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Guide for New Members

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Welcome!

As a newly elected Member of the Legislative Assembly of PEI you are now part of Prince Edward Island’s long history of parliamentary democracy. The first members of the House of Assembly were elected in 1773 and throughout the years many things have changed, including the number of members, the sitting hours of the legislature, and the location of sessions. The role of an elected member has stayed the same: representing the citizens of Prince Edward Island.

Since 1847 Province House has been the permanent home of the provincial legislature. In 2015 it was closed for extensive restoration and the Legislative Assembly moved to the temporary Chamber on the first floor of the Hon.George Coles Building.

Terminology

  • House: refers to the space within the rails of the Legislative Chamber, where the proceedings of the Legislative Assembly take place. It is also used as a synonym for the Legislative Assembly as a deliberative body.
  • legislature: consists of the Lieutenant Governor and the Legislative Assembly.
  • General Assembly: is the time between general elections. There have been 66 general elections held on the Island since the first one met in July 1773, therefore we are now in the 66th General Assembly.
  • session: is a period of business within a General Assembly; it opens with a Speech from the Throne laying out Government’s plans for the coming months and ends with a prorogation and the start of a new session. Sessions can vary in duration and may span more than one sitting. Any uncompleted business at prorogation “dies” on the Order Paper and new business must be introduced in the new session.
  • sitting: properly refers to the spring and fall periods when the Legislative Assembly meets.
  • sitting day: is one of the meeting days within the spring or fall sitting.

This Members’ Guide is intended to provide an overview of the procedures and practices of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island. Please refer to the most current edition of the Rules of the Legislative Assembly for the text of the rules governing the business of the Legislative Assembly.