Speaker Kathleen Casey announced today that she will reconvene the Prince Edward Island Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, April 5, 2011 at 2 p.m.
This will be the continuation of the Fourth Session of the Sixty-third General Assembly which opened on November 12, 2010, and adjourned to the call of the Speaker on December 9, 2010.
The opening day of the spring sitting will follow the ordinary daily routine of House business, including question period. Business remaining on the order paper from the Fall 2010 sitting remains available for debate.
The resumption of the sitting adheres to the parliamentary calendar as established by the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island. Fall sittings start on the first available sitting day following Remembrance Day each year, and the spring sitting begins during the first week of April each year. The Assembly also determined that 60 days’ notice of the resumption of a sitting is required. The creation of a parliamentary calendar was implemented in 2008 to better organize the time of the House and add a degree of predictability to the legislative schedule.
2011 marks the 160th anniversary of responsible government on Prince Edward Island. It was at the opening of the spring session in 1851 that, after a lengthy struggle, Sir Alexander Bannerman, Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island, announced that responsible government would be granted to the Island. In celebration of this significant milestone, the Legislative Assembly will be organizing a number of events throughout 2011 to provide those interested with an opportunity to learn more about the historical and present-day importance of this event.