REALITY CHECK: Houston government puts power grabs over people’s priorities

HALIFAX – The Houston government put its own interests ahead of Nova Scotians, ramming through changes late Monday night that consolidate power, strip job protections from civil servants, and threaten the academic freedom of universities and Research Nova Scotia.

The Conservatives passed two of their most contentious laws last night, despite widespread concern and opposition from the hundreds of Nova Scotians who rallied in the streets, wrote to their MLAs, and presented at the Public Bills Committee.

Major changes to the law include:

• Sweeping government powers to fire public servants without cause and bypass Nova Scotia's Labour Standards Code;
• Allowing the Conservatives to stack university boards, interfere with research, and withhold funding from universities that don’t follow the government’s agenda;
• Scrapping fixed election dates – a law the Houston government introduced and later abandoned because it didn't suit their political interests.

The Houston government is also charging ahead with its surprise plan to lift longstanding bans on fracking and uranium mining without meaningful consultation with the Mi’kmaq and Nova Scotians whose land and water may now be put at risk.

“Nova Scotians have had no warning, no consultation and no justification for Tim Houston’s surprise agenda. The Houston government has made it clear: their focus isn’t your priorities – it’s their surprise agenda,” said NSNDP Leader Claudia Chender. “The government could have used this time in the legislature to ensure people have stable housing that they can afford, focus on attaching Nova Scotians to primary care, and get Nova Scotians access to birth control and diabetes medication – they chose to focus on restricting information and undermining our province’s institutions instead.”

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