Overview
- Province House reopened Thursday with new limits on what visitors can wear, bring and do in the public galleries.
- The rules bar visible electronics, prohibit reading, writing, sketching or speaking during debates, and block front-row seating in the east and west galleries.
- Anyone who was in the galleries on March 24 faces a temporary ban pending a sergeant-at-arms investigation into the late-night disruption that halted proceedings.
- Speaker Danielle Barkhouse said some limits match House of Commons gallery practices and announced a post-session security review to determine longer-term changes.
- Premier Tim Houston cited videos of shouting and spitting to defend the curbs, while NDP and Liberal leaders said the week-long closure shut out families and school groups and questioned a blanket ban on lettering after Black Lives Matter shirts drew scrutiny.