The Bow Wow Parliament creates a Kangaroo Court #nlpoli
The Bow Wow Parliament The first casualty of the current pandemic in Newfoundland and Labrador was democracy and on Tuesday, the pandemic added to its draconian toll. A handful of…
House of Assembly
Political Foote Ball #nlpoli
Since 2003, the legislature has become more about political theatre than the public interest. This past sitting of the House proves how much that is so. Public discussion of policy…
Chaulk and Cheese #nlpoli
If the members of the House of Assembly vote to accept the reports fromtwo statutory officers as presented they will have to accept that Chris Mitchelmore committed an act that…
The Rookies, the House, and the Orchestra Pit #nlpoli
What is reported is seldom what happened even though what happened is far more interesting than the stuff that falls into the orchestra pit. Events in the House of Assembly…
The House and Twitter #nlpoli
Guest post by Simon LonoThe latest House of Assembly Twitter flap raises more issues that it first appears. Leaving aside the wisdom of the timing, it’s worth understanding why the…
How government decides – From Bow-Wow to Basenji #nlpoli
The Liberals' signature policy initiative is Bill 1.It is so important that it is the only piece of new legislation the Liberals have introduced in this session that is directly…
Tiny pebbles in an empty washtub #nlpoli
For the third day in a row, the opposition has asked one question over and over again, with a couple of minor variations.They’ve asked education minister Dale Kirby why the…
Mr. Speaker Osborne #nlpoli
Members of the House of Assembly had the good fortune of having two fine candidates for Speaker.While SRBP endorsed Scott Reid, the House made an excellent choice in Tom Osborne.…
Scott Reid for Speaker #nlpoli
Liberal member of the House of Assembly Scott Reid is a candidate for Speaker of the House. By the looks of things, members will have a competition for the Speaker's…
The Moveable Fixed Election Date #nlpoli
Arguably, the greatest fairy tale the Conservatives spread after 2003 was that Danny Williams didn’t take a salary from the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. The truth was he collected…
A swing and a miss #nlpoli
The usual round of Saturday chores this weekend brought with it the usual accidental meetings with all manner of friends and acquaintances. Even the least political among them wondered what…
Review faces stiff competition from province’s politicians #nlpoli
If Paul Davis and his beleaguered band of provincial Conservatives started the week on a high, it didn’t last very long. They opened the House on Monday to debate a…
Ballsiness #nlpoli
Before Christmas, Liberal leader Dwight Ball had been calling for an election as soon as possible. After Christmas, faced with the chance to chop a few seats from the House…
Not fit for it #nlpoli
It’s not surprising that the provincial Conservatives and their supporters want to reduce the representations the people of the province have in the House of Assembly. After all, the plan…
Anti-democratic, regressive, and unprincipled #nlpoli
The idea of reducing the size of the province’s legislature because the provincial government has a massive financial crisis didn’t get any smarter when the provincial government announced its plan…
The House comes back… what’s on the menu? #nlpoli
As far as when Frank Coleman might find the time to get around to taking over the Premier’s job, not much as it seems. It’s till vague, undefined, and potentially…
And you want to be my latex salesman? #nlpoli
Last week SRBP noted that the provincial cabinet seems to be having some difficulty getting legislation into the House for debate. Normally, we’d see upwards of 30 bills handled in…
Light Session #nlpoli
As of May 2, there are a mere six pieces of legislation on the list of bills currently set for debate in the House of Assembly. It seems to be…
Not with a bang, but a whimper #nlpoli
The longest filibuster in Newfoundland and Labrador legislative history ended quietly Saturday morning. This was the second filibuster this year and the Telegram’s legislative reported posed a simple question via…
Pressing Politics Stars in House of Assembly, Tories Elicit a Warning from Dean MacDonald
Yesterday I had a fair bit of time to kill, so I decided to head to the legislature and take in some of the Muskrat Falls filibusters. As I was…