It was a blink and you’ll miss it moment: Premier Stephen McNeil went to the provincial legislature on Friday for the first time since last spring – but only to officially shut down the fall session.
The Premier prorogued the legislature, leaving any pending bills essentially dead in the water.
He left without answering any questions from reporters.
PC Leader Tim Houston says the oppposition offered many solutions to keep the legislature running throughout the pandemic, only to be shot down at every turn.
“It’s just 282 days that our legislature didn’t sit for, we’re the only legislature in Canada – probably in North America – that didn’t sit at all since the pandemic came,” he said. “I think that speaks for itself. But all along we’ve been saying, let’s sit virtually.”
The day before the move, the Premier lashed out and blamed the opposition for the move saying the house could have met virtually, but the Tories and NDP would not entertain it.
Houston explains that legally, the fall session of the legislature needs to sit sometime during the last four months of the year.
He says the Premier’s move satisfied the letter of the law – but not the intent.
“In the spring with the budget, they don’t really have the ability to pull that kind of a fast one,” he noted. “There’s lots of procedures that will require the legislature to sit for at least ten to fifteen days, so in the spring the legislature will be back.”
There will also be a new premier next session – the provincial Liberals are electing a new leader in early February.
