British Columbia.

• Author: Fershau, Jonathan

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The House adjourned for the First Session of the Thirty-ninth Parliament on November 26, 2009. Since the last legislative report, government bills that passed and received Royal Assent include:

* Bill 18--Assistance to Shelter Act enables the police to assist homeless British Columbians to shelters when communities issue extreme weather alerts; and

* Bill 19--Lobbyists Registration Amendment Act, 2009 strengthens the reporting requirements for lobbyists and grants the registrar of lobbyists new investigative and enforcement authority.

Special Sitting

Under the 2009 Parliamentary Calendar, the House was typically scheduled to meet Monday to Thursday inclusive. In the fall sitting, Thursday, November 5 had originally been the last scheduled sitting day before the Remembrance Day constituency week. However, noting the "critical and serious situation" posed by the H1N1 flu outbreak, Government House Leader Michael de Jong moved that the House sit on Friday November 6 from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in order to continue debate on Bill 21, Ambulance Services Collective Agreement Act. Bill 21 sought to resolve the ongoing labour dispute involving the province's ambulance paramedics and dispatchers. The early afternoon adjournment was selected to permit Members to greet Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall during their visit to the precinct.

During the lengthy Friday special sitting, the Opposition House Leader Mike Farnworth moved an amendment to hoist Bill 21 for six months. Following the Royal Visit, debate on the hoist motion resumed and continued until 2 a.m. on Saturday. The hoist motion was defeated and Bill 21 ultimately passed all three stages, on division, and received Royal Assent before the House adjourned at 8:10 a.m. on Saturday, November 7.

2010 Parliamentary Calendar

In order to accommodate the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the House approved a sessional order on November 26, 2009 amending the sitting days for the Second Session of the Thirty-ninth Parliament. Under the revised 2010 Parliamentary Calendar, the Legislative Assembly will:

* Convene for three sitting days during the second week of February, then adjourn for the remainder of February;

* Reconvene on March 1, with Budget Day rescheduled for March 2;

* Adjourn for a constituency week on March 15, to coincide with the second week of school spring break;

* Sit consecutively from March 22 to June 3, with...