Prince Edward Island.

• Author: Jonhston, Marian
• Position: Legislative Reports

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The Third Session of the Sixty-third General Assembly resumed on April 7, 2010. Budget

Wes Sheridan, Minister of Finance and Municipal Affairs, introduced his budget on April 23, 2010, which contained expenditures of just under $1.52 billion. Total revenue for 2010-2011 is projected to increase by $41.6 million from the 2009-2010 forecast revenue, with provincial own source revenues up by $35.2 million. Total expenditure for 2010-2011 is projected to increase $12.3 million over the 2009-2010 budget forecast. A consolidated deficit of $54.9 million is projected; however, the budget is projected to be balanced within four years.

Significant Legislation

Several pieces of significant legislation were considered during the spring sitting of the Third Session of the Sixty-third General Assembly. Among them:

The Gift Cards Act (Bill No. 27) will prohibit expiry dates on most gift cards, prohibit most administration fees and require clear disclosure of all fees and other terms and conditions. The legislation will apply to gift cards, gift certificates or any other voucher sold with a monetary value attached. Some exemptions will be made for cards issued for marketing or promotional purposes, cards issued for charitable purposes or to gift cards for a specific good or service, for example, a gift card for a round of golf.

An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly Act (Bill No. 34) proposes to freeze the remuneration and benefits payable to the members of the Legislative Assembly, ministers, the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Leader of the Opposition, Government House Leader, Opposition House Leader, Leader of a Third Party, Government Whip and Opposition Whip until 2012. As reported previously, the three-member, independent Indemnities and Allowances Commission concluded its review of salaries and benefits of members of the Legislative Assembly in late 2009, and its report was tabled in December by Speaker Kathleen Casey. The Commission determined that there would be no change in salaries for the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2010. Commenting in the Assembly, Premier Robert Ghiz indicated that he planned to bring forward amendments to the Legislative Assembly Act that would see a freeze in MLA salaries go one year further into 2011-2012. On April 7, 2010, he introduced An Act to Amend the...