Opposition accuses Houston government of trying to duck scrutiny with new legislation

Opposition MLAs say the Tory government has a problem with accountability and they point to legislation tabled Tuesday at Province House as proof.

Finance Minister Allan MacMaster introduced the Financial Measures Act, a bill that gives the government authority to implement items in the budget with financial implications for the province. But the bill goes much further than that.

The legislation includes amendments to 15 bills and creates two new acts, neither of which appear to have any major financial implications for the province.

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill said the move by the Tories is "just designed to get them out of the legislature quickly so they don't have to answer important questions.

"This is a government that does not want to debate these issues," he told reporters.

New Democrat MLA Lisa Lachance said the move is part of a trend by the Houston government to limit debate and avoid transparency.

"I think it's deeply disturbing," they told reporters.

"There's so much buried in this FMA that it's going to be really difficult for stakeholders to engage."

MacMaster's omnibus-style bill includes tax measures announced in last week's budget that index income tax brackets and some non-refundable tax credits to the rate of inflation.

But it also includes other changes, such as:

• Establishing the framework for municipalities to create codes of conduct for councillors, mayors and wardens;

• Requiring health providers to make records available for the purpose of creating and maintaining electronic health record programs and services;

• Increasing the fine from $100,000 to $1 million for fish buyers who purchase illegal seafood. The fine for subsequent offences can increase to $2 million. The lesser fine was never levied;

• Steps to help municipalities streamline the development process;

• Extending the executive panel on housing in HRM for two more years. Housing Minister John Lohr said the move is a recognition that "we're not there yet" on addressing the housing crisis.

The legislation also includes the creation of two new acts.

The Professional Firefighters Volunteer Act would protect career firefighters from being penalized or disciplined for providing volunteer services.

Labour Minister Jill Balser said the measure is in response to problems some career firefighters in Cape Breton Regional Municipality faced. Along with CBRM, Halifax Regional Municipality and the towns of Amherst, Pictou, Truro and Yarmouth have professional firefighters.

The Tories are also using the legislation to establish the Office for Children and Youth Act.

Advocates have long called for the creation of a child and youth advocate and it was one of the recommendations in the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children restorative inquiry. The step was included in the mandate letter of former community services minister Karla MacFarlane, who is now Speaker of the House.

Nova Scotia is the only province that doesn't have such an office.

Child and youth commissioner to be appointed

Government officials say a commissioner will preside over the office after being appointed through an order in council. Additional staff would be hired to support the office.

MacMaster told reporters that he "wouldn't want to" water down the debate process and that he remains confident that everything included in the Financial Measures Act would receive the scrutiny of the legislature during the spring session.

"There are a lot of hours of debate available when we debate the Financial Measures Act," he said.

The minister said he expects "a lot of the items in this act will be received positively in the legislature," in particular the creation of the child and youth office.

Churchill and Lachance said that is a good step, but they said the office needs to be independent of the government and report to the legislature, not the department and minister.

Community Services Minister Brendan Maguire said the commissioner would be appointed the same way as judges, with an independent panel making a recommendation to the attorney general.

He told reporters that his department "is going to have nothing to do with the actual choosing and picking of who the commissioner is."

Maguire said there would be consultations with stakeholders to discuss how the office functions. Although he said he wants the office to be "as independent, as free as possible," he stopped short of saying it would operate independently of government.

The hope is for the office to be up and running this year, he said.

"I would rather do it right and wait than do it wrong and rush."

The Financial Measures Act is the third piece of legislation the Tories have introduced since the start of the spring session. Typically, it's the last piece of legislation introduced during a session.

The government has also tabled legislation to allow for a merger of municipal units in Antigonish County and an overhaul of the way the energy system is regulated.