Nova Scotia Legislature
Type
Type	Unicameral
Houses	House of Assembly
Leadership
Speaker	Charlie Parker, New Democratic Party since June 25, 2009
Structure
Members	52
Meeting place
Province House, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Website
www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/

The Nova Scotia Legislature, consisting of Her Majesty The Queen represented by the Lieutenant Governor (sometimes referred to as the Governor) and the House of Assembly, is the legislative branch of the provincial government of Nova Scotia, Canada. The Assembly is the oldest in Canada, having first sat in 1758^[1], and in 1848 was the site of the first responsible government in colonies of the British Empire.

Originally (in 1758), the Legislature consisted of the Governor (later a Lieutenant Governor), the appointed Council (upper chamber) (which met in the Red Chamber shown on the right and now used for committee meetings and social functions) and the elected House of Assembly (lower chamber). The Council had both executive and legislative functions. In 1838, the Council was replaced by an Executive Council with the executive function and a Legislative Council with the upper chamber legislative function. In 1928, the Legislative Council was abolished.

There are 52 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) representing 52 electoral districts. Members nearly always represent one of the three main political parties of the province, the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia, Liberal Party of Nova Scotia, and Nova Scotia New Democratic Party.

The Assembly meets in Province House, a National Historic Site and Canada's oldest and smallest legislative building. It is located in Halifax. It opened on February 11, 1819. The building was also the original home to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, and the location of the "Freedom of the Press" trial of Joseph Howe. Its main entrance is found on Hollis Street in Halifax.

The building is ornately decorated with, among other things, plaster British falcons. Several have been missing their heads since the 1840s. At that time, a Member of the House, Laurence O'Connor Doyle, went on a rampage, knocking the heads off with his cane upon hearing that a dispute between the United States and New Brunswick had been ruled in favour of the Americans. He had mistakenly assumed them to be eagles.^[2]

[edit] Party standings

A map showing how Nova Scotia's 52 electoral districts voted in 2009

[edit] Committees

[edit] Standing Committees

• Assembly Matters
• Community Services
• Economic Development
• Human Resources
• Internal Affairs
• Law Amendments
• Private & Local Bills
• Public Accounts
• Resources
• Veterans Affairs

[edit] Committees of the Whole House

• Supply
  • Supply Subcommittee

[edit] Select Committees

• Electoral Boundaries
• Fire Safety
• National Unity
• Participation in the Democratic Process
• Petroleum Product Pricing
• Workers' Compensation Act

[edit] Seating plan

[edit] See also

• List of Nova Scotia General Assemblies — list of sitting members for each session
• List of political parties in Nova Scotia
• Executive Council of Nova Scotia (Cabinet)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Nova Scotia Legislature
• Nova Scotia House of Assembly seating plan

v • d • e   Canadian Legislative Bodies Parliament of Canada Sovereign • Senate • House of Commons Legislative assemblies Alberta • British Columbia • Manitoba • New Brunswick • Newfoundland and Labrador • Northwest Territories • Nova Scotia • Nunavut • Ontario • Prince Edward Island • Quebec • Saskatchewan • Yukon City councils Abbotsford • Barrie • Brampton • Burlington • Burnaby • Calgary • Cambridge • Cape Breton • Chatham-Kent • Coquitlam • Edmonton • Gatineau • Greater Sudbury • Guelph • Halifax • Hamilton • Kingston • Kitchener • Laval • Lévis • London • Longueuil • Markham • Mississauga • Moncton • Montreal • Niagara Falls • Oakville • Oshawa • Ottawa • Quebec City • Regina • Richmond • Richmond Hill • St. Catharines • St. John's • Saanich • Saguenay • Saskatoon • Sault Ste. Marie • Sherbrooke • Surrey • Thunder Bay • Toronto • Vancouver • Vaughan • Victoria • Whitby • Whitehorse • Windsor • Winnipeg • Yellowknife

v • d • e Politics of Nova Scotia The Crown Sovereign • Queen Elizabeth II Lieutenant-Governor Mayann E. Francis • Former lieutenant-governors Premier Darrell Dexter • Former premiers • Executive Council (Cabinet) Opposition Leader Stephen McNeil • Former Opposition Leaders Legislature Current members • Former legislatures Speaker of the Assembly Charlie Parker • Former Speakers Political parties Progressive Conservative • Liberal • New Democratic • Green Elections 2009 general election • Past elections Current issues: Equalization payments Other provinces and territories BC • AB • SK • MB • ON • QC • NB • NS • PEI • NL • YU • NT • NU