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1/? Thread: Okay, by unpopular demand, a #mbpoli nerd thread about how we ended up with about 20 bills given first reading today without anything to actually read.
2/? The short answer is: it's a result of a) the ongoing dysfunction in the legislature and b) the deadline for bills to be introduced at first reading in order to be passed into law by next June.
3/? The long answer is: Legislature proceedings have been held up by various means and people for years now. First it was delay tactics by independent MLA Steven Fletcher, for example.
4/? Last spring, the Opposition held up the budget and all bill debate for several days. Then the gov only had the legis sit for a handful of days in ay, then rejected calls to sit in the summer. The result: a backlog of dozens of bills.
5/? The government was accused of trying to ram through legislation even though every government introduces bills in the spring and tries to pass them before summer.
6/? The opposition can delay bills unless they're introduced at first reading by X number of days after the throne speech, which is pretty much where we are today. (they can still delay five for a few months but that's another story)
7/? So the Tories are trying a new method to beat the deadline (even though some bills may not be written/translated/ready?). Today, they introduced and gave first reading to 20+ bills, but only provided four of them in writing.
8/? They pointed to a little-used legislature rule that says printed copies of bills only need to be provided one day before SECOND reading. They said the former NDP gov did this many many years ago Say hello to Section 137: https://www.gov.mb.ca/legislature/business/rulebook_full.pdf
9/? In the end, there should still be many months before the bills come to a vote. In between, there are debates, votes at different stages, and public hearings on all bills (MB is one of two provs with this requirement. NS is the other)
10/10 And we will get printed copies of the bills before they can be discussed again in the legis. Some will come very soon. The years-long kerfuffle/fooforah continues to revolve around whether an elected government can introduce legislation, and how far an opposition can go...
11/11 ... to oppose the government's agenda.
