Contentious bill casts chill over job protection, access to information in N.S., committee hears

Michael Gorman · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 17, 2025 4:50 PM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Members of the nationalist lined up Monday to explicit concerns astir an omnibus authorities measure they accidental risks placing a chill implicit nationalist servants' quality to bash their jobs and weakens people's entree to accusation successful Nova Scotia.

Among different things, Bill 1 would springiness the authorities the quality to occurrence non-unionized civilian servants without cause. Provisions would besides exempt those workers from protections afforded done the Labour Standards Code, which use to astir employees successful Nova Scotia.

"It shakes maine up that idiosyncratic who tin bash what Bob Strang [Nova Scotia's main aesculapian serviceman of health] does for us would person little occupation information than idiosyncratic who's been slinging java and doughnuts for 12 years," Pat Clahane, a erstwhile Justice Department lawyer, told the nationalist bills committee.

• N.S. accusation commissioner says authorities measure threatens close to entree records

Another presenter told the committee that members of the nationalist work beryllium their loyalty to the state and the public, not immoderate governmental enactment is successful power.

Even if they person the champion intentions with the bill, all MLAs must inquire themselves if they spot each aboriginal authorities "with the powerfulness to occurrence anyone who won't navigator the books, prevarication to the public, prosecute their friends oregon walk nationalist wealth connected their donors," said Lily Sangster.

"Can you beryllium definite that this powerfulness won't beryllium utilized successful a discriminatory mode oregon to soundlessness those who person been mistreated?" asked Sangster. "Do you spot nationalist servants to archer hard truths to elected officials erstwhile they fearfulness for their jobs if they don't overgarment a rosy capable picture?"

Sandra Mullen, president of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union, said the thousands of unionized workers she represents are besides paying attraction to Bill 1. Mullen has antecedently said the authorities is targeting occupation extortion connection successful the latest circular of bargaining with unionized employees.

Another facet of Bill 1 that received a batch of attraction is simply a projected alteration to access-to-information laws that would let the heads of authorities departments, agencies and municipalities to cull applications if they find the submission is "trivial, frivolous oregon vexatious." 

That change, similar overmuch of Bill 1, was not what the Progressive Conservatives campaigned connected during the autumn provincial election, said Sambro nonmigratory Hugh Thompson.

"This is our information. We ain it, and the authorities holds it for us — not the different mode around," helium told the committee. "I merit to cognize what's going on."

Although Premier Tim Houston has said amendments are coming that would enactment that powerfulness successful the hands of the privateness commissioner, the amendments person yet to beryllium made public.

Like different presenters, Thompson called connected the authorities to springiness the commissioner order-making powerfulness — thing Houston promised to bash while in absorption and aft archetypal forming authorities successful 2021, but has truthful acold failed to enact.

The premier announced respective weeks ago his authorities would retreat a brace of controversial clauses in Bill 1 related to the province's auditor general. One would person fixed the authorities the powerfulness to fire the AG without cause if it had two-thirds enactment successful the House. The different would person given cabinet ministers the quality to suppress auditor general reports from the public.

Other measures successful Bill 1 include:

• Increases to wages, benefits and operating expenses for MLAs aft a frost of much than a decade.

• Doing distant with the fixed predetermination day Houston introduced aft archetypal becoming premier successful 2021.

• Consolidating work for authorities communications, labour relations, and priorities and readying nether the power of the enforcement assembly office, the authorities entity that supports the premier and cabinet.

Witness grounds astatine the committee is scheduled to proceed Tuesday. A full of six bills are earlier the committee.