The governing Tories' decision to sit out a fall sitting in Newfoundland and Labrador's legislature is confusing, a political scientist says.

Deputy Premier Tom Rideout announced last week that the house of assembly will next sit in the spring. No date has been given.

Deputy Premier Tom Rideout says there is no urgent business facing the house of assembly.
(CBC)

Michael Temelini, who teaches political science at Memorial University in St. John's, said the Progressive Conservatives were re-elected on Oct. 9 after seeking a clear mandate.

"I don't think that the people of Newfoundland and Labrador gave this government a mandate to take a five-month vacation," Temelini said.

"The people of this province gave the [Danny] Williams government a mandate to address problems and issues in our province [and] the proper, legitimate place to address the business of the province is the house of assembly."

In its election blueprint, the PC party promised a law to protect the jobs of military reservists serving overseas, legislation to protect the jobs of whistleblowers and a law that would permit seizure of the proceeds of crime.

All of that will have to wait until the spring sitting, which is expected to deal largely with the budget.

Rideout told CBC News that preparing for a fall sitting is easier said than done.

"We can't open the house without a throne speech," Rideout said. "To have a throne speech prepared and ready to go before an election would be rather presumptuous. We certainly didn't do that."

Rideout said "there is no urgent public business" facing the legislature and all of it can be dealt with in the new year.

New Democratic Party Leader Lorraine Michael said it's important for government business to be conducted in public. She said it was the open scrutiny of the handling of faulty hormone receptor tests involving hundreds of breast cancer patients that led to a public inquiry.

"People don't know what we're doing for the most part unless they see us in the house of assembly," Michael said.

Temelini said the government — which is trying to restore public confidence in the wake of a legislative spending scandal that tarnished all of the political parties — will have a more difficult time as long as the doors of the legislature remain closed.