Referendum bill not being rushed, Brown insists

The P.E.I. government needs to take some more time to consider its electoral reform bill, says Green Leader Peter Bevan-Baker, but Attorney General Jordan Brown says the bill is not being rushed.

The bill, designed to govern P.E.I.'s referendum on electoral reform, was pulled from the floor of the legislature Thursday night while the government drafts some amendments.

There have been questions about whether spending restrictions in the bill are constitutional, and Bevan-Baker said it is important to get it right so the question of electoral reform can be put to rest.

"I just want to make sure that the process through which this answer is derived is constitutional, cannot be challenged," Bevan-Baker told Island Morning Friday.

"We're faced with this rushed process of debating a bill, doing substantial amendments on the fly, and it's not acceptable. It's not the way important legislation should be deliberated."

Send to committee, says opposition

In question period Friday both opposition parties in the legislature urged government to send the bill to the Special Committee on Democratic Renewal, the all-party committee which ushered in the province's plebiscite on electoral reform in 2016 and has been largely dormant ever since.

"Premier, government has had two years to prepare for this bill, and clearly it's not ready," said PC Leader James Aylward. 

"The referendum bill is flawed, but it can be improved. Will you allow the all-party Democratic Renewal Committee to consult Islanders on how to strengthen this bill?"

Referring to the 14 amendments to the bill tabled so far between government and the Green Party, and with more amendments being prepared by government, Bevan-Baker concluded the current bill can't be salvaged.

"When will you admit that this bill is too flawed to proceed on the floor and it needs a complete overhaul?" he said.

But Premier Wade MacLauchlan rebuffed calls to send the bill to committee.

"This legislation will be, when it is finally adopted, a bill that has been perfected through the legislative process," he told MLAs. 

The result of those efforts, he said, would "be an opportunity and a vehicle for Prince Edward Islanders to express a clear view and to achieve an unambiguous result" on the issue of electoral reform.

Tightly controlled campaign financing

The bill came under fire from Bevan-Baker in the legislature earlier in the week, who pressed Brown on how very strict campaign spending limits in the bill would work

The referendum, to be held in conjunction with the next provincial election, would give Islanders the choice between continuing with the status quo first-past-the-post system or changing to a mixed-member proportional representation system.

As it stands the government bill would provide $75,000 to registered groups on each side of the question for spending on the campaign. Groups would be prohibited from fundraising, and groups and individuals would be limited to $500 in spending.

In response to questions from Bevan-Baker, Brown suggested the bill could limit what newspapers can publish as editorials.

'We very much support freedom of the press'

On Island Morning, Brown said the limits are not unusual.

"This is a limitation that's being placed on free speech so that individuals with wealth can't come in and buy, effectively, a position in relation to this referendum," he said.

"We very much support freedom of the press and freedom of expression. What is happening is we are putting in place a mechanism to allow for a level debate."

Bevan-Baker countered the restrictions are unique.

"There's no other legislation which has prohibited completely third parties from making contributions to groups who are proponents or opponents," he said.

8-month window

One amendment being drafted will allow the government to specify when the referendum campaign will start.

In contrast to the election campaign, which lasts about a month, campaigners in the referendum will have as long as eight months, which effectively means Islanders will get some warning that an election is coming soon, but without a specific date.

Another amendment would restrict the spending of money provided by government for the campaign to Islanders.

In response to Bevan-Baker's concern that the bill is being rushed, Brown pointed out the bill has already seen hours of debate in the legislature, and said the government is prepared to put in the time necessary to get right.

But he added it will be passed during the spring sitting.

"We'll be there as long as it takes to get this done," he said.

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