The MacLauchlan government makes a big deal about “fairness” and “working together” – it was an election promise – but here is an example of how they used political procedures to kill Peter Bevan-Baker’s Bill 101 proposing a “Well-being Measurement Act”.
If the government wants to defeat the bill then why not do it with openness and transparency by voting it down on the floor of the legislature.
The MacLauchlan government’s methodology was simple:
- prevent debate on the bill in the legislature by passing a motion to send it to standing committee for review,
- pay it some lip service,
- prorogue government, and
- then because the bill is dead “on the Order Paper” simply remove it from the standing committee’s agenda.
“3) Motion No. 70 – Consideration of the Well-being Measurement Act
With the prorogation of the 1st Session of the 65th General Assembly on April 1, 2016, the Well-being Measurement Act (Bill No. 101) died on the Order Paper.
Your committee heard from various presenters on the topic of well-being, and found it to be an interesting subject; however, due to the status of Bill No. 101 from the 1st Session of the 65th General Assembly, with the receipt and adoption of this report, your committee has completed its work on Motion No. 70, Consideration of the Well-being Measurement Act (Bill No. 101).”
You can read the full report on the Standing Committee on Health and Wellness here.
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