Nova Scotia.

• Author: Boucher, Annette M.
• Position: Legislative Reports

The spring sitting of the House of Assembly was a very busy one with long hours and the passage of two controversial health bills.

Emergency sitting

The Speaker recalled the House of Assembly for 9:00 am Friday, February 28, 2014 to deal with a pressing issue of public interest. The first order of business, a motion put forth by the Government House Leader to extend the sitting hours of the day to midnight, was adopted. Bill 30, An Act to Ensure the Provision of Essential Home-support Services, was introduced by Kelly Regan, Minister of Labour and Advanced Education. A strike by approximately 450 home-support workers had commenced at 8:00 a.m. that morning and several hundred workers were protesting outside the House of Assembly in frigid weather.

With the unanimous consent of the House, second reading debate commenced at 9:15 am. At approximately 1:50 p.m. the motion for second reading was carried and the bill was referred by the House to the Law Amendments Committee--at that point over 130 presenters were scheduled to speak with approximately 90 more remaining to be scheduled.

At 6:00 p.m. the Government House Leader requested and obtained the consent of the House to adjourn until 9:00 am Saturday, March 1, to allow presentations before the Law Amendments Committee to continue through the night. The last time the House of Assembly sat on a Saturday in Nova Scotia was on May 24,1986.

At 9:05 a.m. on March 1, with unanimous consent of the House to dispense with Committee of the Whole House, third reading debate of the bill commenced and continued for approximately one hour. The motion for third reading was carried and the bill was walked to Government House for the signature of the Lieutenant Governor.

Although only the home-support employees of one employer were on strike on February 28, this legislation applies to 12 employers and 19 union locals and requires the employer and the union to identify the employees who provide "essential services" and allow only the non-essential workers to strike.

Legislation

The spring sitting commenced on March 27, 2014 with further health care labour unrest on the horizon, as nurses with the Capital Health District, members of the Nova Scotia Government Employees Union, prepared for a strike. On March 31, 2014 at 7:12 pm, Ms. Regan, Minister of Labour and Advanced Education introduced Bill 37, An Act to Ensure the Provision of Essential Health and Community Services. As the opposition parties had not been...