Houston should enact the Coastal Protection Act, fix the Finance Act, and ban the misuse of NDAs

HALIFAX- The Houston government is refusing to be accountable to Nova Scotians. Their decision to abandon the Coastal Protection Act, their refusal to implement the Auditor General’s recommendations to fix the Finance Act, and their inability to explain why they won’t ban the misuse of NDAs, are three key examples of their lack of transparency.

The NSNDP will use its Opposition Day to discuss these issues, including debating an updated Coastal Protection Act that requires the government to create regulations and enact the law by June 1, 2024.

“Nova Scotians want to protect the coastline, and they want a government that supports them in this work. People are frustrated and disappointed by Tim Houston’s choice to abandon the Act and he should reverse that decision today,” said NSNDP Leader Claudia Chender. “Across Nova Scotia the people I talk to feel the urgency of the climate emergency and want to know their government understands the serious risks to all Nova Scotians of developing along the coast.”

Houston continues to spend hundreds of millions of dollars outside of the budget process, a practice the Auditor General has called for the government to stop two years in a row. NSNDP legislation to fix the Finance Act will be debated today as well.

“Things are tight for Nova Scotia families and people are making difficult choices about how they’re spending their own money,” said NSNDP Finance spokesperson Lisa Lachance. “It’s more than reasonable to expect the government to be accountable for where they spend public funds and why they make those decisions. The increased use of unbudgeted appropriations is part of a terrible trend by the Houston government to limit debate and avoid transparency.”

The NSNDP Caucus will also call Bill 144, legislation to ban the misuse of NDAs, for second reading debate today.

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