Legislative reports.

ASSEMBLEE NATIONALE

Quebec

The fall session ended on 20 December 1996 with the Assembly having passed 47 Public Bills and 12 Private Bills. Among the more noteworthy were the following:

* a bill respecting pay equity, which is designed to eliminate the salary gap due to the systemic gender discrimination suffered by persons occupying positions in predominantly female job classes;

* a bill to amend the Quebec Highway Safety Code, in order to introduce new rules with respect to, among other things, driving without a licence or while disqualified and driving while impaired;

* a bill instituting the Administrative Tribunal of Quebec, charged with making determinations in respect of proceedings of full jurisdiction brought by citizens against the administration, and the Conseil de la justice administrative, to ensure the ethical conduct of the members of the Tribunal and to examine complaints lodged against any of its members. Consideration of this bill was not completed at the committee stage due to the Government House Leader having tabled a closure motion to end the said proceedings;

* a bill providing for the elimination of the budgetary deficit of the Government by the year 2000 and for the maintenance of a balanced budget thereafter;

* a bill to establish a disaster assistance fund in order to help the populations from the recognized disaster-stricken regions following the torrential rains that occurred in Quebec in July 1996;

* finally, a bill establishing the Regie de l'energie, a board whose function is to fix the rates and distribution and transmission conditions of Hydro-Quebec and natural gas distributors. It is to be within the exclusive jurisdiction of the new board to examine complaints from consumers who are dissatisfied with a decision made by an electric power or natural gas distributor concerning rates or service conditions.

Amidst a number of procedural questions raised during this period, the Chair was asked to rule on the receivability of a motion moved by the Prime Minister, which reads as follows:

THAT the National Assembly reiterate that the office of Lieutenant-Governor is fundamentally symbolic and is a heritage of the colonial past of Quebec and of Canada;

THAT the National Assembly take into account the fact that the events surrounding the recent appointment of the Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec have proven that the appointment process employed until this day is of a nature to bring about controversy and to interfere with the proper functioning of institutions;

THAT the National Assembly reiterate its role as the guardian of democracy as expressed by the people of Quebec;

THAT the National Assembly express the wish that the office of Lieutenant-Governor be abolished; nevertheless, given that the provisions of the Constitutional Act imposed upon Quebec render impossible the abolition of this office at the current time, the National Assembly requests that the Federal Government henceforth appoint as titular of the office of Lieutenant-Governor the public figure democratically designated by the Assembly.

Several colleagues from the various Parliaments of the Commonwealth were consulted regarding this question and would no doubt be interested in being informed of the decision rendered.

This motion was ruled in order on the grounds that, if it were carried, it would modify neither the Canadian Constitution nor the Act respecting the National Assembly, since it merely expresses a wish or desire, which is not prohibited by any rule. Furthermore, it questions neither the conduct nor the character of the current titular of the office of Lieutenant-Governor nor those of his predecessors but rather expresses an opinion of a general nature on the role and the functions of this office.

Moreover, despite the fact that an analysis of the motion reveals that it contains motives and arguments, which is contrary to Standing Order 191, several precedents indicate that the Chair has been quite tolerant regarding this matter. Hence, this question shall have to be re-evaluated within the framework of parliamentary reform.

Regarding this matter, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Jean-Pierre Charbonneau, tabled in the House a document containing proposals for a first stage of the reform concerning the timetable and calendar of the Assembly and of the parliamentary committees. The Committee on the National Assembly held a deliberative meeting during which it decided to establish a work group which was asked to submit to the Subcommittee on parliamentary reform recommendations to modify the Standing Orders of the National Assembly. Various measures are foreseen to improve the passage stage of bills and a new schedule should be put to the test upon the resumption of proceedings, in March, with the objective of reducing the evening and night sittings to a minimum.

During the Christmas holidays, as has been the custom for a certain number of years, the Youth Parliament, the Student Parliament and the Student Forum, three events which allow our college and university students to take a hands-on approach to parliamentary life, took place in the National Assembly Room.

