Prince Edward Island.

• Author: Johnston, Marian
• Position: Legislative Reports

On Tuesday, April 8, 2003, the Fourth Session of the Sixty-first General Assembly re-opened for the Spring Sitting.

The budget was presented on Thursday, April 10, 2003, by Pat Mella, currently Canada's longest-serving Provincial Treasurer. Health and Social Services expenditures continued to account for the largest share of the provincial budget at $412 million, or 39.2% of the total expenditure of just over one billion dollars; followed by Education at $218.5 million, or 20.8% of the total. Tax measures included raising the health tax on tobacco by seven dollars per carton of 200 cigarettes, and elimination of the provincial property tax on non-commercial facilities owned and operated by the Royal Canadian Legion.

Committee Activity

The Standing Committee on Public Accounts met several times to consider the rising cost of electricity rates in the Province, inviting Michael Currie, Minister of Development and Technology; and Jim Lea, President and Chief Executive Officer of Maritime Electric Co. Ltd. to appear before it on one occasion. The Standing Committee has tabled its interim report and sought, and was granted, permission to meet intersessionally to conclude its investigations

The Standing Committee on Social Development was directed by the Legislative Assembly in April 2002 to solicit public input on the topic of bullying. The Standing Committee sent letters to all school principals and advertised in newspapers across the province, inviting the public to share their issues and concerns. Response, including interest by the media, was strong and immediate. In total, the Standing Committee heard 61 presentations and received 28 written submissions. Standing Committee members received numerous telephone calls, e-mails and personal contacts which served to reinforce the importance of this issue to the people of the province. There was a high degree of consistency in the recommendations put forward for the Standing Committee's consideration, the two most common of which were to increase the number of guidance counsellors in schools, and to hire a provincial coordinator to support and coordinate violence prevention programs. The Committee tabled its report Addressing Bullying: It Takes the Community on May 8, 2003. It is available on-line at www.assembly.pe.ca

Considerable community comment surrounded the recent re-appointment of Mr. George S. Kells as chairperson of the Prince Edward Island Human Rights Commission. The controversy stemmed...