Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Further to this, I am pleased to summarize the intent of the comprehensive rewrite of the Assembly's rules as well as to highlight the most substantive changes that are being incorporated.

A working group consisting of senior staff from the Office of the Clerk was formed to study and make recommendations on revisions to the current rules of the Legislative Assembly. The working group considered the rules and procedures of other Legislatures with a particular focus on the approaches taken in Ontario, Saskatchewan, Nunavut and New South Wales, Australia, as well as the Canadian House of Commons. We also addressed issues and suggestions provided by the legislative coordinator, who is a senior procedural advisor to the Government House Leader.

A review was conducted with two objectives in mind. The first was to modernize the rules of the Legislative Assembly, acknowledging changes over the last several Assemblies related to technology, to update the rules to reflect current practices as adopted by the Assembly, and to replace outdated or irrelevant rules. The second objective was to streamline procedures while balancing the interests of all Members and to provide a transparent and more efficient method of transacting public business.

The results of the review were divided into three separate areas:

1. Housekeeping matters: The review identified amendments which may be considered housekeeping in nature. These include correcting grammatical, spelling and number errors. In some cases, sections for rules were removed within the document for ease of access. No substantive changes are included in these matters.
2. Clarification matters: The suggested amendments identified in this section contained changes in wording in order to clarify the intent of a rule or a process that the Assembly has already adopted. Changes in this area generally reflect current practice and procedures.
3. Substantive matters: The suggested amendments identified in this section are generally new additions to the current rules including some substantive rewording of current rules to reflect discussions with respect to procedures and practices of the Assembly and consideration of the practices in other jurisdictions.

I will now highlight the most substantive changes being incorporated:

• Rule 1(3) allows the Speaker discretion to alter the rules and practices to accommodate Members with disabilities.
• Rule 3(1) provides clarity and formalizes the Assembly's three sittings each calendar and the respective start dates.
• Rule 12(9) provides for the use of electronic devices in the Chamber and references detailed guidelines set out in Appendix 1.
• Rule 15(1) provides greater clarity on who may be admitted to the Chamber during House proceedings in addition to Members themselves.
• Rule 24(n) provides a more comprehensive list of prohibited props or exhibits.
• Rule 24(o) specifies that Members cannot speak of confidential matters in the House.
• Rules 25(1-6) clarify the process for dealing with and defining points of order.
• Rule 28(4) provides for earlier presentation of committee reports on Tuesdays rather than Thursdays, to enable greater media coverage and public transparency.
• Rule 35(2) provides for advanced distribution of the Commissioner's opening address to Members on the day of presentation.
• Rule 37(3) provides for advance distribution of the Finance Minister's budget address to Members on the day of presentation.
• Rules 42(1-5) tighten up the procedures for posing and responding to oral questions, confirms that questions taken as notice must be responded to in the House on a subsequent day and form part of the record of proceedings.
• Rule 43 formalizes the tabling of responses to ministerial commitments, to provide additional information to a Member, made during oral question period.
• Rules 47(1-10) clarify the composition of a petition, including electronic petitions, and allows the Clerk to determine whether a petition is in the correct format prior to presentation in the House.
• Rule 48 clarifies that the Speaker has the ultimate authority in determining if a tabled document conforms to the rules and practices of the House and whether a document meets the criteria of sufficient public import or interest.
• Rule 50(k) removes the inefficient two-day notice period for the first reading of appropriation bills. These bills are often introduced at the end of a sitting in response to a House order calling for the production of a bill that mirrors estimates already considered and adopted by the House.
• Rules 59(1-4) provide clarity on the allowed scope of amendments to motions and the process for dealing with amendments and sub-amendments.
• Rules 89(1-3) incorporate the committee's terms of reference in an appendix to allow for greater efficiency when updating or amending the terms of reference.
• Rule 91(2) provides greater certainty to Members who are called upon to act as alternates in a committee meeting, clarifies their ability to participate and vote with equal rights as enjoyed by full-time committee members during a particular meeting.
• Rule 100(5) provides clarity to the Executive Council regarding both the timing and the parameters of government responses to committee reports.

I believe this summary captures the key changes that are being affected through the repeal and replacement of our current rules.