British Columbia.

AuthorEllingsen, Aaron
PositionLegislative Reports

The third session of the 40th Parliament of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia was prorogued on the morning of February 10, 2015, and the fourth session convened that afternoon with a Speech from the Throne delivered by Lieutenant Governor Judith Guichon. The Legislative Assembly is expected to adjourn for the summer on May 28, 2015.

Speech from the Throne

The Speech from the Throne outlined the government's plan to build on new jobs created since 2011 by focusing on key sectors of the economy and further growing British Columbia's trading relationships in the Asia-Pacific region, while continuing to focus on encouraging development of a BC liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry. In addressing the Speech from the Throne, Official Opposition MLAs outlined their priorities, expressed concern about continued delays in construction of LNG projects, and advocated measures which in their view were not sufficiently addressed in the throne speech, including actions to reduce economic disparities in the Province and initiatives to address health care gaps.

Budget 2015

Finance Minister Mike de Jong tabled Budget 2015 in the House on February 17. In his comments on the budget, Mr. de Jong stated that BC's diverse economy and export markets have insulated the Province from the recent global economic downturn, creating the context for BC's third consecutive balanced budget. He pointed toward economic forecasts of increased provincial real GDP growth and anticipated surpluses for 2014-15 through 2017-18. In responding to Budget 2015, the Official Opposition raised concerns about the province's job creation situation and significant levels of unemployment; criticized the budget's fee and rate hikes; and called for initiatives to support employment creation through enhanced skills and training, to maintain support for education, and to ensure high standards of health care across the Province.

Sessional Order

On February 12, 2015, the House again adopted a sessional order to amend Standing Orders 25 and 47(a) to reschedule Oral Question Period and daily Members' Statements to mornings on Tuesdays and Thursdays of each sitting week, with question period to remain in the afternoons for Mondays and Wednesdays. A similar sessional order has been adopted for each session since it was adopted for the first time on February 13, 2014.

Legislation

At the time of writing, nine Government Bills have received Royal Assent out of a total of 27 Government Bills...

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