Quebe.

• Author: Bolduc, Nicole
• Position: Legislative Reports

National Assembly proceedings

Composition of the National Assembly

Coalition Avenir Quebec candidate Genevieve Guilbault was elected in the by-election held on October 2, 2017, in the electoral division of Louis-Hebert.

On December 8, 2017, at the end of the fall period of extended hours of meeting, the composition of the Assembly was as follows: 68 Members of the Quebec Liberal Party, 28 Members of the Parti Quebecois, 21 Members of the Coalition Avenir Quebec, and eight independent Members, three of whom sit under the banner of Quebec Solidaire.

On October 11, 2017, Premier Philippe Couillard shuffled his Cabinet. Nine of the 30 ministers composing the Cabinet were given new responsibilities and six new ministers were appointed. Furthermore, Nicole Menard, Member for Laporte, was appointed Chief Government Whip and Filomena Rotiroti, Member for Jeanne-Mance-Viger, was appointed Chair of the Government Caucus.

Guy Ouellette, Member for Chomedey, stepped away from the Government Caucus from October 26 to November 21, 2017.

Bills passed

From October to December 2017, the Assembly passed 18 bills (15 public and three private). Of these bills, the following should be noted:

Bill 62, An Act to foster adherence to State religious neutrality and, in particular, to provide a framework for requests for accommodations on religious grounds in certain bodies;

Bill 99, An Act to amend the Youth Protection Act and other provisions;

Bill 108, An Act to facilitate oversight of public bodies' contracts and to establish the Autorite des marches publics;

Bill 130, An Act to amend certain provisions regarding the clinical organization and management of health and social services institutions;

Bill 144, An Act to amend the Education Act and other legislative provisions concerning mainly free educational services and compulsory school attendance;

Bill 151, An Act to prevent and fight sexual violence in higher education institutions.

Ethics Commissioner's ad hoc investigation report to the President of the National Assembly regarding Claude Surprenant, Member for Groulx

On December 5, 2017, pursuant to section 102 of the Code of Ethics and Conduct of the Members of the National Assembly, Claude Surprenant, Member for Groulx, availed himself of his right to make a statement to the Assembly following the tabling of the Ethics Commissioner's ad hoc investigation report concerning him. At the following sitting, the Assembly voted on the Ethics Commissioner's report since the Commissioner had recommended the imposition of a sanction. The report was adopted on the following vote: Yeas: 105, Nays: 0, Abstentions: 5. This is the first time that a sanction has been imposed on a parliamentarian since the adoption of the Code of Ethics and Conduct of the Members of the National Assembly in December 2010.

Rulings and directives from the Chair

Among the rulings...