ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — The provincial government has released the terms of reference for the new, long-awaited All-Party Committee on Democratic Reform.
The committee, which was a Liberal election campaign commitment made in 2015, will consist of three members of the house of assembly from the governing party, two official opposition MHAs, one member of the Third Party, and a chairperson.
The goal of the committee is to review the province’s democratic process with an eye towards improving it. The committee will examine, study, and consult with the public as it reviews campaign finance laws and considers changes to financial reporting by political parties and district associations.
“Based on lessons learned from democratic reform committees across the country, our committee will do its work on an issue-by-issue basis,” Justice Minister Andrew Parsons and committee chairperson stated in a news release.
“We have heard from the public and stakeholders that campaign finance rules require change, so that will be our initial focus.”
Any information gathered by the committee will be used to develop recommendations that will be tabled in the House of Assembly.
Meetings will be scheduled every other week or at the Chair’s call. Inside the meetings, the intent is for all decisions to be made by consensus, but will turn to a majority voting system if consensus is not possible.
The committee will convene from today to when the report(s) and recommendation(s) are tabled in the House of Assembly, after which the Committee will dissolve upon the submission of its final report and recommendations to the house.
RELATED STORIES
