Assemblee nationale Quebec (legislative report).

• Author: Lapointe, Johanne

The first period of extended hours of sitting for the National Assembly during the course of the Thirty-sixth Legislature was held from 25 May 1999 to 18 June 1999. A total of 33 Government bills were adopted during this period (three of these were studied within the framework of motions to suspend certain rules of procedure), as well as 15 private bills. All the bills mentioned in our previous article (volume 22, no 2) were passed, with the exception of Bill 34, An Act to amend the Civil Code as regards names and the register of civil status.

The following are some of the more noteworthy bills passed during the intensive session:

* the Midwives Act, which provides for the constitution of a professional order conferring on its members an exclusive right to engage in the practice of midwifery and for the integration of midwives into the health and social services network,

* an Act to amend the Act respecting prescription drug insurance, which increases the number of persons who are exempt from the payment of any contribution;

* the Act respecting the Societe de la faune et des parcs du Quebec, which establishes the Societe in order to oversee the conservation and development of wildlife and the development and management of parks in a manner consistent with sustainable development,

* the Act respecting environmental assessment of the proposed Churchill River hydroelectric development, authorizes the establishment, pursuant to an agreement, of a single process for environmental assessment. The matters that may be dealt with in the agreement are specified as well as the effect of the agreement on the application of the Environment Quality Act and the regulations. The financing of the implementation of the agreement is also provided for;

* the Act respecting the reform of government accounting policies and the Act respecting the Corporation d'hebergement du Quebec, which both give effect to the reform of government accounting policies announced in the Budget Speech of 31 March 1998, as well as the Act respecting certain contracts entered into by the Ministere du Revenu, which subjects the said contracts to certain requirements concerning the protection of confidential information;

* the Act to amend certain legislative provisions respecting the Public Curator, which stipulates that the expenditures made by the Public Curator will be charged to the appropriations voted each year by Parliament and that his revenues will be paid into the...