National Assembly.

• Author: Ford, Sylvia
• Position: Legislative Reports

National Assembly proceedings

The National Assembly resumed its proceedings on September 15, 2015, as provided in the Standing Orders.

Composition and parliamentary offices

Four Members handed in their resignation in recent months: Gilles Ouimet, Quebec Liberal Party Member for the electoral division of Fabre, on August 24, 2015; Marjolain Dufour, Parti Quebecois Member for the electoral division of Rene-Levesque, on 10 September 10, 2015; Marguerite Blais, Quebec Liberal Party Member for the electoral division of Saint-Henri-Sainte-Anne, on September 15, 2015; and Robert Dutil, Quebec Liberal Party Member for the electoral division of Beauce-Sud, on September 26, 2015.

Sylvie Roy, Coalition Avenir Quebec Member for the electoral division of Arthabaska, informed the Chair of her decision to sit as an independent Member as of August 26, 2015.

On September 6, 2015, Bernard Drainville, Member for Marie-Victorin, was appointed Official Opposition House Leader. Harold LeBel, Member for Rimouski, was named Chief Opposition Whip, and Nicole Leger, Member for Pointe-aux-Trembles, was chosen as Caucus Chair of the Official Opposition.

The composition of the Assembly now stands as follows: 68 Members of the Quebec Liberal Party, 29 Members of the Parti Quebecois, 20 Members of the Coalition Avenir Quebec, 4 independent Members, including three sitting under the banner of Quebec Solidaire, and four vacant seats.

The President of the National Assembly, Jacques Chagnon, tabled modifications made to the distribution of measures and speaking time to reflect the changes in the composition of the Assembly. The modifications concern Oral Question Period, Statements by Members and the allocation of speaking time for certain limited debates.

Conduct of proceedings in the National Assembly

At the resumption of proceedings, the parliamentarians unanimously carried a motion moving that the National Assembly put an end to applause during Oral Questions and Answers in all sittings. The motion also asked that the resumption of Routine Proceedings of all sittings start 15 minutes after the beginning of Statements by Members so as to avoid delays for the remaining items of business. Last, the motion requested that the Standing Orders of the Assembly be amended accordingly before October 8, 2015.

Other events

In August 2015, the President of the National Assembly and of the Fondation Jean-Charles-Bonenfant, Mr. Chagnon, as well as the Chief Electoral Officer, Pierre...