Government House Leader, the Honourable Joan Burke, said today that the legislation passed during the spring session of the House of Assembly will directly benefit many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. A tremendous amount of work was accomplished during the Second Session of the 46^th General Assembly, with thirty-six pieces of legislation and two resolutions passed.

"We have made significant accomplishments during this session, including some much-needed updates and amendments to various pieces of legislation, as well as new legislation that are of significance to the people of our province," said Minister Burke. "In particular a new bill, An Act Respecting Apologies, was introduced in keeping with recommendations from both the Cameron Inquiry and the Task Force on Adverse Health Events. This will allow health care providers, institutions and boards to express sympathy, regret or remorse without fear of liability. Another extremely important piece of legislation was the Supplementary Supply Act 2009-10, which grants government the funds necessary to take care of the workers who were affected by the Abitibi closure in Central Newfoundland."

"I would like to commend the Department of Government Services and its officials for the remarkable amount of work they have done over the past few years in order to update their legislation," continued Minister Burke. "Of the thirty-six bills that passed this session, nine of them were from the Department of Government Services. Much effort has gone into updating various acts in order to reflect modern-day standards and practices, policy issues, language, and privacy requirements."

"We had some exceptional debate and input this session, and I would like to recognize all of my colleagues for their valuable contribution," said Minister Burke.

Details on the legislation can be found at //www.assembly.nl.ca/business.

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Media contact:
Donna Ivey
Communications
House of Assembly
709-729-0898, 697-1424