Amongst the more notable political events is the election of Nicole Leger, the Parti Quebecois candidate, in the December by-elections held in the riding of Pointe-aux-Trembles. Mrs. Leger is the daughter of former Parti Quebecois Minister, Marcel Leger.

During the same period, the Member for Prevost, Daniel Paille, who sat as a Government Member, announced his withdrawal from the political scene. The Members of the Official Opposition, for their part, lost an esteemed colleague, the Liberal Member for Beauce-Sud, Paul-Eugene Quirion, who passed away on 24 December 1996.

The party standings of the National Assembly are now as follows: 74 Members of the Parti Quebecois; 46 Members of the Quebec Liberal Party; 3 Independent Members (one of which is a Member of the Action democratique du Quebec Party); 2 vacant seats.

More recently, on 30 January 1997, Lise Thibault was sworn in as Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec, to replace Jean-Louis Roux, who resigned from this office on 5 November 1996. In the course of her career, Mrs. Thibault, the first woman to be appointed to this office in Quebec, was the host of television programmes of a sociocultural nature and chairman of the Office for Disabled Persons from 1993 to 1995. She is the 27thLieutenant-Governor of Quebec.

Nancy Ford

National Assembly Secretariat

Translated by Sylvia Ford

Committee Activities

From November 1, 1996 to January 31, 1997, Quebec's parliamentary committees were active in fulfilling various mandates undertaken on orders of referral from the National Assembly or on their own initiative.

As is the case each year the autumn session was very busy. After adjourning for the holidays, the various committees resumed their activities in mid-January. Fifty-two bills were examined during 101 sittings, several of which involved special consultations. In addition, as is the custom every two years, elections were held to assign committee chairs and vice-chairs. Here is an overview of the most noteworthy mandates pursued by each committee.

The Committee on the National Assembly met on November 24 principally to discuss parliamentary reform. It created a working group that is to propose Standing Order amendments to the subcommittee on parliamentary reform.

The Committee on Culture held five working sessions. It also heard the chairman of Quebec's access to information commission, on the Commission's 1995-96 annual report.

The Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food held two sittings on Bill 53, An Act respecting reserved designations and amending the Act respecting the marketing of agricultural, food and fish products.

The Committee on Planning and Infrastructures spent considerable time - 8 sittings totalling more than 36 hours - examining Bill 12, An Act to amend the Highway Safety Code and other legislative provisions: nearly 60 organizations and individuals were heard. Bill 43, An Act respecting off-highway vehicles, concerned a similar sphere of activity. In the case of these two bills, as well as Bill 59, An Act to amend the Act respecting the conservation and development of wildlife, and Bill 67, An Act to establish an administrative review procedure for real estate assessment and to amend other legislative provisions, special consultations were required before the bills underwent clause-by-clause consideration.

The Committee on Social Affairs examined Bill 35, the Pay Equity Act. Employer representatives expressed reservations about the proposed legislation, but it had been long awaited by women's groups. The Committee also completed its general consultation on the reform of the Quebec Pension Plan.

The Committee on the Budget and Administration undertook clause-by-clause consideration, over 4 sittings, of Bill 3, An Act respecting the elimination of the deficit and a balanced budget. In December, the Committee also tabled a report following consultations concerning the Act respecting market intermediaries.

The Committee on Labour and the Economy held special consultations and undertook the detailed consideration, during 5 sittings totalling more than 31 hours, of Bill 50, An Act respecting the Regie de l'energie.

On December 6, the Committee on Education published a report on the conditions for academic success at the secondary level, entitled Les conditions de la reussite scolaire au secondaire, as part of a mandate undertaken on its own initiative. It also devoted 4 sittings to the clause-by-clause consideration of Bill 62, An Act to amend the Professional Code with regard to the committees on discipline of the professional orders.

The Committee on Institutions resumed the consideration of Bill 130, An Act respecting administrative justice. However, as a result of a closure motion, the bill was brought back before the House before its examination could be completed. The...