Quebec.

AuthorBolduc, Nicole
PositionAssemblee Nationale

On June 14, 2013, the National Assembly adjourned its proceedings until Tuesday, September 17.

On Sunday, June 30, Premier Pauline Marois called an extraordinary sitting so that the Members could pass Bill 54, An Act respecting the resumption of work in the construction industry. The bill was passed in the late hours from Sunday night to Monday morning, with only two Members, both independents, voting against it.

Legislation

The Assembly passed 38 bills since the 40th Legislature began on October 30, 2012. Of these, nine were private bills, 29 were public bills, and 25 were passed unanimously.

The main bills passed during the spring sessional period were as follows:

* Bill 3, An Act to amend the Election Act for the purpose of establishing fixed-date elections;

* Bill 10, An Act to provide for the provisional relief from office of an elected municipal officer;

* Bill 11, An Act to amend the Act respecting the National Assembly and the Act respecting the conditions of employment and the pension plan of the Members of the National Assembly;

* Bill 22, An Act to amend the Crime Victims Compensation Act, the Act to promote good citizenship and certain provisions of the Civil Code concerning prescription.

Also adopted was Bill 29, An Act to amend the Act respecting Hema-Quebec and the haemovigilance committee, which broadens the mission of Hema-Quebec by giving it responsibilities with regard to human milk, stem cells and human tissues.

Directives and rulings of the President

In April, May and June, numerous questions were raised, mainly by opposition Members, which required a ruling or directive from the President. These involved, among other things, the tabling of 2013-2014 Budget documents after the tabling of Budget estimates, the distribution of speaking time in committee when non-committee members are participating in the deliberations, the admissibility of proposed amendments to bills, the absence on the Order Papers and Notices of the mandate entrusted to the Committee on Public Administration following the adoption of a motion made by the Opposition and, finally, the examination of the Government's budgetary policy at the end of each fiscal quarter.

On June 11, President Jacques Chagnon ruled on a question raised on May 28, 2013, by the Second Opposition Group, who maintained that the information and publicity put out by three school boards encouraging parents to enrol their four-year-olds in kindergarten for September 2013 constituted...

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