Act for granting to
Her Majesty certain sums of money for the public service of Canada for the
financial year ending March 31, 2003
- C-47, An Act respecting the
taxation of spirits, wine and tobacco and the treatment of ships' stores
- C-27, An Act respecting the long-term
management of nuclear fuel waste
On June 5,
2002, Senator Gerry St. Germain raised a question of privilege with
respect to Bill C-15B, a Criminal Code amendment dealing with cruelty to
animals. His complaint had to do with a press release issued by Liberal MP
Murray Calder which implied that a deal had been made with the Justice
Minister to accept a Senate amendment to the bill. He felt that the Minister of
Justice was giving the impression to the public that it was his decision, and
not the Senate's, that would determine the outcome of amendments proposed in
the Senate. This kind of political manipulation, Senator St. Germain contended,
clearly undermined the legislative role and independence of the Senate.
In his ruling
of June 11, 2002, Speaker Dan Hays did not find any basis for a prima
facie question of privilege or contempt, though he did note his concern
with the press release and the false impression given to the public that a
House of Parliament could be manipulated by a minister.
While the
consideration of legislation remained a top priority, there were also some
motions of a more general nature that were agreed to before the summer
adjournment. One of these marked the 250th anniversary of the Halifax
Gazette, the first published newspaper in Canada. A number of senators took
part in the debate on the motion before it was adopted on May 30. The fiftieth
anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne was the subject of another
motion marking a celebratory event. Senators were unanimous in their support
for a formal message of congratulations to Her Majesty on the occasion of her
Golden Jubilee, which was adopted on June 13.
Other motions
were of a more serious nature. Many senators participated in debate on a motion
to recognize the Armenian genocide and to designate April 24 as a day of
remembrance. Another motion expressed concern about the violent events and
threats to democracy in Colombia. Both were adopted on June 13.
Committees
Two reports
on special studies were tabled in the Senate. On June 6, the Energy, the
Environment and Natural Resources Committee tabled its Fifteenth Report
entitled "The International Aspects of Nuclear Reactor Safety", the
last of a two-part study on the issue of nuclear reactors. While concluding
that Canada's nuclear reactors are among the safest in the world, the report
also offered five recommendations to augment the current safety efforts in
Canada. The Agriculture and Forestry Committee tabled an interim report
entitled "Canadian Farmers at Risk" on June 13. The report contains
21 recommendations to guide the development of Canadian agriculture policy and
to improve the future health of agriculture in Canada. The committee's final
report is due by March of 2003.
On June 11,
the Twelfth Report of the Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament
Committee was adopted by the Senate. This report recommended amendments to the
Rules of the Senate that would implement the policy of the Senate as approved
in its Seventh report with respect to the recognition of third parties in the
Senate.
On May 30 the
Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations tabled its Sixth
Report which dealt with aboriginal communal fishing licenses regulations. On
the same day, the Senate adopted the Ninth Report of the Official Languages
Committee on its consideration of Privy Council Vote 35 in the Main Estimates
2002-2003.
Milestones
Tributes were
paid to the memory of Renaude Lapointe, P.C., former Speaker of the
Senate, who died on May 11 and to Senator Jim Tunney, who retired on
June 16 on reaching the age of 75.
Mary Mussell
Senate Journals
Quebec
On 14 June last, the
National Assembly adjourned its proceedings for the summer after having passed
37 public bills and 10 private bills. The following are among the more noteworthy
bills adopted during the spring session:
- the Act instituting civil unions and
establishing new rules of filiation, which creates an institution, the
civil union, for couples of the opposite or the same sex who wish to make
a public commitment to live together as a couple and to uphold the rights
and obligations stemming from such status.
- the Lobbying Transparency and Ethics
Act, whose purpose is to foster transparency in the lobbying of public
office holders and to ensure that lobbying activities are properly
conducted. A Lobbyists Commissioner will be appointed by the National
Assembly to monitor and control the activities of lobbyists.
- the Act to amend the Act respecting
the Ministère des Relations internationales and other legislative
provisions, which establishes a mechanism enabling the National
Assembly to approve any important international commitment the Government
intends to make either in respect of a Quebec international agreement or
an international accord pertaining to a matter within the constitutional
jurisdiction of Quebec.
- the Act to amend the Charter of the
French language, which establishes the Office québécois de la langue
française, whose mission is to define and conduct Quebec policy in the
areas of linguistic officialization, terminology and the francization of
the civil administration and enterprises.
- the Act to ensure the
implementation of the Agreement Concerning a new Relationship Between le
Gouvernement du Québec and the Crees of Quebec, which ensures the
implementation of the Agreement Concerning a New Relationship Between le
Gouvernement du Québec and the Crees of Quebec, signed on 7 February 2002. The
bill provides for the creation of the Cree Development Corporation,
establishes the Cree-Quebec Forestry Board and provides for the formation of
joint working groups for each Cree community affected by forest management
activities in the Territory;
- the Act to amend the Act
respecting prescription drug insurance and other legislative provisions,
which introduces amendments to the funding of the basic prescription drug
insurance plan. Furthermore, the bill establishes the Conseil du médicament,
whose main functions will be to assist the Minister in updating the list of
medications and to promote optimal use of medications.
- the Act to amend the Professional
Code and other legislative provisions as regards the health sector, which
establishes a new division in the fields of professional practice and
activities reserved to persons working in the health sector;
- the Act to amend the Act
respecting childcare centres and childcare services and the Act respecting the Ministère de la Famille et de
l’Enfance, which mainly provides that the Minister may not issue a permit
if there exists any impediment to its issue, that is, if the applicant or, in
the case of a legal person, one of its directors has exhibited behaviour that
poses a threat to the security of children or is charged with or has been
convicted of an indictable or criminal offence connected with the aptitudes
and conduct required to provide proper childcare;
- the Act to impose restrictions on
pig farming whose purpose was to suspend, between May 1 and June 15, 2002,
the issuance of certificates of authorization required under the Environment Quality Act with respect to pig
farming.
- the Act respecting the Quebec
correctional system, whose purpose is to establish the general principles
that are to guide the actions of correctional services of the Ministère de la
Sécurité publique, the Commission québécoise des libérations conditionnelles
and their community-based partners as well as all other stakeholders of the
correctional system as they exercise their respective functions.
- the Act to amend the Act
respecting the Ministère du Revenu and other legislative provisions as regards
the protection of confidential information, which gives greater precision
to the provisions relating to the confidentiality of fiscal information and
coordinates the application of those provisions and the provisions of the Act respecting Access to documents held by public bodies
and the Protection of personal information.
Standing Orders and Other Rules of
Procedure
The amendments to the Standing Orders and Other Rules of
Procedure with respect to the introduction and passage of a bill during the same
sessional period, the motion introducing an exceptional procedure, extraordinary
sittings and petitions, introduced on December 6, 2001, were extended on June 5
last and will be in effect until December 21, 2002. Other amendments, concerning
the election of the Speaker by secret ballot, were also carried on the same date
and will be in effect for the duration of the 36thLegislature.
Resignations and By-elections
On May 14, 2002, Gilles Baril
resigned as Member for Berthier. To fill this seat and those left vacant due to
the resignations of Messrs. Guy Chevrette, Jacques Brassard and David
Cliche last January, by-elections were held on June 17, 2002.
