Legislature wraps spring sitting

Education reforms, pot rules among business dealt with

The Nova Scotia legislature wrapped its spring sitting Wednesday with the government getting flack from the opposition on health care and on how it handled a breach of its freedom-of-information web portal.

In the final question period of a session that began Feb. 27, the government was peppered with NDP and Tory questions about persistent doctor shortages and emergency room closures – issues that were a constant presence throughout the sitting.

NDP Leader Gary Burrill asked about the shortage of family physicians, pointing out the provincial wait list had grown since the final day of last October’s legislature sitting, from 37,339 to 44,158.

Premier Stephen Mcneil admitted it’s a challenge, saying the number of people waiting for doctors is “too many.”

He said his government is working to alleviate physician retirements and accommodate new doctors who want smaller practices.

“The honourable member raises a very important issue and we are working with Doctors Nova Scotia to continue to make sure we address the very important thing you have brought to the floor of the house today,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Progressive Conservatives continued to press the government on the freedomof-information breach, which saw about 7,000 documents accessed between March 3 and March 5, according to the province.

The province has also said that about 250 documents contained sensitive personal information such as birth dates, social insurance numbers, addresses and government services’ client information.

Progressive Conservative interim leader Karla Macfarlane asked Mcneil whether the province had been negligent in ensuring website security and whether he had any concerns about his government’s conduct.

“No,” said Mcneil. “When an activity is brought to us that potentially has a criminal implication to it, we do the appropriate thing, which is to call in the police. The police now will do their investigation.”

Outside the legislature, Government House Leader Geoff Maclellan said the sitting saw the passage of a balanced budget and 20 bills, including 18 from the government and two from the opposition parties.

Those included major pieces of legislation that eliminated the province’s seven English language school boards, set the rules for legalized marijuana, and set the guidelines for the potential redrawing of the electoral map.

Maclellan was asked why those bills passed without proposed amendments from the opposition and various public groups.

“On any of those I don’t see where we didn’t aptly defend our position,” he said. “The legislation that is finalized today reflect what we believe.”