Nova Scotia's PC MLAs not ready to commit to weekly public accounts meetings

Progressive Conservative MLAs on the legislature's public accounts committee want to know how their counterparts across Canada operate before setting a schedule for how often the group will meet in Nova Scotia.

The committee held its first meeting on Wednesday since the provincial election that saw the PCs grow their majority to a record-setting 43 seats.

Committee vice-chair and Pictou West MLA Marco MacLeod made the motion to review how often other legislatures have their public accounts meetings before deciding whether to stick with the traditional weekly meeting schedule here.

In an interview, MacLeod said it makes sense to review the details as the committee begins its work with new members following the election.

"We're going to be working together for a long time, so we need to make sure everyone's in agreement and see what works best for us," said MacLeod.

Opposition MLAs question motivation

Opposition members of the committee questioned the intention of MacLeod's motion, however, and what it could be leading to.

NDP MLA Lisa Lachance said the PC government has "a consistent pattern" of wanting to avoid accountability. The public accounts committee is typically used to discuss the findings of auditor general reports and things affecting the province's finances. The meetings often create difficult headlines for governments.

"They don't like being put under pressure," Lachance said following Wednesday's meeting.

"I don't think they're going to suggest that we meet more often than weekly, so I think this is obviously a move to try and limit the public accounts committee meetings."

Liberal MLA Derek Mombourquette shared that view.

A previous Liberal government under former premier Stephen McNeil used its majority to reduce the committee's meetings to monthly before the Tories restored the weekly schedule following their election win in 2021. Premier Tim Houston's government has put its own stamp on how committees operate, including who can attend as witnesses from government departments. 

The committee also received details on Wednesday from Auditor General Kim Adair about the schedule for upcoming reports from her office.

Upcoming auditor general reports

Adair's annual financial report will come next month, followed by a report in March on funding to universities. In April, her office will issue a progress update on recommendations from previous reports.

Her team is also doing a deep dive into health care this year, although release dates for those reports aren't available yet.

According to the auditor general's website, work in progress includes examinations of alternative procurement and management of selected health contracts, planning and acquiring nursing home beds, and key performance indicators for the PC government's Action for Health plan.

Adair released a scathing report last year examining the Tories' use of untendered contracts and the purchase of a former hotel construction site to convert it into a health-care facility.

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