Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston met with members of the Province House press gallery on Tuesday for the first time since his party’s decisive election win last month, covering a range of topics.
The following is a summary of some of what was discussed.
On his meeting with the prime minister
Houston met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday, a meeting he called productive.
One of the reasons the premier cited for last month’s snap election was an effort to increase his mandate to help him be taken more seriously by the federal government.
“It was clear that there was a different tone to this meeting than previous meetings, and that was one of our objectives with the election, for sure,” said Houston.
Houston said there are things the two can agree to work on, such as concerns around illegal fishing and upgrades for the Chignecto Isthmus, while some things — the federal carbon tax, for example — are areas where they will find no common ground.
The premier said he supports the federal government’s planned GST holiday, which will kick in for two months this weekend on certain products. He was not definitive about whether his government would pursue compensation for the provincial share of the lost tax revenue.
Tax fairness for wildfire victims
Houston said during the election campaign last month that he did not think it is fair for people rebuilding homes lost during the wildfires of 2023 to face major increases in their property taxes.
He said talking with people during the campaign helped him better understand the issue after his government did not support opposition legislation that would have protected people rebuilding from a spike in their taxes.
On Tuesday, the premier said he remains committed to the promise, and his government would do “whatever it takes” as soon as possible to prevent a major property tax increase for people affected by the wildfires.
“People should know that we’re going to address it,” he said.
On MLA remuneration
There’s been a freeze on MLA pay, living expenses and office budgets since 2015.
Houston brought the House back for a rare summer session in 2022 to block an independent report recommendation that would have triggered a mandatory increase.
Under the rules of the legislature, Speaker of the House Danielle Barkhouse has 60 days from the election to convene an independent committee to look at MLA remuneration. Houston said the time might be right for a change.
“Obviously there has to be some form of adjustment, so we’ll see what happens there,” he said. “There will be a process to determine what is fair and reasonable, and we’ll see what unfolds.”
MLA pay has remained at $89,234.90 since a freeze brought in by then premier Stephen McNeil in 2015. There are top-ups for cabinet ministers, the premier and opposition leaders.
For comparison, councillors for Halifax Regional Municipality were paid $103,608.05 in 2023-24.
The living allowance that MLAs based more than 100 kilometres from Halifax receive for an apartment, and budgets for constituency offices, have also remained frozen.
Under the current rules, MLAs requiring an apartment receive up to $1,499 a month, while cabinet ministers top out at $1,700 per month.
More recently, some MLAs have been forced to pay out of pocket to cover the difference between rent in the Halifax area and the monthly living allowance they receive.
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