The Houston government seems to be moving away from another promise – a promise to repeal a controversial liberal law that has imposed a wage package on tens of thousands of public sector workers in Nova Scotia.
Deputy Prime Minister Alan McMaster told reporters on Thursday that Bill 148, passed in 2015, “no longer affects the negotiations we want to have with our unions” and that the law is a “legitimate time limit”.
McMaster suggested that the party’s promise made during the election campaign last summer in response to a questionnaire created by the province’s largest public sector union was made without the benefit of inside information and government advice.
“When you’re in opposition and answering a campaign questionnaire, you don’t always use all the information,” said McMaster, who is the labor minister.
This is the latest example of computers giving up on promises. The government abolished a new housing tax for property owners outside the province, which it had introduced during the spring budget, and continued to sue people with disabilities, although it promised not to do so.
The Union does not agree
Although McMaster did not close the door on the repeal of Bill 148, he made it clear that there was no plan to deliver on the promise at the end of the campaign.
“We believe that Bill 148 is no longer relevant in terms of our ability to negotiate honestly with trade unions,” he said.
Linda McNeill, Atlantic’s director for Unifor, one of the negotiating bodies affected by Bill 148, disagrees.
“We have maintenance workers whose wages have been suppressed and at the moment this is still affecting the workforce because wages are not supported,” McNeill told CBC News. “And when you are not up to date with inflation, when you reduce workers’ benefits to their salaries, of course, that has an impact.
NDP leader Gary Burrell was shown speaking to reporters in Halifax on Thursday. (Jean LaRoche / CBC)
Speaking about the promise to repeal Bill 148, McNeill said the Houston government must live up to its commitment.
“If you are going to make a statement [on] after your campaign, we look forward to fulfilling this commitment. “
This view was shared by NDP leader Gary Burrell, who told reporters: “When a person speaks face to face with people from his province and says I give you my word, this is what we will do, it matters. “
He said that in addition to simply fulfilling its promise, the Houston government will send an important message by getting rid of the law.
“What a powerful gesture it would be to repeal Bill 148,” Beryl said. “Regardless of what the minister says about his current legal relevance or inappropriateness in the current situation.
“Just to say, ‘We told you we were going to get rid of it, we think it’s principles that are inappropriate in collective bargaining in Nova Scotia, we won’t have it in our books anymore.’
Last week, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeals issued a ruling that did not answer the question of whether the legislation was unconstitutional, citing a lack of evidence.
The issue of constitutionality was referred to the court to determine whether the bill violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Provincial lawyers and a group of unions issued opinions in March.
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