Wildrose bump could change legislature question numbers

The defection of two Conservative MLAs to the Wildrose Alliance could change how many questions the Alberta NDP may ask during question period once the legislature opens next week.

Currently the two-member NDP caucus may ask cabinet ministers two questions each day. The Wildrose Alliance gets one question a week. But withthe Alliance growing from one member to three, the new party may get more questions.

NDP House Leader Rachel Notley said her party should get to keep its daily quota of questions, arguing that extra questions for the opposition should be reallocated fromthe Tory side of the legislature.

"What happened over the last few weeks is that the opposition in total grew and the government got smaller," she said.

"And so if someone needs to be giving up money, if someone needs to be giving up questions in question period, then it ought to come from the caucus that lost in size, which is the Tories."

The speaker, Ken Kowalski, is expected to rule on that question before the session opens on Feb. 4th with the speech from the throne.

On Jan. 4th, Calgary-Fish Creek MLA Heather Forsyth and Airdrie-Chestermere MLA Rob Anderson announced they were leaving the Conservatives for the Wildrose Alliance party. The Alliance previously had one member in the Alberta Legislature, Paul Hinman, the MLA for Calgary-Glenmore. Party leader Danielle Smith doesn't yet have a seat in the house.