Delay to spring sitting riles opposition MLAs
NDP says move assures legislation will be ready for debate in legislature
The provincial government is pushing back the start of the spring legislative session to March 2.
Legislative standing orders say it should begin on the second Tuesday in February.
But for the second year, the NDP government has delayed the first day of sitting.
Finance Minister Joe Ceci said last week the budget will be tabled in March. However, it must then be debated in the house, so there’s a good chance it won’t be passed until after the March 31 fiscal year end.
Alberta Party Leader Greg Clark is unimpressed, saying the move harks back to the way the Progressive Conservatives ran the province.
“Albertans kicked out the PCs for mismanagement and playing political games with really important things like the budget,” Clark said Tuesday.
“To see the NDP adopt (budget delays) as standard practice tells me they’re no better than the PCs. There’s a reason we got rid of the PCs, and this is one of them.”
Government House Leader Brian Mason said “that’s just silly.”
“We’re doing a budget and we’ll bring in a budget when it’s ready,” he said.
Mason said the government wanted to ensure it had legislation lined up and ready to go before heading back into the house.
“We don’t want to come in there and not have anything to do,” he said.
Clark called the delay “poor management” and is concerned it leaves departments in a kind of fiscal limbo without firm budgets.
Wildrose house leader Nathan Cooper is on the same page, questioning the current government’s track record of “starting late and ending early and rushing legislation through.”
“The end of March comes at the same time every year and government, I believe, should be able to plan accordingly and get the budget passed well before the end of the fiscal year,” Cooper said.
The fact the session will start on a Thursday is also a bit of a headscratcher for Cooper. It means the majority of the province’s MLAs, who don’t live in the capital region, will have to travel to the city for a single day.