Legislative Assembly, British Columbia.

• Author: Reimer, Neil

The 2nd session of British Columbia's 36th Parliament adjourned on July 30 after 82 sitting days. It was one of the longer sessions in recent memory, and included eight weeks of night sittings.

Legislation

In all, fifty-three bills were debated in the chamber, a number of which dealt with controversial matters. One of the most high-profile bills featured amendments to the province's labour code. It was introduced but not proceeded with by the government following protests from business groups and the opposition, who complained that the changes were unnecessary and were being introduced without adequate public consultation.

Another controversial bill was the Tobacco Damages Recovery Act. The first of its kind in Canada, the bill makes it easier for the government to sue tobacco companies for damages caused by their products. The Health Minister, Joy MacPhail, argued that the bill is necessary to permit the recovery of health care costs which result from tobacco use.

The government also introduced two bills designed to recognize homosexual rights in marriage and family maintenance. The Family Relations Amendment Act and Family Maintenance Enforcement Amendment Act provide that homosexual and lesbian couples will legally be spouses under the same definition as heterosexual couples, and subject these relationships to the same laws regarding child maintenance. Both bills passed third reading on July 22 by substantial majorities.

Committees

After lengthy deliberations, the Aboriginal Affairs Committee released its report on the Nisga's Agreement-in-principle and the provincial treaty process. The report, following a comprehensive public hearing schedule by the committee, contains 72 recommendations covering a range of issues, including resource use, self-government provisions, public education and consultation, taxation, third party compensation, and others. For the first time in British Columbia, this standing committee was authorized to permit minority opinions in its report. Accordingly, Liberal and Reform opposition members appended minority opinions on some of the...