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Reform and Inertia in the Nova Scotia Assembly
- Journal of Canadian Studies/Revue d'études canadiennes
- University of Toronto Press
- Volume 14, Number 2, Summer 1979
- pp. 133-141
- Article
- Additional Information
Reform and Inertia in the Nova Scotia Assembly MICHAEL M. ATKINSON Perhaps the most vexing problem faced by reformers in any parliamentary system is that of reconciling demands for increased legislative influence with the principle of executive accountability which is the cornerstone of responsible government. One of the most celebrated of parliamentary reformers, Bernard Crick, predicated his reform proposals for the British House of Commons on the possibility and desirability of making such a reconciliation. "There is no contradiction ,'' he argues, ''between wanting a strong Executive and wanting a more effective and efficient House of Commons." I Other reformers are sceptical. Stuart Walkland, for example, has argued that reformers in the past have made a fundamental mistake in assuming that it is possible to strengthen Parliament without detracting from the powers of the executive. Executivelegislative battles, he suggests, have an essentially zero-sum quality: what one institution loses, the other gains.2 So far, discussion of legislative reform in Nova Scotia has not included a direct confrontation between these two principles. In March, 1976 Michael Ryle, a Deputy Principal Clerk of the British House of Commons, submitted a set of detailed reform proposals designed ''to clarify, simplify and make more predictable the procedures and proceedings of the House."3 These reforms are intended to put legislative business in Nova Scotia on a more orderly basis and to clarify the rights of what he contends are the three main elements in all parliaments - the Government, the Official Opposition, and the backbenchers on both sides of the House.4 There can be little doubt that his proposals will do just that. But are they enough? Will members of the legislature, and ministers for that matter, wish to confine Journal ofCanadian Studies Vol. 14, No. 2 (Ete 1979 Summer) their discussion to a set of reforms which take as their point of departure existing rules and procedures and delicately skirt issues of power and influence in provincial politics? This paper attempts to assess the nature and extent of reform sentiment in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. This includes the degree to which members and ministers are interested in making adjustments to the existing authority of either the executive or legislature in the province. The findings reported are based on tape-recorded interviews with thirty-nine of the legislature's forty-six members and on a written questionnaire submitted to private members. All but four of the interviews were conducted in November and December of 1975 before the issue of reform had much salience. Except for the prominent members of special committees charged with the task of making reform proposals, only a few members participate actively in debates on legislative reform. This is the preserve, it seems, of academics and procedural experts. Yet the concerns and proposals of ministers and private members reveal a great deal about what can and cannot be accomplished in the name of parliamentary reform. They suggest areas of discontent that sometimes escape the attention of others and an analysis of responses can identify the degree of consensus and division in the legislature on fundamental issues. It must be noted at the outset that a standard interpretation of legislative-executive relations in the provinces·stresses the capacity of the cabinet to dominate legislative affairs. s The mere size of provincial cabinets, for example, has attracted academic attention. A large cabinet, Schindeler argues, can dominate the legislature directly by simply reducing the number on the backbenches, and indirectly by offering considerable opportunities for promotion.6 Although the cabinet has often been a very small contingent in Nova Scotia, by 1975 the ratio of ministers to the total legislative membership had climbed to .37, second highest among the provinces. More important, perhaps, are the relative weaknesses of provincial legislatures. In some provinces, including Nova Scotia, the level of 133 remuneration is sufficient to attract only parttime members and the facilities available for them are rudimentary. Despite a recent increase in funding, research assistance for Nova Scotia MLAs is still meagre and exists only for the opposition parties. In addition, parliamentary committees , which could provide a forum for detailed analysis and scrutiny of government performance , do not function well in Nova Scotia...