The by-election in the electoral division of Berthier was
won by the representative of the Action démocratique du Québec, Marie Grégoire. Two other candidates of this party were
elected in these by-elections: Sylvie Lespérance in
Joliette and François Gaudreau in Vimont. For its
part, the Parti Québécois kept the riding of Lac-Saint-Jean, in which Stéphan Tremblay, a former Bloc Québécois Member in
Ottawa, was elected.
The party standings in the Assembly are now as follows:
Parti Québécois, 69 Members; Quebec Liberal Party, 51 Members; Action
démocratique du Québec, 5 Members. No seats are vacant.
Interparliamentary Relations
On July 5, 2002, the Speaker of the Quebec National
Assembly, Louise Harel, became the first woman to
chair the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie. Mrs. Harel will hold this
office for a term of one year, until July 2003. In addition to chairing the
various institutions of the APF, she will represent this assembly among the
various national and international bodies.
The proceedings of the 28th ordinary session of the APF
took place in Bern, Switzerland, from 4 to 10 July last. On this occasion, a new
organization, the Network of Women Parliamentarians of the Assemblée
parlementaire de la Francophonie, was officially established. This network
unites women parliamentarians representing three regions of the APF, Africa,
Europe and America, and it is chaired by Hélène
Robert, the Member for Deux- Montagnes.
Parliamentarism and Democracy
The Minister responsible for the Reform of Democratic
Institutions, Jean-Pierre Charbonneau, announced the
creation, last March, of a Secrétariat for the reforme of democratic
institutions. On June 20, the Minister released a study paper entitled Le pouvoir aux citoyens et aux citoyennes on the basis
of which he is to chair and conduct a consultative and informational tour
throughout the province of Quebec during the summer and autumn of 2002. This
tour will be followed by the estates general on the democratic governance of
Quebec, in early 2003. The issues identified by the Government concern
particularly the political system, the voting procedure, the place of regions,
the role of Native nations in the governance of Quebec, the increased use of
referendums, the place of women in politics and the extension of young people’s
right to vote.
Parliamentary Simulations
On May 17, the Assembly welcomed 110 6th grade elementary
students who came together to take part in the sixth edition of the Student
Parliament. These young parliamentarians, representing the main regions of
Quebec, debated three bills they had drafted during the school year with the
help of their teachers: the Act obliging elementary
schools to establish a recycling programme, the Act
establishing an obligatory study period on national and international current
affairs in the 3rd elementary cycle, and the Act
obliging school boards to establish a study programme and visits in the
workplace. >
After
having given clause- by-clause consideration to the bills in the standing
committees, the young members finally gave their approval to two of these three
bills, negativing the Act establishing an obligatory
study period on national and international current affairs in the 3rd elementary
cycle.
Anne Deronzier
Secretariat of the National Assembly
Committees
Report
Since the previous report in the Review standing committees
have completed clause-by-clause consideration of 22 public bills and seven
private bills. Among these, the following should be noted:
Bill 95, An Act to amend the Act
respecting childcare centres and childcare services and the Act respecting the
Ministère de la Famille et de l’Enfance, whose purpose is to improve the
security of children who attend childcare centres. It also provides that the
Minister may not issue a permit if there exists any impediment to its issue,
that is, if the applicant or, in the case of a legal person, one of its
directors has exhibited behaviour that poses a threat to the security of
children or is charged with or has been convicted of an indictable or criminal
offence connected with the aptitudes and conduct required to provide proper
childcare
Bill 80, Lobbying Transparency
and Ethics Act, whose purpose is to foster transparency in the lobbying of
public office holders and to ensure that lobbying activities are properly
conducted. A Lobbyists Commissioner will be appointed by the National Assembly
to monitor and control the activities of lobbyists. The Lobbyists Commissioner
will also be responsible for drafting a code of conduct for lobbyists and for
making inquiries and inspections with respect to any contravention of the
provisions of the Act or the code of conduct.
Bill 98, An Act to amend the Act
respecting prescription drug insurance and other legislative provisions,
introduces amendments to the basic prescription drug insurance plan,
particularly by modifying financial provisions pertaining to the determination
of the premium, the deductible amount and the maximum contribution, to the
coinsurance percentage and to the funding of the prescription drug insurance
fund. This bill is the second to have been passed in the Assembly using the new
exceptional legislative procedure that has been temporarily in effect since
December 2001.
Bill 84, An Act instituting
civil unions and establishing new rules of filiation is based on the general
consultation, which was held by the Committee on Institutions last February, on
the draft bill entitled An Act instituting same-sex
civil unions and amending the Civil Code and other legislative provisions.
The bill creates an institution, the civil union, for couples of the opposite or
the same sex who wish to make a public commitment to live together as a couple
and to uphold the rights and obligations stemming from such status. The new
spouses will be permitted to enter into a contract establishing a civil union
regime, governed by the same rules as those applicable to matrimonial regimes
and marriage contracts.
The bill also amends the Civil
Code to add new assisted procreation rules and clarify adoption rules as
regards same-sex parents. Finally, it extends not only to civil union spouses
but also to same-sex or traditional de facto spouses the applicability of
certain provisions that pertain to such matters as consenting to the care
required by a person’s state of health.
In recent months, the Committee on Labour and the Economy
carried out an order of initiative on the issue of gasoline price variation and
its impact on Quebec’s economy. Last June 14, the Committee tabled in the
Assembly its final report which contains seven recommendations. The Committee
members recommend, among other measures, that the Government set aside a larger
portion of its income from the gasoline tax for the upkeep and construction of
Quebec’s road infrastructure; that the Energy Board increase its financial and
human resources and that this agency develop an expertise in Quebec with regard
to knowledge of the petroleum products market; that the Government examine more
closely the energy efficiency issue.
The Committee on Public Finance, for its part, within the
framework of an order of initiative on ethical investment, has decided to hold a
general consultation, in early September, based on a document prepared by the
Committee entitled “Corporate social responsibility and ethical
investment”.
By order of the Assembly, several Committees will hold
general consultations beginning at the end of the summer:
The Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food will hold
a general consultation on the draft bill entitled An Act
respecting commercial aquaculture, whose object more particularly is to
provide a framework for aquaculture carried on for commercial, research or
experimentation purposes.
The Committee on Social Affairs, for its part, will hear
the persons interested in Bill 112, An Act to combat
poverty and social exclusion, whose main goal is to improve the economic and
social situation of persons and families living in poverty or social exclusion
and to develop and reinforce the sense of solidarity and social cohesion
throughout Quebec. >
Finally, the Committee on Institutions will hold two general
consultations. The first will have reference to a document entitled “Measures
aiming to establish a new Code of Civil Procedure
and containing a proposal with regard to the first two volumes of this Code”. As
regards the second consultation, the Committee will hold hearings on Bill 109
which establishes an observatory to be known as the Observatoire québécois de la
mondialisation. The mission of the observatory is to further the understanding
of the phenomenon of globalization and provide dependable information enabling
the people of Québec to fully appreciate the issues at stake for the
nation.
Furthermore, the Committee on Public Finance will hear some
twenty agencies and businesses during a special consultation on Bill 107, An Act respecting the Agence nationale d’encadrement du
secteur financier. The purpose of this Bill is to change the regulatory
structure of Quebec’s financial sector. It creates a single regulatory body,
whose mission is to administer all the legislation governing the regulation of
the financial sector, in particular in the fields of insurance, securities,
deposit-taking institutions and the distribution of financial products and
services.
