Newfoundland and Labrador.

• Author: Murphy, Elizabeth
• Position: Legislative Reports

The Fourth Session of the Forty-Seventh General Assembly opened on April 21 with the Speech from the Throne. In the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly, Bill 1 which is sometimes referred to as the "Privilege Bill," is an actual bill. In this Session it was the bill entitled An Act To Provide The Public With Access To Information And Protection Of Privacy.

Pursuant to section 74 of the predecessor legislation the Access To Information And Protection Of Privacy Act, the Minister responsible referred the legislation for review to a committee headed by former Premier Clyde K. Wells.

The Committee reported on March 3, 2015. The report included 90 recommendations and a draft bill to replace the earlier legislation. One of the recommendations, which is of interest from a procedural point of view, provides that the Information and Privacy Commissioner, appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council by Resolution of the House of Assembly, may be re-appointed by resolution of the House but reappointment would require separate majorities of the Government and Opposition Members.

The new legislation received Royal Assent on June 1. Electoral Boundaries Commission report

The Electoral Boundaries Commission, appointed on February 13 following the passage of an amendment to the Electoral Boundaries Act in January, reported on June 8. The amendment provided for the redistribution of the provincial electoral districts a year earlier than was mandated by the Act. The...