Editing Filibuster (section)

=====Newfoundland and Labrador=====

An ironic example of filibustering occurred when the [[Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador]] reportedly had "nothing else to do in the [[Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly|House of Assembly]]" and debated between only themselves about their own budget after both the Conservative and NDP party indicated either their support for the bill or intent to vote.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McLeod |first=James |date=March 14, 2017 |title=Liberal government filibusters its own budget debate |url=https://www.thetelegram.com/news/local/2017/3/14/liberal-government-filibusters-its-own-budget-debate.amp.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315024711/http://www.thetelegram.com/news/local/2017/3/14/liberal-government-filibusters-its-own-budget-debate.amp.html |archive-date=March 15, 2017 |access-date=November 5, 2017 |website=The Telegram}}</ref>

The [[Legislative Assembly of Ontario|Legislature]] of the [[Ontario|Province of Ontario]] has witnessed several significant filibusters,<ref name="cpsa-acsp.ca">{{Cite web |title=Obstruction in the Ontario Legislature: The struggle for power between the government and the opposition |url=http://www.cpsa-acsp.ca/papers-2006/Locke.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130307231612/http://www.cpsa-acsp.ca/papers-2006/Locke.pdf |archive-date=2013-03-07 |access-date=2012-08-07}}</ref> although two are notable for the unusual manner by which they were undertaken.<ref>{{Cite web |title=On Filibusters |url=http://thoughtundermined.com/2011/01/26/on-filibusters/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120803022656/http://thoughtundermined.com/2011/01/26/on-filibusters/ |archive-date=2012-08-03 |access-date=2012-08-07}}</ref> The first was an effort on May 6, 1991, by [[Mike Harris]] — later premier but then leader of the opposition [[Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario|Progressive Conservatives]] — to derail the implementation of the budget tabled by the [[Ontario New Democratic Party|NDP]] government under premier [[Bob Rae]]. The tactic involved the introduction of Bill 95 (''a.k.a.'' Zebra Mussel Act), the title of which contained the names of every lake, river and stream in the province.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hansard Transcripts 1991-May-06 ¦ Legislative Assembly of Ontario |date=May 6, 1991 |url=https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/house-documents/parliament-35/session-1/1991-05-06/hansard#PARA385 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220830173957/https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/house-documents/parliament-35/session-1/1991-05-06/hansard#PARA385 |archive-date=2022-08-30 |access-date=2022-06-03}}</ref> Between the reading of the title by the proposing [[Member of Provincial Parliament (Ontario)|MPP]], and the subsequent obligatory reading of the title by the clerk of the chamber, this filibuster occupied the entirety of the day's session until adjournment. To prevent this particular tactic from being used again, changes were eventually made to the [[Parliamentary procedure|Standing Orders]] to limit the time allocated each day to the introduction of bills to 30 minutes.<ref name="cpsa-acsp.ca" />

A second high-profile and uniquely implemented filibuster in the [[Legislative Assembly of Ontario|Ontario Legislature]] occurred in April 1997, where the [[Ontario New Democratic Party]], then in opposition, tried to prevent the governing [[Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario|Progressive Conservatives']] [[Common Sense Revolution#Bill 103|Bill 103]] from taking effect. To protest the Tory government's legislation that would [[Amalgamation (politics)|amalgamate]] the municipalities of [[Metro Toronto]] into the "megacity" of [[Toronto]], the small NDP caucus introduced 11,500 [[Bill (proposed law)|amendments]] to the megacity bill, created on computers with [[mail merge]] functionality. Each amendment would name a street in the proposed city, and provide that public hearings be held in the megacity with residents of the street invited to participate. The [[Ontario Liberal Party]] also joined the filibuster with a smaller series of amendments; a typical Liberal amendment would give a historical designation to a named street. The NDP then added another series of over 700 amendments, each proposing a different date for the bill to come into force.