Denise Léonard
Secretariat of Committees
Translation: Sylvia
Ford
Secretariat of the National Assembly
Yukon
The 2002 Spring Sitting of the Second Session of the 30th
Legislature began on April 4 and ended on May 30. The Sitting saw, among other
things, the government lapse into a minority situation, 16 bills receive assent
(including a new electoral boundaries act), two questions of privilege and the
first, anti-climactic, application of new Standing Orders agreed to in the 2001
Fall Sitting.
Parliamentary Peregrinations
On April 2 three government private Members - Wayne Jim (McIntyre-Takhini), Mike McLarnon (Whitehorse Centre) and Don Roberts (Porter Creek North) - left the government
caucus to sit as independents. This move reduced the Liberal government's caucus
from 11 to 8, putting it into a minority position in the 17-seat legislature. It
also effectively left the governing party without any private members. The
Liberal government has had a seven-member cabinet since June 2001. The eighth
Liberal in the House is Speaker Dennis Schneider
(Whitehorse West).
The change from majority to minority government raised
constant speculation as to whether the session would be completed, or whether
Yukoners would face a spring election. It also led to procedural conundrums a
majority government would not have to face.
The migration of government private members was not the
only seat-switching, however. On May 7 Dennis Fentie
(Watson Lake) left his post as House Leader of the Official Opposition New
Democratic Party to become the second sitting Member of the Yukon Party, the
third party in the Assembly, which was then in the midst of a leadership race.
Mr. Fentie subsequently entered, and won, the race to lead the Yukon
Party.
After the Spring Sitting ended NDP leader Eric Fairclough announced a formal review of his
leadership would take place on September 21 in anticipation of a fall election.
Since then the review has developed into a leadership race as two other
individuals, including former Whitehorse Centre MLA Todd
Hardy, have announced their intention to contest Mr. Fairclough's
leadership.
Special Warrants
On March 14 Premier Pat Duncan
(Porter Creek South) announced that the government had obtained $282.3 million
in spending authority through special warrant to cover costs for the first three
months of the 2002-03 fiscal year. This was done because the legislature was not
set to reconvene until after the start of the fiscal year. The Leader of the
Official Opposition, Mr. Fairclough (Mayo-Tatchun), argued that the government
should have reconvened the Assembly before the beginning of the fiscal year so
that the government could obtain its spending authority through the legislature.
However, the government thought it best to wait until after April 1 as that was
the date a reorganization of government departments would take effect. Mr.
Fairclough subsequently sent a letter to Governor General Adrienne Clarkson asking for her advice as to the
constitutionality of Commissioner Jack Cable
granting a special warrant in this circumstance. In the letter Mr. Fairclough
mentioned Mr. Cable's previous connection to the Yukon Liberal Party (MLA,
1992-2000) and argued that in granting the spending authority the Commissioner
had politicized his position. No response was forthcoming from Rideau
Hall.
Electoral District Boundaries Act
On April 4 Speaker Schneider tabled the final report of the
Electoral District Boundaries Commission. On April 11 the government introduced
Bill No. 61, the Electoral District Boundaries Act, 2002
to give effect to the recommendations contained in the report.
The introduction of Bill No. 61 led to a procedural and
political struggle over the House's agenda. The opposition majority wanted to
deal with Bill No. 61 before approving the Operations and Maintenance estimates
for 2002-03. The government wanted the estimates approved before passing Bill
No. 61.
On April 29 Yukon Party leader Peter Jenkins (Klondike) introduced his own Electoral Districts Boundaries Act. This bill was, in
essence, the same act introduced by the government. Mr. Jenkins' goal was to
have the merits of redistribution debated regardless of the timing the
government chose to bring forward Bill No. 61. Mr. Jenkins' bill never did
receive full debate, however, and the Speaker subsequently ordered its
withdrawal it from the Order Paper after Bill No. 61 received third
reading.
A final note about Bill No. 61: The government designated
it a free vote. One government Member, Scott Kent
(Riverside) voted against the bill at second reading and both he and fellow
Cabinet Minister Cynthia Tucker (Mount Lorne) voted
against it at third reading. The three independent members also voted against
the bill. However the NDP and Yukon Party supported the bill and it received
third reading by a vote of 11-5.
Application of New Standing Orders
In the 2001 Fall Sitting the House adopted Standing Orders
that established a regular calendar of business for the Assembly. (For more
detail see the Yukon jurisdictional report in the Spring 2002 edition of this
journal.) The requirements of the new Standing Orders were met in the following
ways:
- On March 12, pursuant to Standing Order 73(2), Premier
Duncan wrote to the Speaker informing him that she wished to see the Assembly
called into session on April 4.
- Pursuant to Standing Order 74 all government legislation
to be dealt with during the Sitting was introduced by the fifth sitting day,
April 11.
- Pursuant to Standing Order 75(4) the Government House
Leader informed the Assembly on the seventh sitting day (April 16) that the
House Leaders had not reached an agreement on the number of sitting days to be
allocated to deal with the business before the House. Accordingly, the Speaker
ruled, pursuant to Standing Order 75(3) that the sitting would last 30 days,
ending May 28. The ruling was later modified when unanimous consent was
granted to a motion that the Assembly not sit on May 21 and 22. This agreement
did not affect the number of sitting days, only the date of the final
sitting day, which would now be May 30.
Due to some procedural wrangling
the final sitting day proved anti-climactic as far as the application of the new
Standing Orders was concerned. After the Daily Routine on May 28, the third to
last sitting day, the Government House Leader moved the standard motion that the
Speaker leave the Chair and the House resolve into Committee of the Whole. The
business then before the Committee was Bill No. 9, the Main Operations and
Maintenance estimates for 2002-03.
In a move unprecedented in the history of the Yukon
Legislative Assembly, the opposition majority called for a division on the
motion and defeated it. The Government therefore was prevented from dealing with
the budget and had to call forth seven bills then awaiting third reading. Once
those bills received third reading the Government had no other business to call
for the day.
Under Standing Order 13(1) (order of business) the House
proceeded to Motions other than Government Motions. As none had been designated
for that day the Assembly proceeded through the Order Paper from the beginning
with the Speaker calling forth motions in numerical order. Eventually
twenty-nine motions were called in this manner. However, opposition members did
not wish to debate these motions as they wanted the government to bring forward
Bill No. 61. They were able to defer debate on 26 of them, however, government
Members were able to debate three where debate had previously been
adjourned.
Having dealt with seven bills at third reading on May 28
only nine were left to be dealt with on the final sitting day, thereby reducing
the probability that the new 'guillotine' provisions of Standing Order 76 would
have to be used. These provisions would, at a designated hour, force the
Assembly to vote on outstanding business before it without debate or amendment
to conclude business that day. Still, Members did seem aware of the time and
when Committee of the Whole was dealing with the final bill before it the Chair
remarked that the committee was dealing with it “just under the
wire.” >
Another
procedural result of the Standing Orders was that no motion to adjourn was
necessary at the end of Day 30. As the Speaker had already ruled that the
Sitting would last 30 days and the Assembly had now dealt with all the business
before it, the Speaker had all the authority needed to adjourn the
House.
Questions of Privilege
The Speaker had to rule on two questions of privilege
during the 2002 Spring Sitting. Both questions were raised by independent
members.
