Prince Edward Island.

• Author: Johnston, Marian
• Position: Legislative Reports - Report

The Fourth Session of the Sixty- third General Assembly opens on November 12, 2010, with the Speech from the Throne delivered by Lieutenant Governor, Barbara A. Hagerman. This will be the fourth Speech from the Throne she has delivered since her appointment in 2006.

Progressive Conservatives Elect Leader

On October 2, 2010, members of the provincial Progressive Conservative Party selected Olive Crane as their party leader. She had been serving as interim party leader since 2007, following the resignation of Pat Binns. Ms. Crane was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in a March 2006 by-election, and was re-elected in 2007 to represent the district of Morell-Mermaid. Prior to her career in politics, she was a social worker, and she continues her involvement with her family's blueberry farm in Douglas Station, Prince Edward Island.

Committee Activities

Province House is unique among Canadian legislatures in that it is maintained jointly by a federal government entity, Parks Canada, and a provincial entity, the Government of Prince Edward Island. This relationship is based on a 1974 federal-- provincial lease agreement that designates structural and interpretive responsibilities to the federal government, while the province retains ownership of the building. The federal interest in the building is related to its role as the site of the 1864 Charlottetown Conference, which led to Confederation. In the early 1980s, Parks Canada carried out a restoration of the structure of Province House and recreated an 1860s decor in many of its chambers. Province House continues to be the seat of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island.

Today, Province House is again in need of major repairs, particularly to its roof, basement and exterior sandstone. In a unanimous motion during its spring 2010 sitting, the Legislative Assembly called on the Standing Committee on Legislative Management to review the 1974 federal- provincial agreement on Province House. The committee was asked to put forward recommendations on how to ensure Province House is structurally maintained into the future and interpreted in a dynamic manner that encompasses its full colonial, provincial and national history. Invitations were extended to the public to share their views on these matters, as well as to Parks Canada and the provincial Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal, the two signatories of the agreement. Public meetings were held, and several...