Heavy fall session comes to a close
Government passes more than 20 bills
Perhaps a day later than most expected, the fall sitting of the P.E.I. legislature closed on Thursday.
After three confidence motions passed second reading on Wednesday afternoon, most MLAs expected to close the fall sitting that day. But a solitary intervention by Liberal MLA Robert Henderson ensured MLAs returned to work on Thursday afternoon. Henderson declined to consent to bringing forward several bills for third reading.
Under P.E.I. legislature rules, unanimous consent is required for bringing forward bills for third reading that have passed second reading that day.
On Thursday, the three confidence motions – the Loans Act, the Supplementary Appropriation Act and the Appropriation Act 2020 – came up again for third reading.
All three passed, although the Appropriations Act 2020, essentially a vote on the province’s capital budget, saw some opposition, with two Liberals and four Greens voting against.
These motions could have, in theory, resulted in voters going back to the polls if they did not successfully pass by majority vote.
The fall sitting saw a far more substantial number of government bills pass than last spring’s sitting. In total, there were 21 government bills that passed, as well as one private members bill and three bills introduced by the Green Opposition.
Many of the bills were substantive legislative changes, such as the Child and Youth Advocate Act, which established an independent child advocate in legislation.
In an interview, Premier Dennis King said the tone of collaboration was maintained between government and Opposition parties.
“A lot of the work that goes into making these bills stronger and making these bills better takes place in between the sessions and in between the sittings of the legislature,” King said.
“I think the end result is a better government overall for Islanders.”
Green Opposition Leader Peter Bevan-Baker echoed these sentiments, saying Opposition members benefited from having time in advance to see government bills and even offer suggested changes to them.
“We all have plenty of time to look at the bills. The bills are well-debated,” Bevan-Baker said.
“When the government brings a draft bill to our caucus, it almost never arrives on the floor in its original state.”
Bevan-Baker said this was a vast improvement to how business in the legislative assembly has proceeded in the past.
When asked about legislation that he believed stood out, King raised the Supports for Persons With Disabilities Act that saw multiple amendments from both Liberal and Green parties. The bill established a legislative framework for the AccessAbility Supports, a program established in 2018 for individuals living with disabilities.
In this session, members also voted to pass changes to the province’s Adoption Act that could see adoption records become more available. But the changes included allowing an information disclosure veto provision for both adoptees and birth parents.
Changes to the province’s Lands Protection Act and the Business Corporation Act were also passed, which will reintroduce public transparency of shareholders in landowning corporations. The changes will also see an increase in fines for companies that contravene the LPA.
MLAs also passed a private members bill, introduced by Tory backbencher Cory Deagle, that will see restrictions on the sale of vaping flavours and the increase of the minimum smoking and vaping age to 21.
On the Opposition side, three bills introduced by the Green party were passed, including a bill that would see short-term rental owners provide data on their sales to the provincial government.