The first Question of Privilege was raised by Mr. McLarnon
on April 8, 2002 on behalf of himself, Mr. Jim and Mr. Roberts. At issue was the
possession of, and access to, computer files and equipment belonging to those
members which they alleged was improperly accessed by government staff after
they left the Liberal caucus to sit as independents. Mr. McLarnon also alleged
government staff improperly kept these files and equipment from the
now-independent members. Mr. McLarnon argued this action breached his privileges
as a member because it interfered with his ability to properly represent his
constituents.
In his ruling on April 15 Speaker Schneider did not find
there to be a prima facie breach of privilege. He
concluded that the freedom of speech enjoyed by members does not extend to
communications between members and their constituents. He also noted that “the
members in question have been able to fully exercise freedom of speech while
participating in the proceedings of this Assembly despite the fact that their
files were withheld from them.”
The Speaker also concluded that the actions of government
staff did not constitute a contempt of the Assembly. He gave the benefit of the
doubt to those persons involved saying, “their actions may have been
attributable to a lack of proper direction and a lack of appreciation of the
independence of private members.”
In prescribing a remedy the Speaker directed the Clerk to
develop a draft protocol to deal with situations of this kind. The draft
protocol is to be presented to the Members' Services Board for review and
adoption. The protocol is in development at the time of this
writing.
Mr. Jim raised the second question of privilege on April
18, 2002. The question arose from a comment made by the Minister of Health and
Social Services, Sue Edelman (Riverdale South,
Liberal) and a letter the Minister sent to the Chief of a local first nation.
These comments and the letter were in response to questions Mr. Jim had asked in
question period regarding first nations children in government care. Mr. Jim had
suggested the Minister meet with the Chief and council of the first nation to
rebuild trust between them. In response Mrs. Edelman said, “First of all, I
didn't realize that the member opposite is suddenly representing” the first
nation. Later that day the Minister reiterated her curiosity in a letter to the
Chief of the first nation.
In raising the question of privilege Mr. Jim said the
minister had questioned his right to represent his constituents. This, he
argued, constituted a contempt of the Assembly because it was “an attempt to
intimidate members of my constituency and silence me.”
In his ruling of April 23, 2002 Speaker Schneider
concluded, “the minister's words and actions do not constitute a prima facie breach of privilege or a contempt of the
Assembly.” The Speaker was not convinced “that the words and actions of the
Minister of Health and Social Services have, directly or indirectly, had the
effect of obstructing or impeding the member in the discharge of his duties.” At
the same time the Speaker said statements that suggest a member is representing
someone other than his or her constituents are not in order as they are an
imputation of false or unavowed motive, in contravention of Standing Order
19(g). The Speaker suggested that, in future, members who are concerned about
such statements raise them as a point of order when they are made.
Legislation
In addition to the Second
Appropriation Act, 2002-03 and the Electoral
District Boundaries Act, 2002 the following 14 bills received assent during
the 2002 Spring Sitting:
- Third Appropriation Act, 2001-02;
- Official Tree Act;
- Act to Amend the Income Tax Act (No.5);
- Act to Amend the Tobacco Tax Act (No.2);
- Government Organisation Act
- Act to Amend the Economic Development Act
- Government Accountability Act
- Act to Amend the Access to Information and Protection of
Privacy Act;
- Act to Amend the Employment Standards
Act;
- Spousal Compensation Act;
- Act to Amend the Dental Profession Act;
- Corporate Governance Act;
- Act to Amend the Financial Administration Act;
and
- Act to Amend the Workers' Compensation Act.
Appointments
On April 4, 2002 the Legislative Assembly re-appointed Hendrik (Hank) Moorlag to a second five-year term as
the Yukon's Ombudsman and Information and Privacy Commissioner. On May 13 the
Legislative Assembly approved a motion appointing David
Phillip Jones, QC, of Edmonton, Alberta to a three-year term as the Yukon's
Conflicts Commissioner. Both appointments entailed a recorded division as the Ombudsman Act and the Conflict
of Interest (Members and Ministers) Act require that the appointments be
approved by two-thirds of the Members of the Assembly. Both appointments
received unanimous approval.
The legislature is scheduled to reconvene on October 17 for
the 2002 Fall Sitting.
Floyd McCormick
Deputy Clerk
Yukon Legislative Assembly
House of
Commons
Prior to adjourning for the summer on Thursday, June 20th,
the House of Commons passed a number of controversial bills including Bill C-5,
the Species at Risk Act and Bill C-15B, a
legislative package aimed at amending the Criminal
Code in relation to cruelty to animals and firearms. In both cases, time
allocation was invoked by the government. In addition, the government's
pesticides legislation passed in June and a new legislative package aimed at
implementing the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention was introduced and sent
to a legislative committee.
On June 11th the Prime Minister tabled his long-awaited
ethics guidelines for members of Cabinet, following months of controversy about
alleged conflict of interest on the part of several key Ministers. The ethics
package, contained three documents: A Guide for
Ministers and Secretaries of State; the Ministry and Crown Corporations and; the
Ministry and Activities for Personal Political Purposes. The new guidelines
will require cabinet ministers to reveal within 30 days the names of donors to
underground leadership campaigns. As well as restricting the activities of
cabinet members, the guidelines provide more independence to the federal ethics
counsellor, although they do not provide for an arms' length counsellor who
would report directly to Parliament. The new rules prohibit Ministers from
lobbying Crown corporations that fall within their portfolios. The Prime
Minister also promised legislation this fall that will limit contributions by
corporations and unions, and require all political donations to be
reported.
In addition, the Government brought forward a motion to
create a Special Joint Committee on a Code of Conduct to review and recommend
action based on the work of a previous special joint committee. Several
amendments, and a sub-amendment were moved to the main motion, and following
debate and a call for a recorded division, the vote on the sub-amendment was
deferred until the House returns on Wednesday, September 18th.
The annual statement of “Individual Member's Expenditures”
was tabled by the Speaker in early June. A take-note debate on the review of the
Canadian health care system by the Romanow Commission took place on June
7th.
Procedure
New procedures related to the consideration of the Main
Estimates, put in place as a result of the implementation last fall of the Report of the Special Committee on the Modernization and
Improvement of the Procedures of the House of Commons, were put to the test
this spring as the Commons held its first debates in Committee of Whole on the
votes under the Main Estimates for two departments.
The debates on votes under the departments of National
Defence and Public Works and Government Services were held on the evenings of
May 7th and June 4th respectively. At the beginning of the first session, the
Chairman of the Committee of the Whole Bob Kilger
made a statement concerning the rules of debate under the new procedure.
At the termination of each debate, pursuant to the new rules, the Votes
considered were deemed reported back to the House without amendment.
Pursuant to the rule changes, the Leader of the Opposition also proposed a
motion, which was deemed adopted, to extend the consideration of the votes under
Agriculture and Agri-Food in the Main Estimates beyond May 31, 2002.
On May 27th, on a motion by Marlene
Catterall, the Chief Government Whip, amendments were made to Standing Order 104 to provide for the creation of a new
sixteen-member Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates. The
mandate of the new committee will be to review the effectiveness, management and
operation as well as the expenditure plans, and supplementary estimates of
central government departments and agencies. In addition the new committee will
be charged with the review of the reports of the Privacy Commissioner, the
Access to Information Commission, the Public Service Commission and the Ethics
Counsellor (in relation to his or her responsibilities under the Lobbyists' Registration Act). Finally, the new
committee is charged with reviewing and reporting on the process for considering
the estimates and supply, including the format and content of all estimates
documents.
