New Brunswick.

• Author: Davies, Shayne
• Position: Legislative Reports

Committees

The fourth session of the 58th Legislative Assembly adjourned on March 16. Dissolution of the Assembly is expected to occur in August, prior to the scheduled September 24 provincial general election. During the adjournment, certain committees were active.

On June 6 and 7, the Select Committee on Public Universities, chaired by Chuck Chiasson, held public hearings with the four publicly funded universities in New Brunswick (Mount Allison University, Universite de Moncton, University of New Brunswick, and St. Thomas University) to discuss university administration, programming, performance measurement, accountability and transparency.

A joint meeting of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, chaired by Trevor Holder, and the Standing Committee on Crown Corporations, chaired by Mr. Chiasson, was held on June 12. The committees considered Auditor General Kim MacPherson's Report of the Auditor General of New Brunswick 2018, Volume I. The volume presented performance audit reports on WorkSafeNB governance, and addiction and mental health services in provincial adult correctional institutions. The volume also presented concerns on the province's continuing fiscal decline and the Auditor General's eroding independence due to a lack of resources.

On June 20, the Commissioner of Official Languages for New Brunswick, Katherine d'Entremont, presented her 2017-2018 annual report to the Standing Committee on Procedure, Privileges and Legislative Officers, which is chaired by Hedard Albert. The report recommended establishing an Official Languages Secretariat to support the Premier in carrying out the administration of the Official Languages Act. The report also presented the highlights of a study on the vitality of French and English in New Brunswick.

Webcast and Archive of Proceedings

In March, with the assistance of ISILive, the Legislature transferred its online webcasts to a more modern service with improved technical support. In addition, all House and committee proceedings are now permanently archived online.

Speaker

In April, Premier Brian Gallant announced that Speaker Chris Collins was suspended from the Liberal caucus pending an investigation into allegations of harassment. In response, Speaker Collins advised the Assembly's Legislative Administration Committee that he was relinquishing his administrative duties as Speaker pending the outcome of the investigation.

Student Parliament

The 28th Annual Student Legislative Seminar was...