The NDP government's use of closure – a time limit on debate – as it passed its controversial Bill 6, was harsher than the Progressive Conservatives in their day, according to Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills MLA Nathan Cooper.
The government passed the legislation, officially known as the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act, by a 44-29 vote on Thursday, Dec. 10, the last day the legislature sat before adjourning for the Christmas break.
The law requires farms to comply with Occupational Health and Safety standards and obtain Workers' Compensation Board coverage by Jan. 1. An amendment was passed exempting farm families and neighbours from the legislation.
Near the end of the session, the government invoked closure on the debate over the bill, limiting the amount of time MLAs could debate it to one hour.
“The movement to closure was surprising, even to us,” Cooper, the Wildrose Party's house leader, said during an interview with the Albertan.
Cooper said his party did a lot of research on closure. He conceded closure has been instituted before, but he said never as severely as the NDP did in order to pass Bill 6.
“The very first time when closure was used, in 1981, the closure allowed for six more days of debate,” Cooper said.
“When the PCs were there, the least amount of time they ever gave for closure was two hours. This week, we saw them (the NDP government) use one hour of closure,” he added.
“As well, on third reading of Bill 3, after only three speakers from the official opposition, they invoked closure,” Cooper said.
“So on third reading of Bill 6, there was a total of three hours. So virtually way less than half our caucus were able to speak to third reading.”
Cooper said it's his theory that the provincial government used closure in order to get the bill and the fierce opposition to it among the agriculture sector – behind them as quickly as possible.
“That's what I think,” he said. “Clearly the government was on the wrong side of the way this happened.”
"When the PCs were there, the least amount of time they ever gave for closure was two hours. This week, we saw them (the NDP government) use one hour of closure." NATHAN COOPEROLDS-DIDSBURY-THREE HILLS MLA
