BILL NO. 87
(as introduced)
1st Session, 64th General Assembly
Nova Scotia
70 Elizabeth II, 2021
Private Member's Bill
House of Assembly Act
(amended)
Claudia Chender
Dartmouth South
First Reading: November 5, 2021
Second Reading:
Third Reading:
Explanatory Notes
Clause 1 provides that a meeting of the House of Assembly that does not include the daily routine and question period is not a sitting for the purpose of meeting the requirement for a sitting of the House between January 1st and June 30th or between September 1st and December 31st.
Clause 2 sets out the days and hours when the House of Assembly must sit.
Clause 3 provides for the automatic continuation of committees of the House of Assembly while the House is prorogued.
Clause 4 provides for greater certainty that where there is a conflict between this Act and the Rules and Forms of Procedure of the House of Assembly, this Act prevails.
An Act to Amend Chapter 1
(1992 Supplement)
of the Revised Statutes, 1989,
the House of Assembly Act,
Respecting Sittings of the House of Assembly
Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:
1 Section 8 of Chapter 1 (1992 Supplement) of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the House of Assembly Act, is amended by adding immediately after subsection (2) the following subsection:
- (2A) A meeting of the House of Assembly that does not include the daily routine of business of the House and oral questions put by members to ministers is not a sitting for the purpose of subsection (2).
2 Chapter 2 is further amended by adding immediately after Section 8 the following Sections:
- 8A (1) Unless otherwise directed by the Speaker when issuing notice of the reconvening of the House but subject to subsection 8(2), there must be a sitting of the House
(a) from the second Tuesday in February to the last Thursday in May, inclusive; and
(b) from the first Tuesday in October to the last Thursday in November, inclusive.
(2) Nothing in subsection (1) prevents the House from
(a) sitting at a time in addition to the periods set out in subsection (1); or
(b) adjourning the House before the end of the periods set out in subsection (1).
(3) Before any sitting ends, the Government House Leader or the Leader's substitute shall inform the House of the approximate day that the House will reconvene.
(4) As soon as possible in each year, the Chief Clerk of the House shall publish a calendar that shows the days on which the House is scheduled or anticipated to sit.
(5) Where the House stands adjourned for a period of ten sitting days or more, notice of the commencement of the House thereafter must be given by the Speaker to the members of the House at least thirty days prior to such commencement to the address on file at the Office of the Speaker for that Member.
8B (1) The time for the ordinary meeting of the House is at one o'clock in the afternoon on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and at nine o'clock in the morning on Friday.
(2) The time for the ordinary adjournment of the House is at six o'clock in the afternoon on Tuesday and Thursday, thirty minutes after five o'clock in the afternoon on Wednesday and one o'clock in the afternoon on Friday.
(a) on New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving Day, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, a Saturday, a Sunday or, unless the House otherwise determines, a Monday; or
(b) during the week in each year customarily observed by the schools at the seat of the Legislature as the "March Break" in accordance with a determination made by the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.
(4) Where the House meets on a Monday, the order of business of the House is as provided by the rules of the House.
(5) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), the time for the meeting of the House, the time for the adjournment of the House and the maximum number of hours the House may sit during a day may be determined by the House by majority vote on the motion of the Government House Leader or the Leader's substitute.
(6) A notice of motion under subsection (5)
(a) does not require a notice of motion;
(b) is not amendable or debatable; and
(c) except by unanimous consent, may not be made during the first two months of the sitting referred to in clause 8A(1)(a) or the first month of the sitting referred to in clause 8A(1)(b).
3 Section 36 of Chapter 1 is repealed and the following Section substituted:
- 36 (1) Committees continue to exist until the House is dissolved unless the House provides that they are to cease to exist sooner.
(2) For greater certainty, committees are not dissolved by the prorogation of the House and may continue to conduct their business while the House is prorogued and after a new session of the House begins.
(3) Committees have and may exercise the same powers while the House is prorogued as they had or could have exercised before the House prorogued.
4 For greater certainty, where there is a conflict between this Act and the Rules and Forms of Procedure of the House of Assembly, this Act prevails.
This page and its contents published by the Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia House of Assembly, and © 2021 Crown in right of Nova Scotia. Created November 5, 2021. Send comments to legc.office@novascotia.ca.
