Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil. Photo: Nova Scotia Government

Nova Scotia’s premier is making his last appearance in the legislature, and he’s none too happy about it.

Premier Stephen McNeil has asked the leaders of the Progressive Conservatives and New Democratic Parties to sit in a virtual session Friday to avoid meeting in a large group during COVID.

McNeil has previously announced he will prorogue the legislature at that sitting. The formality will close the fall session without any legislation being introduced, debated or passed.

The premier expressed his frustration with the other two parties at a press conference following Thursday’s cabinet meeting, accusing them of forcing government to meet in person.

“But I’m going to have to tell people that I have to ignore the public health protocols because the two opposition people think they’re equivalent to health care workers, they’re equivalent to teachers, they’re equivalent to people who have been working their tails off to keep us safe when the very job they do could have easily happened virtually. They have no role tomorrow. The Lieutenant Governor is proroguing it,” said McNeil.

The premier was referring to a letter sent by the NDP, which stated, “Across the province, teachers, nurses, health care workers, public servants, grocery store workers, and others have been going to their workplaces, and we see no reason why MLAs could not be present in the legislature.”

Even with reduced numbers representing all parties, McNeil objects to an in-person sitting of the legislature.

“The very thing I’m asking you to do over the holidays to keep our province safe, by keeping your gatherings at ten, I’m being forced by the opposition to cross the street with more than 15 people. I want you to think about that the next time you go to the polls,” said McNeil. “All the sacrifice you’ve made over the last ten months, all we ask from our elected officials is join you, to be a little courageous, to do things a bit different. But instead they put their own self-interest ahead of yours.”

NDP Leader Gary Burrill said his party isn’t forcing the government to do anything.

“To mischaracterize it as though we were forcing the government to do something that is unsafe, this is entirely a misreading of what we have said, at such a level that, in my judgment, it is manipulative and insincere and untruthful,” said Burrill.

NDP Leader Gary Burrill. Zoom screenshot

PC Leader Tim Houston said no one is asking to violate health orders. It’s clear to him the premier is trying to politicize this final sitting.

“I think what’s happening here,” said Houston, “is the premier is lashing out because he’s embarrassed by his own mismanagement of the whole file.”

By law, the legislature needs to sit twice a year. An early spring session allowed the governing Liberals to pass a budget before the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic set in. But the legislature hasn’t met since then.

House leaders from all three parties have been working since August to find a way to safely return to the legislature.

PC Leader Tim Houston. Zoom screenshot

Houston said his party found out late Tuesday evening McNeil wanted to sit virtually Friday and they began to plan accordingly.

“Now we find out the premier didn’t really have that plan organized, he hadn’t prepared for that, he hadn’t done the work necessary that should’ve been done over the past couple of months.,” said Houston. “And now, if we listen to him, we can’t sit virtually, we don’t know, we’re still waiting for directions.”

Houston said he was going to contact the province’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Robert Strang for his recommendation on how many people could be safely present in the legislature.

At dinnertime Thursday Strang responded to the PC leader that he had already given the Lieutenant Governor’s office direction, and that under the current restrictions in the Public Health Order there can be no more than 5 people together in the legislature chamber.

Strang added, because all Nova Scotians are asked to avoid non-essential travel in and out of Halifax until December 21, MLAs should attend the sitting virtually.

Premier McNeil said an archaic rule of law would compel the legislature to meet in person to pass a motion to allow them to meet virtually.

Whether or not select members of all parties will be present at Friday’s sitting, just like the rest of 2020, the final legislative session for McNeil will be memorable.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

PC Leader Tim Houston addresses crowd at Shipyards Landing, Bridgewater in July 2020. Photo credit: Ed Halverson

Nova Scotia Progressive Conservatives are setting mental health as one of the party’s top priorities.

In what could be seen as a precursor to an election campaign, PC Leader Tim Houston released the comprehensive plan in Halifax last week.

“We want to put this forward because it’s really important to me that Nova Scotians know what I as a leader stand for, what our party stands for and really has a sense of what we will do, what our vision is for this province,” said Houston.

The centerpiece of the plan is to pull mental health out of the health portfolio and make a new department with a dedicated minister to be accountable.

Houston says the province already spends over $344 million on mental health services each year, which separated out would make it the seventh largest department by budget behind Community Services, Education, Health, Justice, Labour and Advanced Education and Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal.

“The bill’s already on the table,” said Houston. “What we’re doing is saying, look, we’re willing to pick up the bill, acknowledge the bill and deal with it. Because the cost to our society of people not getting health care, not getting addictions and mental health support when they need it, the cost is tremendous.”

Houston says statistics show 500,000 Canadians will miss work this year because of a mental health ailment.

The PC plan would invest in universal mental health care by creating new billing codes for mental health to allow private mental health professionals to bill the province for their services.

Houston says that allows every Nova Scotian to access mental health services when they are needed.

“If you have money in your pocket, you can get private care or if you work for an employer that has coverage you can get private care, but for everyone else you can’t. That’s called a two-tier system where those who have money can get treatment and those who don’t, can’t, and this country, this province, we’re not on with two-tiered systems. Health care access, addictions and mental health access, it has to be universal. Everyone should be able to access it,” said Houston.

Any Nova Scotia who currently has mental health coverage through an existing plan would be expected to use that first and provisions would be made to ensure employers couldn’t cut mental health care coverage from their health plans.

As the third pillar of the plan, Houston hopes more mental health professionals will be attracted to the province once they see the supports are in place.

Houston says bringing those professionals to Nova Scotia will reduce wait times for help, which can currently be up to a year.

“There’s nothing worse right now than someone in a crisis who goes to the emergency room and spends hours and hours and hours, waiting and waiting, only to probably be told to call another line on Monday morning. That’s very, very cruel,” said Houston. “Well, I guess something worse than that is the person that doesn’t go to the emergency room because they’re worried about the stigma.”

Houston admits most people would generally equate the PC Party with fiscal restraint and not progressive social policy, but said they would be missing part of the party’s core ideals.

“We have always been a socially progressive party. Yes, fiscally responsible but government that’s accountable, government that listens, and you see that in what we do when we’re in government,” said Houston. “We have a human rights commission in this province because of a PC government. A lot of people don’t know, Nova Scotia only the ninth jurisdiction in the world to legalize same-sex marriage – under a PC government because one of our core values is to be socially progressive.”

Houston says opposition parties don’t generally provide detailed policy plans but he would be happy to see the sitting liberal government take theirs and run with it, because the mental health of Nova Scotians is too important to wait.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson