Houston Government Passes Several Key Bills, But Can’t Escape Controversy During Fall Session – Halifax | The Canadian News

The Nova Scotia legislature concluded its fall session Friday morning with Prime Minister Tim Houston apologizing again for the comments he made during the question period Thursday about minimum wage workers.

“I don’t know many Nova Scotians who grow up thinking, ‘Wow, I hope to earn minimum wage when I’m older.’ That’s not the way people think, they want real jobs, ”Houston said during a debate with NDP leader Gary Burrill.

Houston was quick to apologize for his comment, telling reporters outside the legislative chambers that he was wrong and apologizing again on Friday.

“I was careless with my words and I have to be responsible for my words,” Houston said. But certainly my words did not reflect my true feelings. I have great respect and admiration for all Nova Scotians, particularly those who get up and go to work every day and move this province forward and keep us safe. “

Halifax Atlantic MLA Brendan Maguire created some drama last session when he was ousted from the legislature for his questioning and insults at Houston for his comments on the minimum wage.

“I’m mad as hell because I’ve been through it and I’ve worked those jobs,” Maguire said. “These are real jobs and they are real careers and there are people trying to raise their families and that apology he gave was not an apology, it was a deviation.”

This was the first in-person session at the Province House in over 18 months and the first for the newly elected progressive Conservative government.

It’s been 12 years since PCs took a seat on the opposite side of the house with majority government and used that majority to pass 19 laws and promote new policies to address issues from the affordable housing crisis to the environment. and health care.

“We are proud of the session we had, we accomplished a lot, to move Nova Scotia forward,” said Houston, who touted the environmental legislation they passed as the most ambitious and aggressive environmental policy in the country, including a plan to achieve net zero emissions. by 2050.

“As the new government, we have quickly joined in and are advancing initiatives that are important to Nova Scotians, such as health care recruiting, long-term care, mental health care, affordable housing. , the environment and the economy, ”Houston said. .

The Conservatives kept a key electoral promise and passed legislation to implement a fixed election date for Nova Scotia. Until now the province was the only jurisdiction in the country that did not have a fixed election date, however, both opposition parties were against the date of the July elections.

The PCs were chosen in large part for their promise to fix the health care system, which will be a major focus of this administration’s work in the coming months, Houston said.

“There is a lot of work to be done, especially in the field of health care. We see healthcare continue to deteriorate and so we are very focused on that, ”Houston said.

Both the NDP and the liberal opposition parties were proud of their results during the fall session.

NDP leader Gary Burrill said his six-member party was instrumental in getting the CPs to change their stance and implement a two-year rent limit after the prime minister and the housing minister opposed extending it.

“We got to the house and we saw a speech at the throne where the rent control didn’t even get a syllable and in two weeks we were able to get a two-year extension on the rent cap,” Burrill said. “I feel like we’ve been able to make a really effective contribution.”

Houston and the PCs announced that rent control would continue until December 31, 2023, under new legislation introduced in October that limits residential rent increases to two percent per year to protect tenants once end the pandemic state of emergency.

After eight years in power, the Liberals went into opposition mode, which leader Iain Rankin said was a challenge, but his party is up to the task of holding the Conservatives accountable.

“It was very different in opposition,” Rankin said. “But I think holding them accountable and pushing for housing action together with the NDP worked from the beginning. But just putting them on the record, all the promises they made about healthcare, we don’t see any evidence of any movement in outcomes in the healthcare system, so I think it was good. “

The spring session will see the PCs present their first provincial budget. They promised record spending to fix the health care crisis.