Liberals creating another disaster, says NDP MLA

When a government is elected, it assumes a great responsibility. It says to the people: “You have voted us in; you have entrusted us with countless decisions that will affect your lives. We will do good by you.”

Consider that word: “entrust.” Placing your trust in someone. That’s what Nova Scotians did – albeit by a slim margin - last May when the McNeil Liberals were elected with a second majority.

True democratic representation means being willing to rethink your agenda if it becomes clear that the public is not behind it. In this regard, the Liberal government has been a failure and a disgrace.

Look at what they did on the health front. In an effort to try to save money, they did away with the regional bodies that made our health care system accountable to the people who use it. Now we’ve got a full-blown crisis on our hands with doctors, nurses and other health professionals are speaking out – and, in some cases, walking away.

Did the Liberals learn anything from that experience? Apparently not. Now teachers, already demoralized by last year’s attack by government, are distressed by a new set of changes that are being imposed on them without consultation.

Good teachers - like Adrianna MacKinnon, whose video announcing her resignation went viral two weeks ago - are leaving the profession because they can’t take it anymore. And can anyone blame them? First, they’re told to sit down and do their jobs while the government ignores their pleas to improve classroom conditions. Now, they’re told they will have to cope with the elimination of the school boards, and that any future concerns will be answered by bureaucrats in Halifax.

But you need to look no further than the #deglaze hashtag to see that people are not lying down and taking it. As with other bad decisions it has made, the McNeil government will have to answer to a very fired-up public as it legislates away local decision-making in education.

For my part, I plan to use my voice in the House to represent the concerns I’m hearing on the ground, and to stand up for the teachers, parents and students who are being left out of the conversation. Our caucus will ask tough questions of the education minister and will continue to call on the government to make the needed investments in education and commit to an approach of meaningful consultation.

Will all of this fall on deaf ears? There’s a good chance. We’ve seen enough of the Liberals in their second term to know that we’re dealing with more of the same - a government that rules without listening and is fixated on a surplusat-all-costs agenda.

And thus, with eyes glazed over, they march into another self-created disaster that will take years -and likely another government - to fix.

Tammy Martin

NDP MLA for Cape Breton Centre