• Standing Orders
• Procedures of the Assembly
• Business of the Assembly
• Rules of Debate
• Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne
• Notice
• Motions - Amendments - The Previous Question
• Written Questions - Documents Tabled
• Committee of the Whole
• Committees - Witnesses - Committee Reports
• Proceedings on Bills
• Petitions
• Offer of Money to Members - Bribery in Elections
• Officers of the Assembly - Hansard
• Sittings of the Assembly
• Appendix 1
• Appendix 2
• Appendix 3
• Addendum

The Standing Orders are the rules by which the Legislative Assembly operates.

73(1)  Whenever the House stands adjourned for an indefinite or extended period of time and the Premier advises the Speaker that the public interest requires the House to meet, or to meet at an earlier time than that established by motion of the House, the Speaker shall give notice that the House shall meet at that time and, thereupon, the House shall meet to transact its business as if it had been duly adjourned to that time.

(2)      The Premier shall advise the Speaker under this Standing Order in sufficient time to allow the Speaker opportunity to give a minimum of two weeks notice of the date on which the House shall meet.

(3)      If the Premier advises that the House should meet due to a matter of urgent and pressing necessity without two weeks notice being provided, and the Speaker is satisfied that at least one of the other Leaders in the Assembly is in agreement as to the date of reconvening, the Speaker shall cause the House to meet with less than two weeks notice.

74      When a Session of the Assembly has opened or been reconvened, the Government shall introduce all legislation, including Appropriation Bills, to be dealt with during that Sitting by the fifth sitting day.

75(1)  There shall be a maximum of 60 sitting days per calendar year.

(2)       When the Government has introduced all legislation, including appropriation bills, to be dealt with during a Sitting, the House Leaders shall meet for the purpose of achieving agreement upon the number of sitting days for that Sitting. The minimum number of sitting days for any Sitting shall be 20. The maximum number of sitting days for any Sitting shall be 40.

(3)       When, pursuant to Standing Order 75(2), an agreement cannot be reached between the Government House Leader and at least one other House Leader representing a majority of the members of the Assembly, each of the Spring and Fall Sittings shall be a maximum of 30 sitting days.

(4)      The Government House Leader shall inform the Assembly of the results of the House Leaders' meetings, held pursuant to Standing Order 75(2), within two sitting days of all Government legislation having been introduced.

(5)      The Government House Leader, with notice, may move a motion to sit beyond the agreed upon number of sitting days in the Spring Sitting or the Fall Sitting. Such motion, which is subject to debate and amendment, shall specify the business to be dealt with during any additional sitting days.

(6)      Sitting days added pursuant to Standing Order 75(5) shall be in addition to the maximum number of sitting days stipulated in Standing Order 75(1).

(7)      The Standing Orders in this Chapter do not apply to Special Sittings of the Assembly that are called in addition to Spring and Fall Sittings.

(8)      The maximum number of sitting days per calendar year or per Sitting may be adjusted in any year in which a general election takes place. In the absence of an agreement between House Leaders, the maximum number of sitting days for any Sitting which takes place following a general election shall be 30 sitting days.

(9)      When there is agreement respecting the maximum number of days in any Sitting, these Standing Orders do not preclude the House from sitting fewer days than the maximum specified in the agreement.

76(1)  On the sitting day that the Assembly has reached the maximum number of sitting days allocated for that Sitting pursuant to Standing Order 75, the Chair of the Committee of the Whole, if the Assembly is in Committee of the Whole at the time, shall interrupt proceedings at 5:00 p.m. and, with respect to each Government Bill before Committee that the Government House Leader directs to be called, shall:

(a) put the question on any amendment then before the Committee;
(b) put the question, without debate or amendment, on a motion moved by a Minister that the bill, including all clauses, schedules, title and preamble, be deemed to be read and carried;
(c) put the question on a motion moved by a Minister that the bill be reported to the Assembly; and
(d) when all bills have been dealt with, recall the Speaker to the Chair to report on the proceedings of the Committee.

(2)      On the sitting day that the Assembly has reached the maximum number of sitting days allocated for that Sitting pursuant to Standing Order 75, the Speaker of the Assembly, when recalled to the Chair after the House has been in the Committee of the Whole, shall:

(a) call for the report from the Chair of the Committee of the Whole;
(b) put the question, in the usual fashion, on the motion to concur in the Chair's report on the proceedings of Committee of the Whole;
(c) with respect to each Government Bill on which debate has been adjourned at the Second Reading stage and designated to be called by the Government House Leader, put the question, without further debate, on the motion that the bill be read a second time, and, if that motion is carried, order that the bill stand immediately ordered for Third Reading; and
(d) with respect to each Government Bill standing on the Order Paper for Third Reading and designated to be called by the Government House Leader,

(i) receive a motion for Third Reading and passage of the bill, and
(ii) put the question, without debate or amendment, on that motion.

(3)      On the sitting day that the Assembly has reached the maximum number of sitting days allocated for that Sitting pursuant to Standing Order 75, the Speaker of the Assembly, if in the Chair at the time, shall interrupt proceedings at 5:30 p.m. and shall:

(a) with respect to each Government Bill on which debate has been adjourned at the Second Reading stage and designated to be called by the Government House Leader, put the question, without further debate, on the motion that the bill be read a second time, and, if that motion is carried, order that the bill stand immediately ordered for Third Reading; and
(b) with respect to each Government Bill standing on the Order Paper for Third Reading and designated to be called by the Government House Leader,

(i) receive a motion for Third Reading and passage of the bill, and
(ii) put the question, without debate or amendment, on that motion.

(4)      The Assembly shall then proceed with any routine business associated with the end of a Sitting including receiving the Commissioner to grant assent to bills and passing an end-of-Sitting adjournment motion.

(5)      The normal time of adjournment shall not apply if it is reached during the course of the proceedings identified in this Standing Order. Further, a motion to adjourn the House shall not be permitted on the last sitting day of a Sitting until such time as all business identified in this Standing Order has been completed.

(6)      The provisions of this Standing Order shall apply in any situation in which this Standing Order may be found to be in conflict with any other Standing Order.

77(1)  Any reference to a position or office such as House Leader shall, in these Standing Orders, be deemed, in the absence of the person occupying that position or office, to apply to the designate of the person holding that position or office.

(2)      In these Standing Orders, "sitting" refers to a sitting day and "Sitting" refers to a block of sitting days with the common Sittings being the Spring Sitting and the Fall Sitting.