N.S. legislature wraps up session passing bills on electrical grid, budget measures
Global News
The government passed legislation that revamped the operation of the province’s electrical grid, along with a bill that enacts measures in the budget and amends 15 provincial laws.
The Nova Scotia legislature wrapped up a spring sitting Friday that saw the Progressive Conservative government present a budget and pass just two bills.
Since the sitting began on Feb. 27, the government passed legislation that revamped the operation of the province’s electrical grid, along with an omnibus-style bill that enacts measures in the budget and amends 15 provincial laws.
However, in the face of mounting public opposition, the Tories also shelved a bill that would have led to the consolidation of the Town of Antigonish and Antigonish County.
“You have to have the courage as a government to recognize there’s a different way or when there’s a better way to do something,” Premier Tim Houston told reporters Friday. “We just listen to Nova Scotians.”
The government abruptly backed away from the municipal consolidation bill on Thursday, two days after Houston and Health Minister Michelle Thompson faced loud opposition during a public meeting in Antigonish County. Earlier this year, both municipal councils had voted to proceed with consolidation.
“It became clear from speaking to people that there was a very broad sense in the community that they didn’t have enough information,” said Houston.
The government also “paused” contentious plans for a subsidy for wine bottlers, which the province’s wineries said undercut their operations. Houston made the announcement before a large group of wine growers in the foyer of the legislature after a nearly two-hour meeting with industry representatives the day before and after days of grilling by the opposition in the house of assembly.
Zach Churchill, the Opposition Liberal Leader, said he was unimpressed with the government’s performance during the sitting, saying it did little but perform a “series of flip-flops.”
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