MLA says work on democratic reform should continue

PC MLA Sidney MacEwen wants to know why his request to have the province's special committee on democratic renewal hold a public meeting to discuss its remaining mandate hasn't been granted.

The committee of five MLAs was tasked by the premier with coming up with the question for the 2016 plebiscite on electoral reform. But its mandate also included a number of other issues, including election finance reform and measures to increase the diversity of the legislative assembly.

• P.E.I. electoral reform vote likely in 2016
• P.E.I. plebiscite favours mixed member proportional representation

In question period on Thursday MacEwen told the House that, instead of the public meeting he requested, the committee met in private to discuss its report to the legislature.

He also said the day after he made his request, the premier appointed Liberal House Leader Richard Brown to the committee, restoring the committee's Liberal majority following the resignation of MLA Janice Sherry in August 2016.

'What's the rush to appoint Shut-Down Brown over there?'

"Keep in mind that our committee had already met multiple times in the past year with four members after the former member from Summerside-Wilmot stepped down," MacEwen told the House.

"Premier, what was the rush to appoint Shut-Down Brown over there to our committee?"

When asked by reporters if the Liberals had used their newly-restored majority to shut down the committee, MacEwen said he couldn't discuss matters that were in the committee's report before that report is tabled in the legislature.
But he told the House there was much more work for the committee left to do.

Increasing women, legislative diversity still on agenda

"My request to have another meeting focused on election financing, but our committee was also tasked with things like looking at ways to increase the participation of women, Aboriginal Islanders, Islanders with disabilities, visible minorities in the Legislature."

The committee was also tasked by the premier with reviewing recommendations made by the Chief Electoral Officer following the 2015 elections. Among those recommendations: that the province no longer resort to a coin toss when two candidates end up with the same number of votes, as occurred in 2015.

MacEwen said a draft report has been presented to committee members to review, but hasn't yet been tabled in the legislature. It's up to committee chair Jordan Brown to do that.

"I'm worried it's not going to be [tabled], so that's why I wanted to raise light to the process that led up to this report," MacEwen said.