New Brunswick.

• Author: Davies, Shayne
• Position: Legislative Reports

The third session of the 58th Legislative Assembly opened on November 2, 2016, and adjourned on May 5, 2017, sitting a total of 47 days. As in recent sessions, bills and estimates were referred to separate standing committees, which often met during weeks the House was adjourned. During the session, the Standing Committee on Economic Policy, chaired by Gilles LePage, held 26 meetings to consider various government bills, while the Standing Committee on Estimates and Fiscal Policy, chaired by Bernard LeBlanc, held 13 meetings to consider departmental estimates.

Legislation

During the session, 59 bills received Royal Assent. Bills introduced near the end of the session that were of particular interest included the following:

Bill 56, An Act to Amend the Political Process Financing Act, introduced by Deputy Government House Leader and Minister of Health Victor Boudreau, lowered the political contribution limit from $6,000 to $3,000 and changed the formula for public financing to political parties to give greater weight to votes received by female candidates. The bill was subsequently amended to prohibit political contributions from corporations and trade unions;

Bill 67, An Act Respecting Family Day, introduced by Premier Brian Gallant, designated the third Monday in February, starting in 2018, as Family Day, which will be a paid public holiday and a prescribed day of rest.

Resolutions

On May 4, the Legislature passed a resolution introduced by Bruce Fitch, seconded by Official Opposition Leader Blaine Higgs, which recognized annually the third Saturday in September as Becca Schofield Day. Ms. Schofield, a 17-year-old from Riverview, New Brunswick, diagnosed with terminal cancer, created Becca's bucket list to persuade people to perform random acts of kindness and post it on her Facebook page Becca's battle with Butterscotch or tweet it under the hashtag #beccatoldmeto, which resulted in hundreds of people posting about their good deeds in honour of Becca.

Select Committee on Cannabis

On April 28, the House appointed a Select Committee on Cannabis, chaired by Benoit Bourque, to conduct public consultations on the legalization of recreational cannabis in New Brunswick. On June 21, the Report of the New Brunswick Working Group on the Legalization of Cannabis was filed with the Office of the Clerk and referred to the committee. The purpose of the report was to inform New Brunswickers about the challenges and opportunities brought on by the...