Government rushing through legislative agenda to
shut down
House of Assembly early
The House of
Assembly is entering it 23rd straight hour of debate as the
Opposition tries to stifle government attempts to push through a
legislative agenda in order to close the House of Assembly early and avoid
additional scrutiny from a nurses’ strike, says Opposition House Leader
Kelvin Parsons.
The
legislature has been open since 1:30pm Thursday afternoon and debate is
continuing. Government is trying to rush through important pieces of
legislation in an attempt to have their legislative agenda finalized
before a nurses’ strike occurs next Wednesday. With key pieces of
legislation passed, government would have the option of closing the House
of Assembly as early as next week. Despite claims by the Minister of
Natural Resources that there was a deal to pass this legislation this
week, there was no deal struck with the Official Opposition or the New
Democratic Party and government simply told the Opposition that this
legislation would be passed without any consultation.
“The only
reason government is trying to rush this legislation through the House of
Assembly is to provide themselves with the option of closing the
people’s legislature in the wake of a nurses strike,” says Opposition
House Leader Kelvin Parsons. “There is no rush to pass this legislation;
the House of Assembly can remain open for several more weeks.
Unfortunately, it appears government is more concerned about the House of
Assembly becoming a focal point for the nurses’ strike and are preparing
to hide from public scrutiny.”
Parsons says
that the Opposition is not willing to be bullied by the large government
majority into passing legislation with limited debate. The Opposition will
challenge government to keep the House of Assembly open for the next few
weeks to allow for public debate on the nurses’ strike and health care
in the province.
“Our health
care system will be facing major challenges over the next several weeks
and government should be in the people’s House of Assembly to face
questions and public scrutiny. Any attempts to close the legislature
during this debate is nothing more than cowardice by a government not
willing to stand up and face tough questions about a health care system
that is crumbling under their watch. We may be a small Opposition, but we
will not be bullied into silence by this government.”
Parsons also noted that after
being in the House of Assembly for 24-hours, he certainly appreciates the
overtime work nurses face and the challenges this presents. “After
debating legislation for the past 24-hours, it gives a greater
appreciation of why nurses need more help in the system. I certainly would
not want to be administering medications or providing service to patients
under such grueling conditions.”