Privilege
On June 13th, following the Weekly Statement by the Leader
of the Government in the House of Commons, Garry
Breitkreuz (CA) raised a question of privilege to charge the Minister of
Finance John Manley (Lib.), with contempt for his
failure to comply with the legislative requirement compelling the Minister to
table a report from the Chief Actuary on Bill C-53 (An
Act to amend the Canada Pension Plan and the Canada Pension Plan Investment
Board Act), in compliance with Section 115 of the Canada Pension Act. Following a statement from the
Speaker that he would take the matter under advisement, Government House Leader
Don Boudria later returned to the House to confirm
that the Bill would not be called at that time, as he was still waiting for an
indication on the status of the Chief Actuary's report. The following day,
Mr. Boudria again rose in the House and explained that the Minister had not yet
received the report in question and therefore was not in a position to table it.
He added that there was nothing in the legislation to prevent the House
from proceeding with the Bill. Following an intervention by Richard Harris (CA), the Speaker ruled that the
Government House Leader had reported on the situation, and that the Chair was
satisfied that there had been no breach of the rules. He indicated
therefore, that the Deputy Speaker could proceed to consideration of the Bill as
had been scheduled for later that day. The matter was raised again on
Monday, June 17th by Scott Reid (CA) during debate
for second reading of the bill. He moved an amendment asking that the
House not give second reading to the bill given that it had not been accompanied
by a Report from the Chief Actuary of Canada. The Acting Speaker Réginald Belair ruled that the matter of the
Chief Actuary's report had already been dealt with by the Speaker, and
furthermore drew the Member's attention to the fact that the report in question
had in fact been tabled earlier that day. Consequently, he ruled the
amendment out of order. On Friday, June 21st, Rob
Anders (CA) moved another amendment to the effect that the House decline to
give second reading to the bill, again citing the lack of tabling of the Chief
Actuary's report. After discussion the Acting Speaker, Eleni Bakopanos ruled the amendment in order, the
question was put on the amendment and the recorded division deferred until
Wednesday, September 18th when the House resumes following the summer
recess.
Committees
The Standing Committee on Public Accounts began hearings
into the Report of the Auditor General of Canada dated May 8th, 2002 relating to
contracts awarded by the Department of Public Works and Government Services to
Groupaction Communications. A number of witnesses have appeared before the
Committee including Sheila Fraser, the Auditor
General and Ranald Quail, the former Deputy Minister
of the department. Two witnesses, considered to be key to the Committee
study, Charles Guité and Pierre Tremblay, both former executive directors of the
sponsorship branch at Public Works, were invited to appear but refused to do so
because of the ongoing RCMP investigation into the matter. The Committee
subsequently issued a summons for Mr. Guité to appear. In the case of both
former bureaucrats, legal counsel appeared on their behalf in early July. On
July 9th the Committee voted not to hear further witnesses until after the
Auditor General and RCMP had concluded their investigations of the matter.
The Committee subsequently met on July 25th further to a written request
by four Committee members pursuant to Standing Order
106(3) who were calling upon the Committee to investigate further contracts
issued by the government to a number of communications companies. The
majority of Committee members voted down the request.
On June 4th, John Reynolds, the
Opposition House Leader, rose on a point of order in relation to a meeting
scheduled for the Standing Committee on Transport later that morning, arguing
that as a result of the changes to the Standing
Orders made on May 27th, two new committees had been created and that the
new membership lists for the two committees had not yet been reported to the
House by the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. In
conclusion Mr. Reynolds argued that the Committee could not meet for two
reasons: there was no membership; and the 48 hours' notice required to
call such a meeting had not been respected.
Later in the day, the Speaker delivered a ruling on the
matter, concurring that the notice for the meeting was not valid as it violated
the Order made on May 27th. He stated that he had issued instructions for
corrective measures to be taken, and in the case of the new Standing Committee
on Transport, that the usual practices regarding the organization of newly
constituted committees be followed. The 64th Report of the Procedure and House
Affairs Committee naming members to the two new committees was presented on
Wednesday, June 5th and concurred in on June 6th. The organization of the two
committees followed. Elections were held for the positions of chair of the two
committees. The chair of the new Government Operations and Estimates
committee is Reg Alcock, and the chair of the
Transport committee is Ovid Jackson. >
In
other changes, as a result of the Cabinet shuffle announced on May 26th, Jean Augustine became Secretary of State for
Multiculturalism and the Status of Women, leaving the chair of the Standing
Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade vacant. On June 13th,
Bernard Patry (Pierrefonds– Dollard) was elected to
fill the position. On May 28th, as a result of the same cabinet shuffle,
the Board of Internal Economy announced that Mr. Boudria, who returned to his
former position as Government House Leader would be appointed to replace Ralph Goodale (the new Public Works Minister) as a
Member of the Board. On May 29th, the Speaker announced the appointment of
Mr. Kilger (Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees of the Whole) as the chair
of the newly created legislative committee charged with the study of Bill
C-55.
During the months of May and June the usual flurry of
Committee activity occurred to report back to the House prior to the summer
recess. A number of key committee reports were presented including the
following:
- Registration of Pesticides and the Competitiveness of
Canadian Farmers; Labelling of Genetically
Modified Food and its Impacts on Farmers and The
Future Role of the Government in Agriculture (Standing Committee on
Agriculture and Agri-Food);
- Competing for Immigrants (Standing Committee on Citizenship and
Immigration);
- Foreign Overfishing: its Impacts and
Solutions (Standing Committee on Fisheries and
Oceans);
- Promoting Equality in the Federal Jurisdiction: Review of
the Employment Equity Act (Standing Committee on Human Resources and Development
and the Status of Persons with Disabilities);
- Building an Effective New Round of WTO Negotiations: Key
Issues for Canada; and Securing Progress for Africa
and the World - A Report on Canadian Priorities for the 2002 G8 Summit
(Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade);
- Facing our Responsibilities – the State of Readiness of
the Canadian Forces (Report of the Standing Committee on National Defence
and Veterans Affairs);
- Canada's Innovation Strategy: Peer Review and the
Allocation of Federal Research Funds (Standing Committee on Industry, Science and
Technology);
- Review of the Mental Disorder Provisions of the Criminal
Code (Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights);
and
- The Justice System and Official Language Minority
Communities (Standing Joint Committee on Official
Languages).
Legislation
In addition to the passage through the Commons of
legislation relating to endangered species, cruelty to animals, firearms and
pesticides a number of other bills received third reading. These include
Bill C-47 (An Act respecting the taxation of spirits,
wine and tobacco and the treatment of ships' stores), Bill C-48 (An Act to Amend the Copyright Act), and C-54 (An Act to promote physical activity and
sport).
Bill S-7 (An Act to amend the
Broadcasting Act), was sent to the House Standing Committee on Canadian
Heritage where it was subject to some controversy during the clause-by-clause
consideration. A ruling by the Chair that certain amendments were out of order
was overturned. Pursuant to Standing Order 97.1 the bill was deemed
reported back to the House on June 6th, following a failed attempt by Committee
members to seek an extension to the reporting deadline imposed on the Committee
by the House. A number of new bills were introduced towards the end of the
sitting, several of which have sparked controversy in the House. These
include:
- Bill C-58 (the Canada Pension
Plan and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Act)
- Bill C-60 (An Act to establish
the Canadian Centre for the Independent Resolution of First Nations Specific
Claims to provide for the filing, negotiation and resolution of specific
claims and to make related amendments to other Acts)
- C-61 (An Act respecting
leadership selection, administration and accountability of Indian bands, and
to make related amendments to other Acts).
