Opposition leaders express concerns about N.S. government secrecy

Less than two months into the Progressive Conservative government's new mandate, opposition leaders are already expressing concern about decreasing transparency.

Speaking to reporters following a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Premier Tim Houston said that although officials in his government continue to discuss the "goals of the mandate," they've yet to decide if those goals will be written down in traditional mandate letters for cabinet ministers.

Whether those goals take the form of mandate letters or something else, Houston said he's not sure if they'll be made public.

"We need to make sure we know we have everything together and then we bring it forward," he said. "Otherwise, people start to pick it apart."

During Houston's previous mandate, letters to cabinet ministers outlining the premier's expectations for them were published online, a tradition previous governments also followed.

Mandate letters are not the only thing that could be shielded from Nova Scotians, however.

Public Works Minister Fred Tilley could not say if the government would make public the final report by the Joint Regional Transportation Agency, whenever that is delivered.

"We'll take a look at that and we'll get back to you on a release," he told reporters.

Pressed by reporters about why the document might not be made public, Tilley said it could contain information that is "not important to Nova Scotians or not relevant."

The Progressive Conservatives have already seen some portions of the report, which factored into announcements the Tories made just before and during the last provincial election about Highway 102 upgrades, the Hammonds Plains interchange and an assessment of the viability of a light rail system.

'Daddy knows best'

Meanwhile, Health Minister Michelle Thompson could not say why officials with Nova Scotia Health provided so little information about a recent power outage at the Halifax Infirmary's emergency department or why officials refused to provide a breakdown of what happened to the people who came off the need-a-family-practice registry in an update provided earlier this month.

"That's probably best directed to Nova Scotia Health," she told reporters.

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said she's seeing an increasing move from the government to "keep Nova Scotians in the dark."

"Daddy knows best is a show that was before my time, and yet it does seem to play a pervasive role in this premier's approach," she told reporters, referencing a 1950s television show called Father Knows Best.

"We can decide for ourselves what we think of the initiatives and the work of government and then we can let government know when we think they're doing a good job and we can challenge them when we don't."

Interim Liberal Leader Derek Mombourquette said he's seeing a trend from the Tories in their approach to openness.

He said the report from the Joint Regional Transportation Agency is being produced by the public service and, as such, should be a public document.

Mandate letters, likewise, give the public a checklist to monitor the government's progress during its mandate, said Mombourquette.