1983 BILL 204 First Session, 20th Legislature, 32 Elizabeth II THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ALBERTA BILL 204

AN ACT TO AMEND THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY ACT MR. MARTIN First Reading Second Reading Committee of the Whole Third Reading Royal Assent

Bill 204 Mr. Martin BILL 204 1983

AN ACT TO AMEND THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY ACT (Assented to 1983) HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, enacts as follows: y The Legislative Assembly Act is amended by this Act. 2 The following is added after

section 36: 36.1(1) In this

section "party" means "registered party" as defined by

section l(

o) of the Election Finances and Contribu­ tions Disclosure Act

(2) On the first day of the first session of the Legislature fol­ lowing a provincial general election, the Speaker shall announce to the Legislative Assembly (

a) which party or group of members sitting in opposition to the Govemment shall be recognized as the Official Oppo­ sition, and (

b) which member of the Official Opposition shall be rec­ ognized as the Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), the Speaker shall rec­ ognize (

a) the largest party or group sitting in opposition to the Govemment as the Official Opposition, and (

b) the member recognized by that party or group as being their leader, as the Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition.

(4) If 2 or more parties or groups sitting in opposition to the Government have an equal number of members, and no other opposition party or group has a greater number of members, the Speaker shall recognize, pursuant to subsection (2),

Explanatory Notes 1 This Bill will amend

chapter L-10 of the Revised Statutes of Alberta 1980. 2 This

section will provide for popular vote to be considered in recognizing the Official Opposition if there are two parties or groups in opposition with equal numbers.

(

a) the party or group which received the largest percentage of the popular vote in the immediately preceding provincial general election as the Official Opposition, and (

b) the member recognized by that party or group as being their leader as the Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition.

(5) For the purpose of subsection (4), "popular vote" is defined as, (

a) in the case of a party, the total of all votes cast in the provincial general election for all candidates endorsed by that party as official candidates of that party, and (

b) in the case of a group, the total of all votes cast in the provincial general election for the members elected to the Legislative Assembly and declaring themselves to be mem­ bers of that group.

(6) If, after the Speaker has made an announcement pursuant to subsection (2), during the life of the same Legislature, mem­ bership in any or all of the parties or groups sitting in opposition to the Government changes to a degree deemed by the Speaker to warrant his recognizing a different Official Opposition or Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition or both, he shall do so by announcing the changed recognition in accordance with the prin­ ciples of subsections (2) to (5) and considering also the results of relevant by-elections. 3

Section 60 is amended by striking out subsection (1) and sub­stituting:

(1) In this

section (a) "party" means "registered party" as defined in

section l(

o) of the Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act. and (b) "recognized opposition party" means a party that (

i) holds more than 1 seat in the Legislative Assembly, and (ii) received at least 5% of the popular vote in the election immediately preceding the year in which the allowance in subsection (2) is to be paid. In accordance with

section 4(1) of the

Interpretation Act, this Bill comes into force on the date it receives Roval Assent.

Section 60( 1) presently reads: 60(1) In this section, "recognized opposition party" means a party that (

a) holds at least 4 seats in the Legislative Assembly, and (

b) received at least 5% of the popular vote in the election imme­ diately preceding the year in which the allowance in subsection (2) is to be paid. Title: 1983 (20th, 1st) Bill 204,

An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly Act