Finally, the Appropriation Act
(2002-2003) passed in the Commons on June 6th received Royal Assent on June
13, 2002.
Private Members' Business
During Private Members' Business on May 2nd, and the debate
on a motion by Murray Calder (Lib.) on firefighters'
pensions, Monty Solberg (CA) moved an amendment to
strengthen the wording of the motion. The Deputy Speaker stated that he
would take the amendment under advisement. Pat
Martin (NDP) rose on a point of order and stated that the amendment did not
have a Royal Recommendation, and therefore did not comply with the rules
governing Private Members' Business. Maurice
Vellacott (CA) rose on a point of order and stated that the amendment would
not place a burden on the public purse. Ms. Catterall (Chief Government Whip)
stated that given that there appeared to be general will of the House to adopt
the main motion, she asked that the Member for Medicine Hat withdraw his
amendment to allow the House to proceed to the question. At this point,
the Deputy Speaker ruled the amendment in order, stating that he had examined
the amendment with reference to the terms of Standing
Order 79 and found that it would not effect an appropriation of any part of
the public revenue for which a Royal Recommendation would be required.
Both the amendment and motion were agreed to. >
On May
9th an attempt was made to reinstate Keith Martin's
(CA) Bill C-344 (An Act to amend the Contraventions
Act and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (marihuana)). Réal Ménard (BQ) asked for consent of the House to
submit to the Chair a letter signed by 81 Members objecting to the manner in
which the Government majority had disposed of the bill. During the debate
for second reading of the bill on Monday, February 18, 2002 John Maloney (Lib.) moved an amendment to have the bill
withdrawn and the subject matter referred to Committee. Subsequently, the
amendment was agreed to on Wednesday, April 17, 2002, and the main motion, as
amended, was also agreed to). Mr. Ménard added that when Members discerned that
a Private Members' bill had been deemed votable but had not been voted on, many
believed that a breach of their parliamentary privileges had occurred. He asked
that Mr. Martin be allowed to introduce another bill on the same subject matter
that would be deemed votable as soon as possible. After an intervention of the
then Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Mr. Goodale, Lib.), the
Speaker stated that the Chair had already ruled the amendment to Bill C-344
admissible and based on the precedents, he had concluded that such an amendment
to any bill before the House would be in order. He added that a study of
Private Members' Business was currently underway by the Standing Committee on
Procedure and House Affairs and suggested that the Member and his colleagues who
signed the letter, appear before the Committee to recommend changes to the
Standing Orders. In closing, the Speaker indicated that he was obliged to
enforce the rules of the House, but did not have the authority to change them.
He added that he would forward the letter to the Chair of the Committee
immediately, suggesting the Committee examine the proposals.
The Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs did
indeed study the issues raised by Members during its examination of the Standing
Orders and Private Members' Business. In its 66th Report presented to the
House on June 12th, the Committee made a number of recommendations aimed at
addressing concerns discussed by Members during a Round Table session held on
May 2nd. The basic principles of the proposal were as follows:
1. Each eligible Member should have at least one
opportunity per Parliament to have an item of Private Members' Business debated
in the House of Commons.
2. Unless deemed "non-admissible," each item on the Order
of Precedence would be votable, unless the sponsor opted to make it
non-votable.
3. Eligible Members would retain the right to present as
many motions and introduce as many bills as they wished, as is currently the
case.
4. Members would be called upon to participate in the first
round of Private Members' Business at the beginning of the period.
5. Members must have at least one item on the Order Paper
to qualify for the draw.
6. Draws for names would be held as required and would
continue until all eligible Members wishing to participate had the opportunity
to do so. Subsequent rounds would follow if time permitted.
7. This new procedure would be adopted on a pilot project
(provisional) basis from the fall of 2002 to the end of the 37th Parliament, provided that it was subject to a
review by the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs after one
year.
Under the proposal, the order of precedence would consist
of 40 items; subsequent draws would be held when the number of items on the
Order of Precedence falls below 20. The order of precedence would continue from
session to session within a Parliament, and, therefore, be unaffected by any
prorogation.
Under the new procedure all items would be votable unless
they are found to be "non-admissible." It was proposed that this decision be
made by a panel consisting of one Member from each recognized party in the
House. The panel would be able to report directly to the House, and would no
longer be a sub-committee of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House
Affairs. A number of further recommendations were made to guide the panel
in its work, although the criteria to guide the selection of items was left to
the panel to determine. >
The
Committee also emphasized that it was recommending that the package of changes
be implemented on a provisional basis, until the end of the 37th Parliament,
with a review of how effective the changes were within one year of their
implementation. It was anticipated that the House would concur in the
Committee's report prior to the summer recess, however the matter has been put
off until the fall.
Other Matters
The Speaker announced two vacancies in May, caused by the
resignations of Bloc Québecois members Stéphan
Tremblay (Lac Saint Jean-Saguenay) and Michel
Bellehumeur (Berthier-Montcalm). The House also welcomed seven new
members as a result of the by-elections held across the country in May: Rex Barnes (Gander-Grand Falls, PC), John Efford (Bonavista- Trinity-Conception, Lib.), Lisa Frulla (Verdun-Saint Henri-Saint Paul-Pointe
Saint- Charles, Lib.), Brian Masse (Windsor-West,
NDP), Massimo Pacetti (Saint- Léonard, Lib.), Raymond Simard (Saint-Bonifice, Lib.) and Stephen Harper (Calgary Southwest, CA).
On Thursday, May 9th, during Statements by Members, Wendy Lill (NDP), Peter MacKay
(PC) and Geoff Regan (Lib.), in honour of the
10th anniversary Westray Mine of the disaster, paid tribute to the memory of the
26 coal miners who lost their lives in the mine.
Nancy Hall
Procedural Clerk
Table Research Branch
House Proceedings Directorate
Northwest
Territories
On Tuesday, June 11, 2002, the Fifth Session of the 14th Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories
reconvened. Spanning only nine days, this summer session saw a number of bills
given Royal Assent, including some of major significance to the NWT.
Tony Whitford, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, opened the Session
with a speech remembering Goo Arlooktoo, a former
Member who passed away on April 30, 2002. Mr. Arlooktoo was a Member for Baffin
South from 1995 to 1999, and later returned to live and work in Nunavut upon the
creation of the new territory. Vince Steen, Minister
of Public Works and Services, and Mr. Whitford traveled to Iqaluit to attend Mr.
Arlooktoo's funeral and to represent the Legislative Assembly of the
NWT.
During this Session, most of the Regular Members expressed
concern with Cabinet's decision to waive its own Business Incentive Policy (BIP)
during construction of the North Slave Correctional Facility. The BIP allows
local businesses to be competitive with larger southern firms by giving northern
businesses a competitive advantage when bidding on government-sponsored
contracts. Cabinet explained that they waived the policy in an effort to reduce
increasing costs in this project because construction was exceeding the original
projected amount.
