New Brunswick.

• Author: Campbell, Rose
• Position: Legislative Reports

Standing Rules

The Legislative Assembly resumed the first session of the fifty-eighth Legislature on February 10, 2015. One of the items for the House's consideration upon its return was the proposed changes to the Standing Rules. On December 10, 2014, the Standing Committee on Procedure, chaired by the Government House Leader, Hedard Albert, presented a report to the House recommending various revisions to the Standing Rules. A motion to adopt the Report's recommendations was passed by the House on March 10, after several days of debate.

Legislation

An Act to Amend the Oil and Natural Gas Act, introduced by the Minister of Energy and Mines, Donald Arseneault, was debated in the House over the course of several days. The Act enables the government to impose a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in New Brunswick and received Royal Assent on March 27.

An Act to Amend the Elections Act, introduced by the Member for Fredericton South and the Leader of the Green Party, David Coon, proposes to lower the voting age from 18 to 16 and would, according to Coon, "give young people a voice in the future of our province." The bill passed second reading and is currently in Committee of the Whole.

Ross Wetmore, Member for Gagetown-Petitcodiac, introduced a bill entitled An Act to Amend the Workers' Compensation Act. The bill would allow first responders who are diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to be eligible for workers' compensation, as the condition would be presumed to be work-related. The Bill received second reading on March 19 and is currently in Committee of the Whole.

Committees

A joint meeting of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts and the Standing Committee on Crown Corporations was held on March 24. The purpose of the meeting was the consideration of a report presented by Auditor General Kim MacPherson entitled Report of the Auditor General of New Brunswick 2015 Volume 1 Performance Audit. In June 2013 the Legislative Assembly requested, by way of unanimous motion, that Ms. MacPherson conduct an audit into the matter of financial assistance given to Atcon Holdings Inc. The focus of the audit was on events surrounding government's decision making process in granting financial assistance to Atcon for the period from 2008 to 2010.

Budget

On March 31, Minister of Finance Roger Melanson tabled the 2015-2016 Budget, the first for the government of Premier Brian Gallant. The Budget focused on three of the government's priorities...