Op-Ed: We need to begin building our economic future today

Like many Nova Scotians, I was surprised to hear Tim Houston’s new mandate for his government – something he’s kept hidden until now.

Disguised as a response to Trump’s tariff threat, Houston’s letter to his caucus last week contains no concrete plans to address that very real and imminent risk to Nova Scotia jobs and to our economy. These tariffs could be in effect as soon as Feb. 1, and economists say this could cause a recession. We need to know what the plan is.

We also need a long-term strategy to grow our economy and ensure the survival and adaptation of our traditional resource industries for future generations. Instead, we got Tim Houston's plans to take us back in time by turbocharging old-school resource extraction across the province, slashing regulation and overturning long-held and hard-fought protection of our fisheries, our groundwater and our environment. Our very own version of Trump’s “drill, baby, drill.”

There was nothing about science or specific jobs or benefits. Tim’s memo was also shockingly silent on the need for consultation with Mi'kmaq communities and the need for social license for these proposed new projects.

He’ll encourage uranium exploration, contrary to legislation all parties have supported. We know from his abandonment of the Coastal Protection Act what this Premier thinks about legislation passed by all parties, representing all Nova Scotians. He wants to start fracking, potentially putting the drinking water of the 45 per cent of Nova Scotians who rely on well water at risk.

Tim is right about two things: we need a response to Trump’s threatened tariffs, and we need a plan to grow our economy. Unfortunately, we have no details on the former, leaving Nova Scotian workers and companies to wait and wonder, and on the latter, we have a lazy, ideological, “deregulate and things will be great” approach.

This province was built on forestry, fishing, mining, and agriculture. These are industries we will continue to nurture and that will continue to provide good jobs, but they are changing. And with those changes come opportunities. We have examples from one end of the province to the other of local foresters, co-ops, mills and woodlot owners who see opportunity in sustainable forestry, finding new markets, and managing resources for profit today and for future generations.

Our fisheries need clarity and leadership from this government, especially when the Premier speculates about drilling in George’s Bank, only to completely flip his position just a few days later and blame “special interest groups” for the confusion. The people representing our $2-billion seafood industry are a group well worth listening to.

While this government floats fracking, uranium mining and offshore drilling, it has missed opportunities to market our incredible seafood to the world and to grow and embrace existing opportunities in sea farming, sustainable aquaculture, shellfish farming, and more. These are sustainable sectors that can directly benefit local communities, create jobs, help clean our oceans, and create resilient shorelines that benefit us all.

Critical minerals are vital to our global future – and may hold future wealth and jobs – but mineral exploration requires clear environmental regulation, scientific backing, community consent and, most importantly, provincial benefit.

What Tim Houston is offering is a speculative fantasy where big industry runs roughshod over communities and regulations that have been in place for years. Instead of a plan that builds on the strong resource sectors we have, he’s willing to pit these sectors against each other and put those jobs at risk with no clear guarantee of good jobs, provincial benefit, or sustained economic growth for local businesses and communities.

There is a future for our resource sectors where Nova Scotian families and communities benefit from good jobs, stable growth, and the preservation of our province for our children and grandchildren. We need to begin building that future today.

Claudia Chender is the Leader of the Nova Scotia NDP.