In the House on June 13, 2002, Sandy Lee, Member for Range Lake, presented the Report of the Special Committee on the Implementation of
Self-Government and the Sunset Clause. Co-chaired by Sandy Lee and Jim Antoine, Deputy Premier, the Committee was tasked
with examining the Sunset Clause, or Section 2 of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act. This
Clause was added to the Act by the 13th Assembly and reflected the Members'
concerns over the allocation of seats for the 14th Assembly. After extensive
public consultations, the Special Committee recommended that the Sunset Clause
be repealed and that the 14th Assembly enact legislation to establish an
electoral district boundaries commission. These recommendations were
subsequently adopted by the Legislature. The Special Committee is now ready to
undertake the second phase of its mandate: considering how the Legislative
Assembly and the Government of the Northwest Territories may be impacted by the
implementation of Aboriginal self-government.
A number of Standing Committee reports were tabled during
the Fifth Session, including The Standing Committee on Accountability and
Oversight's Report on the Review of the Languages
Commissioner's Annual Report, 2000-01 and the Report
on the Review of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy
Commissioner's 2000-01 Annual Report.
The Progress Report on the Review
of the Official Languages Act was tabled in the House on June 18, 2002 by
Committee Chair Steven Nitah, Member for Tu Nedhe.
The Special Committee on the Review of the Official Languages Act was
established in 2000 to review the effectiveness of the NWT's Official Languages Act. >
National Aboriginal Day
June 21st marked the first time that National Aboriginal
Day was celebrated as a statutory holiday in the NWT. “Today we celebrate what
makes us different,” said Premier Stephen Kakfwi. To
honour this historic occasion, Governor General Adrienne
Clarkson visited Yellowknife to attend National Aboriginal Day festivities.
The Northwest Territories became the first jurisdiction in Canada to recognize
National Aboriginal Day as a statutory holiday.
The Legislative Assembly, in partnership with the Ministry
of Aboriginal Affairs, the Living History Society and the Office of the Official
Languages Commissioner, launched a limited edition CD entitled ‘O Canada: The
True North Strong and Free.’ The CD features Canada's national anthem sung in
four of the NWT's official languages. A full version CD including versions
sung in all of the official languages will be distributed to communities and
schools in the North, and will be available to the general public for purchase
in September.
Legislation
Eight bills received Royal Assent during the Fifth Session
of the 14th Legislative Assembly. Three of particular significance
include:
- Bill 5, An Act to Amend the
Adoption Act and the Family Law Act, amends two Acts to extend the
definition of "spouse" to include individuals in same-sex relationships. The
new definition in the Adoption Act will allow
same-sex couples to adopt a child, and will allow a same-sex spouse to adopt
his or her spouse's child. The new definition in the Family Law Act will entitle a same-sex spouse to
support, division of property and orders respecting the family home under that
Act.
- Bill 8, An Act to Amend the
Nursing Profession Act and the Pharmacy Act, amends the Nursing Profession Act to authorize nurse
practitioners, who are parties to collaborative practice agreements, to
practice at pilot project sites designated by the Minister. The Bill sets
qualifications for the registration of nurse practitioners and provides for
the development and approval of guidelines respecting their practice. Minor
amendments are also made to a number of provisions to ensure the parallel
treatment of certificates of registration, temporary certificates of exemption
and, where applicable, certificates of registration as a nurse practitioner.
This Bill also amends the Pharmacy Act so that
pharmaceutical chemists may fill prescriptions signed by nurse
practitioners.
- Bill 12, An Act to Amend the
Elections Act, provides for the appointment of a Deputy Chief Electoral
Officer, fixes the term for the appointment of returning officers, and permits
returning officers to vote. The minimum election period is shortened from 45
to 28 days, and a permanent register of electors is established. Additionally,
a variety of minor improvements or corrections are made to the
Act.
The Fifth Session of the 14th Legislative Assembly of the
Northwest Territories will reconvene on Tuesday, October 16, 2002.
Tasha Wasylkiw
Public Affairs Assistant
British
Columbia
A total of 58 Government Bills, five Private Members' Bills
and two Private Bills were tabled in the House during the Spring Sitting of the
Third Session. By the time the Spring Sitting adjourned, 51 of the
Government Bills were passed by the Assembly; the remaining six received First
Reading and were left on the Order Paper. During the last week of the
sitting, the procedure of time allocation was invoked when the House adopted a
schedule for debate to conclude government business by May 30, 2002.
Legislation
Three major labour laws were passed during the latter part
of the Spring Sitting, which address issues regarding workplace relationships in
British Columbia. The Employment Standards
Amendment Act (Bill 48) allows for the traditional 40-hour workweek to be
modified by agreements between employer and employee. In addition, Bill 48
simplifies workplace rules regarding record-keeping and mandatory workplace
notices, reduces minimum daily hours of work, and imposes tougher, mandatory
penalties for employers who mistreat employees.
The Labour Relations Code Amendment
Act, 2002 (Bill 42) addresses issues related to the governance structure and
mandate of the Labour Relations Board (LRB). With the passage of the bill,
the LRB is now mandated to apply the Labour Code and perform other duties in
accordance with six existing principles and two new ones - one recognizing the
specific rights of employees, employers and trade unions, and another ensuring
that the "economic viability" of a company is a factor considered in LRB
rulings. Bill 42 also grants employers the same right as labour unions
already have to communicate with employees at the time of a certification
drive.
Another piece of labour legislation – the Workers Compensation Amendment Act (Bill 49) – revises
the inflation-indexing formula, makes changes to compensation and retirement
benefits, and clarifies coverage for mental stress. This Bill also establishes a
new governance structure for the Workers Compensation Board, with a board of
directors replacing the temporary panel of administrators.
In the area of forestry legislation, two major bills were
introduced with reference to the Forest Act.
First, the Protected Areas Forests Compensation
Act (Bill 39) applies the existing compensation provisions in section 60 of
the Forest Act to outstanding claims arising from
the establishment of parks, protected areas and ecological reserves under land
use planning initiatives between 1995 and 2003. Secondly, the Forest (First Nations Development) Amendment Act (Bill
41) seeks to provide First Nations with opportunities to participate in the
forestry-related economic development. With the passage of Bill 41, the
Minister of Forests now has the powers to invite a First Nation to apply
directly for forest tenures in furtherance of treaty-related or economic
measures agreements between the government and that First Nation.
The House also passed the Environmental Assessment Act (Bill 38), which allows
the environmental assessment office to tailor assessment procedures to the
unique circumstances and issues of each project, replacing the previous one-
size-fits-all approach. Other changes under the new Act include: allowing
the environmental assessment office to waive environmental assessments for
certain projects but still retaining other requirements such as permitting and
compliance with performance standards; allowing projects that appear to have no
reasonable prospects for success to be referred to ministers to seek an early
"no" decision; and giving proponents more choice of procedures, including opting
into the environmental assessment process. Amendments were also made to
the Reviewable Projects Regulation, which outlines
project categories that are subject to review under the Environmental Assessment Act.
Future legislation
In keeping with its election commitment to provide local
governments with greater autonomy, on May 28 the government tabled a White Paper
entitled The Community Charter: A New Legislative
Framework for Local Government. This document seeks public input on
the anticipated legislation, which would recognize municipalities as an order of
government; provide municipalities with broad powers, including powers to gather
revenue from additional sources; and require municipalities to operate under new
public accountability mechanisms. The proposed legislation would also
address conflict of interest and other ethical conduct issues.
