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P.E.I.’s Progressive Conservative government is planning to have MLAs sit as late as midnight each night for the rest of the week, in an effort to pass the provincial operating budget by 11:59 p.m. on Friday.
This would mark a significant change from the way budget debate in P.E.I. has been conducted in the past, made possible by a rule change put on the books three years ago.
The move had opposition leaders scratching their heads Tuesday.
“At first I was bewildered. Why would they do this?” said Opposition Leader Hal Perry. “And still I don’t have any reasonable explanation.”
“It seems to me like a very extreme measure. I have yet to have any sort of clear reason as to why this is needed,” said Green Party Leader Peter Bevan-Baker.
“Like, what’s the rush?”
Groups ‘waiting for their money’
The rush, according to government house leader Matthew MacKay, is to get government dollars flowing to organizations waiting for funding.
“Today being June 13, and realizing that we still don’t have a budget passed, we’re a quarter through the year and a lot of the programs and non-profits are waiting on their money,” MacKay told reporters.
MacKay also said there are a number of cabinet ministers, including the premier, environment minister and transportation minister, who will be away for parts of next week on provincial business.
This year’s budget was tabled later than usual because of the election campaign leading up to the April 3 provincial election.
Some previous budgets passed in July
P.E.I.’s fiscal year starts April 1 each year, but an annual budget has never been passed before that in modern times.
On Tuesday, Perry was able to list examples of when Island budgets weren’t passed until July.
In 2019, another election year, the budget passed on July 12, and in 2020, the first year of the COVID pandemic, the operating budget passed on July 14.
Until a new budget is passed by the legislature, spending is supposed to proceed on a status quo basis based on the approval MLAs provided for the previous year’s budget.
To have the house sit for extended hours, the PCs tabled a motion indicating they would invoke a rule added three years ago, when the legislature voted to eliminate regular evening sittings.
If the PCs move ahead with their plan, that motion would be called for debate at the normal close time of Wednesday’s session. Under the rules, there would be no debate, and the change in schedule would pass with a majority vote.
Strain to households
Evening sittings were criticized for years by groups like the P.E.I. Coalition for Women in Government as a barrier to women serving as MLAs, because the hours conflicted with the caregiving duties which primarily fall to female members of households.
MacKay, the father of three, said the extra hours would put a temporary strain on his own household.
“We have a routine that I take the kids in the evening while my wife goes to work in the evening. So we’re going to have to make arrangements as well, but it’s only for a couple of days.”
He added: “This is what we’re paid to do, to work for the taxpayer.”
MacKay said there’s no question the budget will pass — the PCs came out of the election with a sizable majority in the legislature.
We have to scrutinize the budget and we have questions to ask, whether that takes two days or another four weeks.— Opposition Leader Hal Perry
Tuesday marked the 10th day of debate on the budget since it was presented May 25. According to the clerk of the legislature, since 2008 it has taken an average of 17.2 days of debate for a government to pass a spring budget.
Perry noted that the PCs waited until the last possible day under the Legislative Assembly Act to start the sitting — 30 days after the election results were certified.
“I have a job to do and we all have a duty to do,” he said. “We have to scrutinize the budget and we have questions to ask, whether that takes two days or another four weeks.”
Less preparation time for MLAs
But Bevan-Baker said compressing what could have been weeks worth of budget debate into three nights will end up giving the five opposition MLAs — two Greens and three Liberals — less time to prepare questions for each government department’s budget.
He also said compressing the spring sitting will reduce government accountability.
“Each day that we don’t spend in this house we are not holding government to account through question period,” he said.
He also said that once the legislature rises, it will be much harder for journalists to interview cabinet ministers.
“And that’s not good for democracy. It’s not good for Islanders. So again I ask the question: What’s the rush?”
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