PCs use majority to trim opposition's question time at N.S. legislative committees

Progressive Conservative MLAs in Nova Scotia flexed their majority on two legislative committees Tuesday to reduce the amount of time available to opposition members to ask questions.

Members of the government say it's about fairness and a nod to the record-setting number of MLAs in the PC caucus, but opposition members are accusing the PCs of trying to reduce the amount of scrutiny they face.

Customarily, the time distributed to MLAs to ask questions of committee witnesses has taken one of two formats: MLAs raise their hand and the chair keeps a speaking order for the duration of the meeting; or each caucus gets 20 minutes for questions and then a second round of questioning is divided evenly among the three parties based on the remaining time in the meeting.

On Tuesday, PC MLAs declared neither of those options to be sufficient.

'It would simply be unfair'

"It would simply be unfair to MLAs in the room if we were restricted to one third of the time for questioning," PC MLA Brad McGowan said during a meeting of the legislature's community services committee.

McGowan, one of 43 PC MLAs elected during the November provincial election, put forward a motion to change the time distribution for questions to give the PCs 30 minutes, the NDP 20 minutes and 10 minutes for the Liberals. During the second round of questioning, the PCs would get half of the remaining time, with the two opposition parties splitting what's left over.

There are nine NDP MLAs and two Liberal MLAs in the House of Assembly.

McGowan's motion was supported by fellow PC MLAs Damian Stoilov, Dianne Timmins, Kyle MacQuarrie and committee chair Susan Corkum-Greek.

PC MLA Melissa Sheehy-Richard gave a similar rationale when she put forward the same motion during a meeting of the human resources committee. That committee previously used the hand-raising option to determine a speaking order.

'A question of power'

Sheehy-Richard said the change would give "equal opportunity" to all MLAs to ask questions. She added that because of the size of the PC caucus, there are fewer opportunities for their MLAs to sit on committees.

"Some of us are maybe only on one committee, so it's the only opportunity that they have to showcase their communities or ask questions," she said.

Sheehy-Richard's motion was supported by her PC caucus colleagues Rick Burns, Danny MacGillivray, Adegoke Fadare and Chris Palmer, the committee chair.

In an interview following the human resources committee meeting, New Democrat MLA Paul Wozney said the PCs are using their majority "to constrict the ability of the opposition" to scrutinize government decisions.

"Fundamentally this is not a question of fairness, it's a question of power and how it's being used," said Wozney.

'What are they afraid of'

Interim Liberal Leader Derek Mombourquette said the changes the PCs are making at the committee level leave him wondering what they have planned for when MLAs return to Province House next week for the spring session of the legislature.

"One of the questions I'm left with today is, 'What are they afraid of?'" he said.