As noted above, toward the close of the Spring Sitting, the
government introduced five exposure bills to facilitate public discussion during
the summer. These include:
- Bill (No. 47) – the Business
Corporations Act, which will replace the 1993 Company Act and change how companies are created,
dissolved, organized and managed in the province;
- Bill (No. 53) – the Human Rights
Code Amendment Act, 2002, which will eliminate the Human Rights Commission
and the Human Rights Advisory Council, and provide complainants with direct
access to the Human Rights Tribunal; and
- Bill (No. 57) – the Transportation Investment Act, which will allow the
Ministry of Transportation to enter into public-private partnerships to
construct, improve, operate and maintain highways.
These bills will be debated when the House resumes on
October 7.
Referendum Results
As reported in previous issues, drawing upon work done by
the Select Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs during the Second Session,
the government conducted a referendum on the principles of treaty negotiations –
using the method of mail-in ballots. Individual ballots had to be received by
May 15 at 4:30pm, and the results of the referendum were submitted to the
Speaker on July 3. Elections BC reported that 763,480 ballots were
considered during the count, representing about 36% of registered voters in BC,
and that affirmative responses on all eight questions ranged from 84 to 95 per
cent of validly cast votes.
Statutory Officers
Various independent offices of the BC Legislature recently
underwent changes. For example, under the Office
for Children and Youth Act, the Office of the Child, Youth and Family
Advocate will be eliminated and replaced by a new Child and Youth
Officer.
The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner also
underwent changes. On May 30, the Special Committee to Review the Police
Complaint Process reported that the Police Complaint Commissioner, Don Morrison, had tendered his resignation to the
Speaker. The committee, chaired by John Nuraney
(Burnaby- Willingdon), has since continued its deliberations in regard to
the complaint procedures outlined in Part 9 of the Police Act, and will issue its Second Report by August
9 to conclude its work. On a related note, on July 31, the Auditor General
also released the results of his review of financial management issues in the
Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner. >
A
Special Committee to Appoint a Police Complaint Commissioner has been struck.
Another Special Committee has also been appointed to select a new Chief
Electoral Officer, due to the retirement of the incumbent, Robert Patterson, on June 6, 2002. Currently, Benjamin Casson, QC, and Linda
Johnson are serving as the Acting Police Complaint Commissioner and the
Acting Chief Electoral Officer respectively.
Other Committee Activity
Three select standing committees have recently become
active again. The Finance and Government Services Committee and the Public
Accounts Committee were each re-appointed with a similar membership and mandate
as in the previous session. The respective committees re-elected Blair Lekstrom (Peace River South) and Jenny Kwan (Vancouver-Mount Pleasant) as Chairs.
In July, the Crown Corporations Committee, chaired by Ken Stewart (Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows), began its
review process of the service plans and annual reports of Crown Corporations,
selecting the British Columbia Buildings Corporation as the first provincial
Crown to undergo a review by a legislative committee since 1983.
Audrey Chan
Assistant Researcher
Office of the Clerk of Committees
Manitoba
The Third Session of the Thirty-Seventh Legislature
concluded at 6:57 a.m. August 9, 2002. The final day began at 8:30 a.m.
August 8 and saw the House sitting right through the night. By leave,
several Standing Committees met concurrently with the House throughout the day
and evening.
Legislation
In all, 57 Bills received Royal Assent this session,
including:
- Bill 3 - The Highway Traffic
Amendment and Summary Convictions Amendment Act which provides for police
forces to use photo-radar systems and red-light cameras
- Bill 5 - The Workers Compensation
Amendment Act which establishes that if a full-time fire-fighter gets a
certain type of cancer, the dominant cause of the disease is their
employment
- Bill 9 - The Canadian Forces
Personnel (Amendments Relating to Voting Rights and Driving Privileges) Act
which eases restrictions on Manitoba residents who are members of the
Canadian Forces with regards to voting rights and driver licensing
provisions
- Bill 14 - The Public Schools
Modernization Act (Public Schools Act Amended) which enables the minister
to make regulations after school divisions and school districts are
amalgamated and establishes a process for resolving issues about the transfer
of assets, liabilities and employees from former divisions to new
ones
- Bill 34 - The Charter Compliance
Act amends 56 Manitoba Acts to bring them into compliance with the Charter primarily in the areas of adoption, conflict
of interest, protection of the public interest and discrimination (during our
last session legislation dealing with support and certain pension and death
benefit provisions applicable to persons in common-law relationships was
amended to comply with the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in M. v. H.)
- Bill 39 - The City of Winnipeg
Charter Act - a major overhaul of the City's governing Act which includes
new tools to deal with key concerns including downtown renewal, economic
development, neighbourhood revitalisation and broader powers to allow the city
to manage its affairs
Of all the Bills this session none
attracted more attention than Bill 14 - The Public
Schools Modernization Act. Introduced in the House on May 2 and receiving
Royal Assent on July 17, consideration of Bill 14 dominated House business
throughout most of June and early July with the intense debate on the Bill
lasting almost six weeks.
The purpose of the Bill (sponsored by the Minister of
Education, Training and Youth, Drew Caldwell) was to
reduce the number of school divisions in the province by one-third through the
merger of various divisions, create new division boundaries throughout Manitoba,
and cap administrative costs to redirect resources from boardrooms to the
province's classrooms.
The official opposition, primarily represented in this
debate by Harold Gilleshammer, Education Critic,
was opposed to some of the principles of Bill 14, suggesting that the Bill
may not have been necessary to achieve the proposed amalgamations and that it
could lead to increased costs for school divisions. The opposition also
expressed concerns about the new administrative structure laid out in the
Bill.
Standing Committee Activity
The Standing Committees have been very busy since our last
report:
- The Standing Committee on Industrial Relations met three
times, considering four Bills
- The Standing Committee on Law Amendments met on 13
occasions, considering 40 Bills
- The Standing Committee on Privileges and Elections met
four times, considering Elections Manitoba Reports, one Bill, and the 2002
Report of the Judicial Compensation Committee
- The Standing Committee on Public Utilities and Natural
Resources met twice to consider Annual Reports
- The Standing Committee on Public Accounts met on four
occasions to consider Reports from the Office of the Auditor General, the
Public Accounts, and the rules and procedures pertaining to the functioning of
the Public Accounts Committee
- The Standing Committee on Municipal Affairs held three
meetings to consider five Bills
- The Standing Committee on Private Bills met once to
consider four Private Bills
Public Accounts Committee
The notable increase in the activity of our Standing
Committee on Public Accounts stems from a recent initiative to reform the rules
and procedures pertaining to the functioning of the Committee. At their
May 6, 2002 meeting the Committee adopted a set of reform proposals. The
package lays out guidelines on a range of committee matters, including: the
mandate of the Public Accounts Committee, the scope of the committee's
activities, the size and composition of the Committee, the role of the
Chairperson, and the frequency of meetings. The House approved the package
on August 8, 2002.
Golden Boy Update
Work continues on the restoration of the famous Golden Boy.
Following the statue's removal from the dome of the Legislature last
February and its deconstruction and reconstruction this spring, the Golden Boy
has now received a new coating of gold leaf. Manitobans and visitors to
our province were able to watch our provincial icon receive his new gold coat
while he has been on public display this summer at the Forks Market in downtown
Winnipeg. Over 100,000 people visited the Golden Boy when he was first put
on public display at the Manitoba Museum earlier this year.
The Golden Boy project is scheduled for completion by early
fall, in time for the visit of Queen Elizabeth II in
October 2002.
Rick Yarish
Clerk Assistant / Clerk of
Committees >
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