Thread by @kerrywcampbell

Set for a new week here @peileg. This is day 7 of the sitting, and after this week the house will break for March break. A break week is a (dare I say exciting?) new development here at the #PEI legislature. Of course in prior years the house wouldn't be sitting this time of year

Anyway, the new legislative calendar includes a break week every 4th sitting week. assembly.pe.ca/sites/www.asse…

.@nicolammacleod is joining the small but mighty @CBCPEI leg team today. She wrote this story, based on debate we heard last Friday in the house:

cbc.ca/news/canada/pr…

.@sidneymacewen singing the praises of #PEI medical lab staff, working night & day to process thousands of test results (including, last Tuesday, his, as he had visited one of the recent exposure sites. Came back negative).

Told the audio problems are all fixed for anyone trying to watch the @peileg feed from the assembly website. #peipoli

Bevan-Baker opens QP today bringing up comments the premier made on the weekend, in an interview with @RosieBarton. Not so much a question, Bevan-Baker says, but a chance for premier to clarify what he said about sharing vaccines...

#PEI has not been asked, nor does it anticipate being asked to share any of our vaccines, the premier says. As a partner in confederation always willing to consider needs of the family, etc.

Honestly I think the opposition leader did the premier a solid on that one, based on how that issue apparently took off on social.

Bevan-Baker to premier: last week one of your ministers likened the standing committee on natural resources to a baby driving a car. Do you agree with this assessment? King: he's a colourful speaker....

We value the input of the c'tee, premier says, but decision-making lies on this side of the chamber...

The c'tee consults experts, including those from the dept of enviroment, Bevan-Baker points out. For govt to ignore the c'tee's recommendations and do what it wants is alarming.

BG: cbc.ca/news/canada/pr…

There's no question government wanted the c'tee to recommend the Cdn Rivers Institute research go forward. Premier had alluded to that in an interview in S'side the day the presentation was made to c'tee. C'tee had apparently asked for terms of reference, which weren't provided.

Referring to a research proposal, which at that very moment was being presented in Ch'town ... King said "perhaps if the standing c'tee were to be supportive of the research project, that's a good step..." cbc.ca/news/canada/pr…

Hannah Bell referring to draft of Residential Tenancy Act, presented just over a year ago and not yet presented before the house. I think we're now expecting that in the fall. Asks the new Social Services minister when #PEI will have the new rental registry he promised last week.

Trivers goes through a long list of groups that have to be consulted, including IRAC, & ends by saying it's hard to provide a timeline.

In response to a question from @AltassTrish, Health Minister @ErnieHudsonPEI says he's aware of doctors leaving PCH over the past 6 months, says he's concerned and just met with his deputy to talk about this this morning.

Altass says there are concerns among residents about the future of specialized services at PCH, asks the minister to explain what's happening with things like, specifically, surgery. Swing and a miss, asks if there are specific changes planned in delivery of services like surgery

Hudson wants clarification, perhaps in a future QP he says, on what she means by that question about planned changes to services at PCH. Says something about having to operate safely, then says there are no planned changes.

And @karlabernardmla gets the new education minister to clarify that the 300 new childcare spaces mentioned in the throne speech are in fact for the delayed launch of universal pre-k, a question based on what Bernard heard on Compass last night.

Henderson picks up on the 'giving away vaccine doses' issue as per the @RosieBarton interview. Wants the health minister to promise not to do this until all Islanders are vaccinated. Premier says he wants to answer this one, and he does.

Henderson wants some assertion that #PEI isn't planning to trade vaccine doses for future considerations, or bbqs or some such, and the premier finds this is a sad, sad day for the legislature, and gets himself good and worked up in his response.

Hal Perry asking about the lack of "rural representation" in new organizational structure of Health #PEI. This would be that there are no longer senior positions responsible for East/West hospitals.

Perry asking about Western Hospital refusing to take in a patient who presented with a suspected stroke. Perry said the hospital had been advised by EMS before 6 pm, at which time patients are diverted to PCH. It was stormy and the drive to Sside took another 2 hours, he says.

Minister says he will look into this, but says collaborative emergency centres in locations like Alberton are working for #PEI.

.@ZackBellPEI asks the environment minister if his dept is considering a new incentive program to help low-income Islanders in multi-unit buildings put in heat pumps. This is an interesting problem, because landlords own the apts but may or may not pay the heat bill.

There's a review taking place of all these incentive programs, Myers says. @RenewableSteve says he likes that answer, as he asks the minister if he supports migrating existing Maritime Electric customers in S'side over to the city's utility. Myers is really on the fence on that.

The city has long wanted the remaining Maritime Electric customers in town for its own utility. Howard says Mar Elec has been offering service to new property owners in the city, which Howard says is a contravention of provincial legislation. Myers says he's no expert on that...

And that is your QP today. Economic Development minister rises to announce "#PEI Dine & Save" initiative, where you can get a 50% discount (up to $15, not including booze) on your dine-in resto bill. That's Sun-Thurs, starting Mar 21. I missed how long this runs for?

It's for 2 weeks. Apparently for dine-in only. I understand why govt wants to help out the restaurant industry. I really don't understand why that help has to be contingent on actually dining in the restaurant, as opposed to take-out.

The speaker just tabled the 2021 #PEI auditor general's report. I usually have this date circled on my calendar in like, 3 different colours of highlighter. Somehow slipped my attention this year. So feel a bit like I walked into the street and was hit by a bus.

But that bus is an AG report so, unexpected for sure, but also thrilling in a way that being hit by a bus probably isn't.

Looks like we could get a vote on the throne speech. Premier is now speaking to the document and I expect he may be the last. He said he won't go on as long as some others have. Expressing concerns about what he views as partisan nature of some of the responses to this. #peipoli

The 3rd party didn't mention mental health in its submissions on the throne speech, the premier says, but he still believes the 3rd party cares about mental health. Ergo, he suggests, don't give govt such a hard time over what was and wasn't in the throne speech.

Here comes the throne speech vote... ringing the bell for recorded division.... #peipoli

Five votes against the #PEI throne speech: Liberals @GordMcNeillyPEI and @RobertH64978247; Greens @hannahbethbell, @OleHammarlund & @AltassTrish. #peipoli

I wasn't checking to see if there were any abstentions, but given what happened in the fall with abstentions to the capital budget vote, it would be surprising.

Getting debate over the throne speech over with clears the way for government to release its budget. I don't know that I've ever seen a budget tabled before the start of the fiscal year. I remember the house convened early in 2013 because of HST, but don't think we got the budget

The Audit Act states the AG's report has to be submitted to the speaker by March 15. So this one came a week early. And as I think I mentioned before, the house isn't usually sitting this time of year (but will be from now on), so, overall, quite a surprise today.