N.S. government passes budget following 14-day spring sitting

Premier Tim Houston's Tory government wrapped a lightning-fast spring sitting at the Nova Scotia legislature on Wednesday by passing a budget that includes billions of dollars for health care, but no increase to income assistance rates.

MLAs sat for a total of 14 days and the government passed six pieces of legislation, along with the bills required to put the provincial budget into action.

The government's budget includes $14.4 billion in expenses, $6.5 billion of which is related to health-care in the form of services, wages, construction projects and major retention bonuses for nurses.

Houston told reporters that while money will be an important part of making good on his promise to fix the health-care system, he also has high hopes for the Patients Access to Care Act, which is intended to speed up the licencing process for health-care professionals and make it easier to expand the scopes of their practices.

"There's a lot of work to do, there's no question about that," he said.

"But I think Nova Scotians know that we're active, we're looking for innovative solutions and we're dedicated. We want to get this fixed for Nova Scotians. We will."

The legislation was not without controversy. Professional regulators supported the intent of the law, but said it could jeopardize public safety, based on the way it was written, by potentially forcing them to licence people who are not competent or have disciplinary issues in other jurisdictions.

Health Minister Michelle Thompson has said those concerns would be addressed in regulations that guide how the law is used.

The government also passed a bill to extend the cap on rent increases until the end of 2025. As of January, it's expected to increase to five per cent. Opposition members and housing advocates have argued that the cap will not achieve its goals because fixed-term leases are being used to raise rents beyond the limit.

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill said the government's budget leaves the most vulnerable members of society worse off, which means the health-care system will face further pressures.

"We know that the vast majority of acute cases in our hospitals, the sickest people in our hospitals, are coming from low-income backgrounds," he told reporters.

"This government has frozen income assistance for two years in a row. They have not brought anything in to help with food insecurity and we think what they've done for non-market, affordable housing is really minimal and isn't going to have an impact."

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said she's disappointed the government didn't pay attention to the concerns of health-care regulators, creating potential risks to the public.

Chender said the government's budget included $1.5 billion in unexpected revenue and yet the Tories failed to take concrete measures to address cost-of-living pressures, affordable housing or getting family doctors for more people.

"So we have a massive amount of money going out the door and we don't really have anything to show for it," she told reporters.

While short, the sitting was not always smooth for the government.

The Tories were again criticized for not moving on calls from the opposition and advocates to restrict the use of non-disclosure agreements in cases of sexual harassment and assault.

Long hours and late nights

Houston and Justice Minister Brad Johns continued to say the government is reviewing laws on the issue in other jurisdictions, a process that has stretched well beyond a year.

Meanwhile, the subject caused a flash point in the legislature when Independent MLA Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin tabled a document she said was a copy of an non-disclosure agreement a former Tory employee signed with the caucus in 2018. That's around the time the party forced out then-leader Jamie Baillie for allegations of inappropriate behaviour toward a female staffer.

The Tories, who denied having anything to do with the document, brought forward a resolution calling for Smith-McCrossin to be removed from the chamber until she apologized for misleading the House. Smith-McCrossin did not apologize but later clarified for reporters that she could not attest to the origin of the unsigned document.

That was good enough for the premier and Community Services Minister Karla MacFarlane, the former interim leader who introduced the resolution. Both said Smith-McCrossin's admission was essentially a retraction.

As has become custom at Province House, MLAs sat late into the evening debating and passing legislation and the budget.

Houston, a vocal critic of such approaches while in opposition, said what happens at the legislature is important for democracy, but the length of a session is based on what's required to do the people's business.

Churchill, who was part of a government that regularly sat late and pushed through legislation as quickly as possible, said the House is a challenging place to be for a government because they're subjected to daily scrutiny by reporters and members of the opposition.

A 'hostile' place to families and women

As she has since first being elected in 2017, Chender said the legislature needs to change its hours so it is more accessible for the public and more accommodating to members with young families.

Along with the tone that often comes with long and late hours, Chender said the situation demonstrates that the legislature is "essentially a workplace that is pretty hostile to families and pretty hostile to women."

The Tories might be clear of daily trips to the legislature until the fall, but there is no shortage of challenges awaiting them.

The latest numbers for the need-a-family practice registry — delayed yet again this month — are unlikely to decline when they are finally released. The government is also trying to sign collective agreements with nurses and paramedics at a time when retaining workers is a challenge.

Meanwhile, as Houston nears the halfway point of his mandate, he said he would meet with caucus members over the summer to discuss their plans and contemplate a cabinet shuffle. That could include a change in Speaker of the House, although the premier was noncommittal when asked about the future of Keith Bain in the role.