Organization and Proceedings

A Sitting of the Assembly

The Constitution Act, 1982 requires that there be at least one sitting of the legislature every twelve months. A parliamentary year is divided into two sessional periods: the spring period, which begins on the second Tuesday of February and lasts 16 weeks, and the fall period, which begins on the third Tuesday of September and lasts 12 weeks.

Each day on which the Assembly meets constitutes a sitting. Each sitting is divided into two parts, the Routine Proceedings and the Orders of the Day. The first part is devoted mainly to the information of the Members. The same information topics are taken up every day. The subject-matter of the Orders of the Day varies continually, depending on the instructions of the Government House Leader.

Routine Proceedings

The Routine Proceedings are taken up in the following sequence:

• Statements by Members: a statement not exceeding one minute during which a Member may address fellow citizens on matters of local interest or on some other issue the Member feels strongly about;
• Statements by Ministers: a statement made by a Minister to announce a decision, policy or project issued, established or envisaged by that Minister's or to take a stand on a current issue;
• Introduction of Bills: first of the five stages of the legislative process, which consists in introducing a bill and reading the Explanatory Notes (in the case of a public bill);
• Presentation: Ministers present documents of public interest, committee chairs or vice-chairs present their committee reports, Members present petitions and mission reports, and oral responses are made to petitions;
• Complaints of Breach of Privilege or Contempt and Personal Explanations: Any breach of the privileges or immunities of the Assembly or one of its Members may be raised in the Assembly. Any Member may also, with the authorization of the President, explain any matter that, although it does not constitute a breach of privilege or contempt, concerns him or her as a Member of the Assembly. A Member may, for instance, explain that he or she has been misquoted or misunderstood, or deny accusations that have been published against him or her;
• Questions for Oral Answers: Questions are put to Ministers by Members to bring them to account for their actions and are used as a means to scrutinize or supervise government activities;
• Deferred Divisions: At the request of the Government House Leader, the President may defer a recorded vote or "division" to a later moment of the sitting or to the next sitting day during the Routine Proceedings;
• Motions Without Notice: Despite Standing Order 188, any Member may present a substantive motion without a prior notice. However, a motion without notice may be debated only with the unanimous consent of the Assembly, and each Member is limited to one such motion per day of sitting;
• Notices of Proceedings in Committees: The Government House Leader informs the Assembly of committee proceedings that will be taking place pursuant to an order of the Assembly, by means of notices giving the name of the committee, the business to be considered and the date, time and place at which the committee is to convene;
• Information on Assembly Proceedings: The Government House Leader may, of his or her own initiative or at the request of a Member, provide the Assembly with information concerning the parliamentary proceedings. The information requested must pertain to business appearing on the Order Paper and Notices.

Orders of the Day

The Orders of the Day are taken up in the following sequence:

• Business Having Precedence: business having precedence over every other matter by reason of its importance or degree of urgency : the opening speech and the debate that follows, motions relating to a breach of privilege or contempt, motions relating to the conduct of a Member, the Budget Speech and the debate that follows, the limited debate on the reports from committees on the main estimates, and want of confidence motions;

• Urgent Debates: Any Member may request that an urgent debate be held. The President may authorize the debate if he or she is of the opinion that the request concerns a specific and important matter involving the responsibility of the Assembly that cannot be discussed otherwise;

• Debates on Reports from Committees: Committee reports that do not concern a Bill, do not pertain to financial commitments and do not result from a deliberative meeting, but that contain recommendations, are taken into consideration by the Assembly within 15 days. The Government House Leader identifies the report that is to be discussed within the scope of a limited debate and no amendment to the report is receivable;

• Other Business Standing on the Order Paper: Passage in Principle, Clause-by-Clause Consideration in a Committee of the Whole, Consideration of a Committee Report, Passage of a Public Bill, Passage in Principle and Passage of a Private Bill, Committee Proceedings on the Estimates of the Expenditures of the Government, any motion on the Order Paper and Notices in the name of the Government;

• Business Standing in the Name of Members in Opposition: Motion entered on the Order Paper and Notices by a Member that may be debated on Wednesday morning each week, except during periods of extended hours of meeting.