House of Assembly did not sit nearly long enough to fix problems, frustrated Opposition MHAs say
PC and NDP leaders say House of Assembly should have been open longer
Most provincial politicians from Newfoundland and Labrador are returning to their districts after the House of Assembly adjourned this week.
Opposition politicians say the legislature ought to have punched in more time this fall.
"Clearly, when we look at the parliamentary calendar, it needs to be expanded," said PC Leader Tony Wakeham.
The legislature adjourned a day ahead of schedule on Wednesday, following 14 sitting days that began in early November.
It's possible the MHAs in the legislature may look different when the house reconvenes, as Premier Andrew Furey has said there will be a provincial election in 2025.
While the spring session is scheduled for March 3, Furey has not ruled out an election before that date.
With health care and cost of living top of mind, the province's opposition leaders said the house could have done more.
NDP Leader Jim Dinn described the sitting as a "marathon session" after a long debate on Tuesday evening concluded with the appointment of a new information and privacy commissioner, by a close vote of 17 to 15.
Both leaders took issues with the government's transparency in the appointment process as one person was on the roster to become commissioner.
"We were here until all hours debating," Dinn said. "We were very clear, even in the process, we had problems with the transparency piece."
'Liberal land fiasco'
Wakeham said his party "exposed" spending of taxpayers' money, particularly over disclosures about the location of a new health complex to replace the aging St. Clare's Hospital in St. John's.
H3 Development donated 10 acres of the land off Kenmount Road. Not announced at first ws the fact that the Liberal government is purchasing 54 other acres of adjacent land from the donating company, for $23 million.
"Are we buying the land? Are we not buying the land? So it's a total mess," Wakeham said.
In combination with the PCs' concerns over health care, specifically in rural parts of the province, Wakeham believes the government is leaving people behind.
"This sitting, when I think about it, I think about a government that has lost touch with reality," he said.
Wakeham said sittings need to be longer for proper debates and to address legislation more efficiently.
"We ought to be sitting longer. We ought to be addressing legislation in a different way," he said.
Dinn agrees. He pointed to the sale of shuttered public housing on Livingstone Street in St. John's — an area where a community centre was promised to the neighbourhood.
"If we're not getting the straight answers, we're not going to get the right solutions," he said.
Productive session
Furey defended the session's productivity. Although Furey has distanced the provincial party from its federal counterparts, he highlighted $10-a-day child care and the GST/HST tax break set to start on Dec. 15 — two programs aligned with Trudeau government policies.
"We were one of the first out of the gate to mirror the federal government's changes with respect to the GST on certain items over the holiday season," Furey said. "Affordability remains a top of mind for us."
He added that the province is continuing to add affordable child-care spaces.
"I'd like to remind people all the time, just four years ago, do you know how many people were in $10-a-day child-care spaces? Zero," he said.
Looking ahead to the New Year and an upcoming provincial election, Furey said, residents of Newfoundland and Labrador can start to see the changes the province is making.
"I know that the job is not done, but we do have a plan, and we are enacting it," he said.
The spring sitting of the House of Assembly is scheduled to start March 3.
Wakeham and Dinn said they are ready for a provincial election, if one happens before then.
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