HALIFAX 鈥� Nova Scotia鈥檚 Liberal leader took direct aim at his Progressive Conservative opponent Monday, saying the Liberals want to bring accountability to government if elected Nov. 26.
On the first full day of the provincial election campaign, Zach Churchill promised a string of 鈥渢rust and transparency鈥� measures, including a $250,000 fine for any party that doesn鈥檛 stick to the province鈥檚 fixed election date.
Churchill said the snap election called on Sunday by Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston is unnecessary and 鈥渂roke the spirit鈥� of the very first law passed by Houston's government 鈥� which set next July 15 as the election date.
鈥淗e (Houston) thinks it gives him an advantage,鈥� Churchill told reporters at his party鈥檚 campaign headquarters about the Tory leader's early election call. 鈥淭im Houston is a guy that will prioritize his own ambition over the needs of Nova Scotians.鈥�
Churchill, who was a cabinet minister in a previous Liberal government that was content to leave Nova Scotia as the only province or territory in Canada without a fixed election date, said it is important to hold Houston to his word.
鈥淭he spirit of the law has been broken by a premier who thinks he can take advantage of the current situation for his own purposes,鈥� he said.
At a campaign stop in Halifax, Houston defended his decision to call an early election despite the law he had trumpeted as necessary and fair to all parties when his government passed it in October 2021.
鈥淢y word is important to me, it鈥檚 really important to me, but the thing that鈥檚 more important to me is Nova Scotians,鈥� he said, repeating his message that he needs a strong mandate now 鈥� not next July 鈥� to stand up to Ottawa on issues like the resettlement of asylum seekers and the imposition of the federal carbon price.
But, when he spoke on the fixed date law during a debate in the legislature in 2021, Houston said the legislation would bring 鈥減redictability to our elections.鈥�
鈥淔ormer governments have chosen not to act 鈥� but this government won鈥檛 look the other way, we鈥檙e going to walk the walk,鈥� he said at the time.
Meanwhile, Churchill said measures are needed to battle public cynicism in politics, adding that if elected his party would establish an ethics commissioner and follow through on an unfulfilled Progressive Conservative promise to give order-making powers to the province鈥檚 information and privacy commissioner. Those powers would permit the commissioner to compel the government to release information sought by the public, rather than simply issue non-binding recommendations.
Churchill said the Liberals would also give the auditor general鈥檚 office more resources to help it audit untendered contracts and government spending above what is budgeted.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail Monday, the NDP held a media event at the site of a Halifax-area hotel called Hogan Court, which is being converted into a health facility. Leader Claudia Chender used the setting to criticize the Tories for 鈥渂ackroom spending鈥� that hasn鈥檛 fixed health care.
鈥淭ake the Hogan Court boondoggle,鈥� Chender said in a statement. 鈥淭ens of millions of dollars have been spent on a half-finished hotel. Yet this facility hasn鈥檛 helped a single Nova Scotian 鈥� the only ones benefiting are the rich developers profiting from this botched deal.鈥�
A report by the auditor general in February criticized the government for failing to exercise appropriate due diligence when it invested about $46 million to purchase and renovate the Bedford property. In March, long-term care company Shannex bought the property for the same amount, taking over the project.
Also in Halifax Monday, Houston announced that a Tory government would increase the basic personal exemption on Nova Scotia income taxes from $8,744 to $11,744, and raise Nova Scotia鈥檚 minimum wage from $15.20 to $16.50 in 2025.
鈥淚n big ways and small, we are putting dollars in people鈥檚 pockets by helping them earn more at work and to keep more of what they earn,鈥� Houston said.
Last week, the Tory government promised to reduce the harmonized sales tax by one percentage point on April 1, dropping it to 14 per cent.
At dissolution, the Progressive Conservatives held 34 seats in the 55-seat legislature, the Liberals held 14 seats, the NDP had six and there was one Independent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2024.
Keith Doucette and Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press
