By Jamie Barrie N ova Scotia had an election? When did that happen? In all seriousness, not much has changed since Premier Stephen McNeil requested the 62 nd general assembly of Nova Scotia be dissolved. Voters went to the polls with very few wedge issues on their plates which probably explains the very soft numbers for voter turnout. The post election map of the house of assembly seating arrangement may have more orange and blue dots, and less red, but the Liberal majority withstood public scrutiny. As voters cast their ballots there were two key issues that dominated the discussion. The largest, and probably most important, was healthcare. No party denies there is a shortage of physicians in the province. Healthcare infra- structure is also a hot topic. Many seniors, especially those in rural areas, are concerned they do not have a family doctor and are not happy about plans to open more collab- orative health centers versus investing in hospitals. The other contentious issue remains education. The McNeil government failed to negotiate with the Nova Scotia Teachers Union and was forced to impose a contract after three attempts to ratify tentative deals failed. Teachers wanted to use their frustrations and anger over that move to force a regime change. That did not happen despite a widespread and vocal campaign by educators against the current administration. One must start with the Liberal government. Not only did they win but they achieved back to back majorities which hasn’t been done in the province of Nova Scotia for decades. It was a slim majority that went down to the wire but nev- ertheless they hold control for another four years at least. Don’t be surprised if the next election features a new leader to the party as McNeil has been in the game many years and is probably looking for a way to make a graceful exit. The NDP were certainly winners. Their leader, previously without a seat in the house, was returned to the legislature and they were also able to pick up two more seats which returns them to seven. The party dropped to five seats after 2 retirements forced by-elections which they were unable to win. The leader Gary Burrill has the party positioned to the far left on social issues which may hinder their growth down the road. Nova Scotia has traditionally been a run from the center type of province. The Progressive Conservative party was only able to pick up six seats in the big picture. After the last election, they held 11 seats but went down to 10 when MLA Chuck Porter left caucus and later joined the Liberal party. After this election, the PC’s hold 17 seats. While that number rep- All of this aside, people are wondering who were winners and who were losers once the election was over.
resents growth, many felt the climate was right for the PC’s to pull off an upset and defeat the unpopular McNeil gov- ernment. Leader Jamie bailey has left many wondering if he will continue in his role. The promise of four more years in opposition to a liberal majority cannot be an enticing one for someone ready to lead. Public sector workers must wonder what this means for the numerous collective agreements still being negotiated. There was a sense that imposing a contract on teachers would hurt the government at the polls. While it certain- ly dampened their support, they had enough of a cushion to hold onto a majority. That kind of power may not play well at the bargaining table for government running razor thin surpluses. It is also disappointing for the thousands of teachers who were hoping one of the other parties would form government and tear up their imposed contract. McNeil’s campaign platform was also short on tax cuts for the middle class and his business stimulus model is not overly exciting. Anyone looking for lower taxes and growth in the business sector probably is not going to be super excited. The McNeil platform also didn’t offer huge big-ticket items to make people feel infrastructure investments would drive economic development. Likewise, not much for small business stimulus to create meaningful growth in that sector. One area where there is job growth and investment is in roadwork. The Liberals have pledged to use Federal stimulus money to twin sections of highway across the province. They have pledged to do it without placing tolls on those roads and removing the tolls already in place. Many question whether roads are being twinned out of need or political pressure. Nova Scotia has a history of believing that twinning roads is a substitute for prudent enforcement of laws. There is no question that they reduce the number of acci- dents but the process is never ending. As soon as one section of highway is twinned the accidents still happen on a section of single lane highway further down the road. It remains to be seen if the money will produce the results expected. It will create short term jobs in areas of the province where the unemployment rate is high. The reality is the critics who suggested this election was about nothing, nailed it. Not much has changed from a power position and not a lot of promises for a better tomorrow. The unspoken message was one of continuing to wait for a federal shipbuilding contract to start which is supposed to boost the region’s economy. The fact that the Prime Minister, who remains very popular in the area, did not make a single visit to support the Liberal cause and Stephen McNeil has many wondering whether that was a scheduling conflict or something more intentional.
Only time will tell.
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JUNE 2017 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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