The filibuster began on April 2 with the Abbeywood Trail amendment<ref>{{Cite web |title=Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Hansard. Wednesday, 2 April 1997, volume B |url=http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/house-proceedings/house_detail.do?locale=en&Date=1997-04-02&Parl=36&Sess=1&detailPage=/house-proceedings/transcripts/files_html/1997-04-02_L176b.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707213246/http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/house-proceedings/house_detail.do?locale=en&Date=1997-04-02&Parl=36&Sess=1&detailPage=%2Fhouse-proceedings%2Ftranscripts%2Ffiles_html%2F1997-04-02_L176b.htm |archive-date=2017-07-07 |access-date=2010-12-24 |publisher=Ontla.on.ca |language=fr}}</ref> and occupied the legislature day and night, the members alternating in shifts. On April 4, exhausted and often sleepy government members inadvertently let one of the NDP amendments pass, and the handful of residents of Cafon Court in [[Etobicoke, Ontario|Etobicoke]] were granted the right to a public consultation on the bill, although the government subsequently nullified this with an amendment of its own.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Hansard. Friday, 4 April 1997, volume H |url=http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/house-proceedings/house_detail.do?locale=en&Date=1997-04-04&Parl=36&Sess=1&detailPage=%2Fhouse-proceedings%2Ftranscripts%2Ffiles_html%2F1997-04-04_L176h.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611084941/http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/house-proceedings/house_detail.do?locale=en&Date=1997-04-04&Parl=36&Sess=1&detailPage=%2Fhouse-proceedings%2Ftranscripts%2Ffiles_html%2F1997-04-04_L176h.htm |archive-date=2011-06-11 |access-date=2010-12-24 |publisher=Ontla.on.ca}}</ref> On April 6, with the alphabetical list of streets barely into the Es, [[Speaker (politics)|Speaker]] [[Chris Stockwell]] ruled that there was no need for the 220 words identical in each amendment to be read aloud each time, only the street name.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Hansard. Sunday, 6 April 1997, volume N |url=http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/house-proceedings/house_detail.do?locale=en&Date=1997-04-06&Parl=36&Sess=1&detailPage=%2Fhouse-proceedings%2Ftranscripts%2Ffiles_html%2F1997-04-06_L176n.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611085021/http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/house-proceedings/house_detail.do?locale=en&Date=1997-04-06&Parl=36&Sess=1&detailPage=%2Fhouse-proceedings%2Ftranscripts%2Ffiles_html%2F1997-04-06_L176n.htm |archive-date=2011-06-11 |access-date=2010-12-24 |publisher=Ontla.on.ca}}</ref> With a vote still needed on each amendment, Zorra Street was not reached until April 8.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Hansard. Tuesday, 8 April 1997, volume S |url=http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/house-proceedings/house_detail.do?locale=en&Date=1997-04-08&Parl=36&Sess=1&detailPage=%2Fhouse-proceedings%2Ftranscripts%2Ffiles_html%2F1997-04-08_L176s.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611085115/http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/house-proceedings/house_detail.do?locale=en&Date=1997-04-08&Parl=36&Sess=1&detailPage=%2Fhouse-proceedings%2Ftranscripts%2Ffiles_html%2F1997-04-08_L176s.htm |archive-date=2011-06-11 |access-date=2010-12-24 |publisher=Ontla.on.ca}}</ref> The Liberal amendments were then voted down one by one, eventually using a similar abbreviated process, and the filibuster finally ended on April 11.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Hansard. Friday, 11 April 1997, volume AE |url=http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/house-proceedings/house_detail.do?locale=en&Date=1997-04-11&Parl=36&Sess=1&detailPage=%2Fhouse-proceedings%2Ftranscripts%2Ffiles_html%2F1997-04-11_L176zae.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611085145/http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/house-proceedings/house_detail.do?locale=en&Date=1997-04-11&Parl=36&Sess=1&detailPage=%2Fhouse-proceedings%2Ftranscripts%2Ffiles_html%2F1997-04-11_L176zae.htm |archive-date=2011-06-11 |access-date=2010-12-24 |publisher=Ontla.on.ca}}</ref>