Let's take a look at the tale of the tape of accountability and transparency.
Of the 34 bills introduced in the current session, 27 were passed through second and third stages in a single day. That's 70% of the total.
Another six bills went through the detailed study stages in three days of debate or less.
Another bill was left on the order paper.
In some instances, such as the related bills on a new energy corporation, a hydro corporation and amendments to the Electrical Power Control Act, government distributed the bills publicly only a day before they were debated in the legislature. The EPCA changes weren't even disclosed publicly until the day before the legislature closed.
Neither the opposition nor the general public can be said to have had sufficient time to study any of these measures, let alone develop any idea of their implications. In the case of the energy bills, opposition members relied entirely on a canned government briefing for their remarks in the legislature during the hasty debate.
In the 2006/07 session, the House of Assembly dealt with 72 bills, 57 of which went through the supposed detailed study stage and received third reading approval within a single day. That's 79% of the total number of bills. Of the remainder, the majority were disposed of in less than a week.
One of the bills rammed through in 2006 were changes to the hydro corporation act that linked electricity prices to unregulated business activity. The revised bill introduced in the session just finished was touted as fixing the problem. In fact, the problem remains.
As a senior minister in any government, Tom Rideout should be proud. He was able to ram an amazing amount of legislation through the legislature without even the most cursory of discussion or public debate. As the senior minister in a government that supposedly supports accountability and transparency, he might be just a little chagrined.
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