Legislative Activities 2013
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Legislative Activities 2013 New Brunswick Prepared for The Honourable Dale Graham Speaker of the Legislative Assembly New Brunswick September 30, 2014 The Honourable Dale Graham Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Room 31, Legislative Building Fredericton, New Brunswick E3B 5H1 Dear Mr. Speaker: I have the honour of submitting this, the twenty-fifth annual report of Legislative Activities, for the year ended December 31, 2013. Respectfully submitted, Donald J. Forestell Clerk of the Legislative Assembly TABLE OF CONTENTS YEAR IN REVIEW ............................................................................................................... 1 HIGHLIGHTS ...................................................................................................................... 3 MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Role of Speaker ............................................................................................................ 5 Role of Members ........................................................................................................... 5 House Activity ............................................................................................................... 6 House Statistics ............................................................................................................ 9 Members of the Legislative Assembly, as of December 31, 2013 .............................. 10 Committee Activity ...................................................................................................... 12 CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT Visitors and Tours ....................................................................................................... 18 Special Events and Ceremonies ................................................................................. 20 Student Legislative Seminar ....................................................................................... 22 Page Program ............................................................................................................. 23 Broadcasting and Webcasting .................................................................................... 24 OFFICE OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Mission Statement and Organizational Chart ............................................................. 25 Functional Statements ................................................................................................ 26 Office of the Clerk ....................................................................................................... 27 Financial and Human Resource Services ................................................................... 30 Legislative Library ....................................................................................................... 34 Hansard Office ............................................................................................................ 38 Debates Translation .................................................................................................... 41 Special Project ............................................................................................................ 44 Program for Members ................................................................................................. 46 YEAR IN REVIEW Clerk of the Legislative Assembly — Donald J. Forestell The 2013 calendar year was a productive one for the offices of the Legislative Assembly. The Third Session of the Fifty-Seventh Legislature concluded and the Fourth Session began. In total, the House sat for 67 days during the calendar year with committees holding a total of 69 meetings. The year saw a number of changes, including the swearing-in of four new legislative officers, the swearing-in of a new Leader of the Official Opposition, and a cabinet shuffle. The Third Session of the Fifty-Seventh Legislature, which had adjourned on December 20, 2012, after 15 sitting days, resumed sitting on March 26, 2013. Hon. Blaine Higgs, Minister of Finance, delivered the government’s third Budget. The Reply to the Budget Speech was delivered on March 28 by the Opposition Finance Critic, Hédard Albert. During the spring sitting, the House considered 46 bills, including a number of bills that sought to discourage patronage appointments within government by improving the transparency and accountability of the appointment process. In particular, legislation was introduced to implement a new selection process for legislative officers, as well as to harmonize the provisions relating to their appointments, mandates, salaries and responsibilities. The legislation required that a selection committee, composed of the Clerk of the Executive Council, the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, a member of the judiciary, and a member of the university community, be appointed to identify persons as potential candidates to be appointed to one of the legislative officers positions. Following the implementation of this process, four new legislative officers were appointed in 2013. Among the resolutions passed by the House was a motion recognizing the spread of lyme disease as a pressing public health issue, and a motion urging the federal government to suspend the changes to the employment insurance program pending the completion of an evidence-based approach. On March 11, former Premier Shawn Graham resigned his seat as the Member for Kent. Mr. Graham was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in a by-election in 1998, and was subsequently re-elected in 1999, 2003, 2006, and 2010. Mr. Graham became Premier after his party captured a majority of the seats in the 2006 election and served as Premier until October 12, 2010. On April 30, the Leader of the Liberal Party, Brian Gallant, was sworn in as an MLA. Mr. Gallant was elected Leader of the New Brunswick Liberal Party in October of 2012 and was elected to the Legislative Assembly in an April 15 by-election in the riding of Kent. Mr. Gallant replaced Victor Boudreau as the Leader of the Official Opposition. The House adjourned on June 21, for a total of 42 sitting days during the spring sitting. The Third Session was subsequently prorogued on the morning of November 5. A total of 72 Bills were introduced during the course of the Third Session, 57 of which received Royal Assent. The House sat for 58 days during the Third Session, for a total of 296 hours. This compares to 55 sitting days during the previous session, or 311 hours. The Committee of the Whole spent 45 hours considering legislation. During the Third Session, additional time was added for the consideration of estimates and the House referred, for the first time, the estimates of certain government departments to three separate standing committees. A motion was adopted by the House on April 4, extending the hours allocated for the consideration of estimates to a total of 120 hours, 40 hours more than L EGISLATIVE A CTIVITIES 2 0 1 3 | 1 previous years. The extra time was allocated to the Standing Committee on Health Care and the Standing Committee on Education, which, for the first time, took into consideration and passed budgetary estimates. The remaining 80 hours were evenly divided between the Standing Committee on Estimates and the Committee of Supply, which was also a new practice for the House. Legislative Committees remained active during 2013. On June 14, Minister of Justice and Attorney General Hon. Marie-Claude Blais, Q.C., tabled the Final Report of the Select Committee on the Revision of the Official Languages Act, which contained 42 recommendations. The committee held 23 meetings to review legal decisions, suggestions from the Commissioner of Official Languages, submitted briefs, and proposals and recommendations from the public. In response to the report, Premier David Alward introduced legislation which made a number of amendments to the Official Languages Act. Amendments included clarifying municipal signage policies, clarifying language obligations for third parties, adding a purpose clause to the Act, and requiring professional associations created by legislation to provide services in both official languages. The Electoral Boundaries and Representation Commission released its final amended report on June 6. The Commission held 50 hearings during two rounds of public consultations throughout the province. The Commission was mandated by the Legislature to redraw New Brunswick’s electoral boundaries by replacing the current 55 ridings with 49 ridings. The changes will be implemented for the next provincial general election in 2014. Several changes to Cabinet were announced on September 19. Hon. Paul Robichaud moved from the Department of Economic Development to Natural Resources; Hon. Troy Lifford moved from the Department of Human Resources to Justice; Hon. Bruce Northrup moved from the Department of Natural Resources to Public Safety; Hon. Marie-Claude Blais, Q.C., moved from the Department of Justice and Attorney General to Education and Early Childhood Development; Hon. Jody Carr moved from the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development to Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour; Hon. Bruce Fitch moved from the Department of Environment and Local Government to Economic Development; Hon. Danny Soucy moved from the Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour to Environment and Local Government; Hon. Robert Trevors moved from the Department of Public Safety to Human Resources; and Hon. Hugh Flemming, Q.C., was appointed Attorney General in addition to his responsibilities as