The official opposition drilled into the Houston government Thursday morning just days before legislature goes back into session.
The budget will be tabled Monday when the spring session begins but not until the evening so there will be no opportunity for questions.
Leader of the NDP Claudia Chender said this means the PC’s are not only evading accountability but also lacking a shocking level of transparency.
“They have decided to bring this historically terrible budget in on a Monday night when Nova Scotians won’t have a chance to see it on the evening news. Won’t be able to understand what’s coming down and we expect that we’ll be in an out of here in two weeks. This government does not like being asked questions,” said Chender.
The fall session of the legislature ended after only eight days, which was historically quick.
Availability
Chender accused Houston of being evasive pointing to his lack of availability.
“What we have from this government is announcements and a lot of travel, social media, some videos, some AI memes and very little accountability and debate and engagement with the people,” said Chender.
Premier Tim Houston recently made trips to Massachusetts as well as New York to discuss wind energy, which caused him to miss the latest cabinet meeting.
He also attended a premier’s meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney in Ottawa last month before CUSMA talks began with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Deficit
Nova Scotia has a $1.5 billion deficit, which Chender called enormous problem.
“That should be enough evidence to force this government to finally be accountable,” added Chender.
She said given that the province had a credit rating downgrade, there is a large deficit anticipated.
Chender said it is an insult to Nova Scotians to get message from the government about having to sacrifice along with challenges and cuts in the budget.
“That’s not the fault of Nova Scotians. [They’re] are working hard. They’re taking care of their families. They’re trying to pay their bills,” added Chender.
Judge appointed
Three new judges were appointed to the provincial court last week.
One of them was, Cameron MacKeen, a former P.C. campaign co-chair, selected by a third-party committee.
Chender said the move is extremely problematic, regardless of MacKeen’s accomplishments.
“I think Nova Scotians should be asking a lot of questions.”
