Ex-liberal Maguire roasted for jumping ship
Liberal turncoat Brendan Maguire was on the hot seat Tuesday in the legislature.
In a surprising move last week, the former Liberal Halifax Atlantic MLA crossed the floor to become Tim Houston’s Minister of Community Services.
Surprising because Maguire had been an outspoken critic of the premier. Last year he posted on Facebook, “Talking down to people is not how you lead. … It is the condescending, arrogant way he handles people.”
NDP leader Claudia Chender took aim at Maguire on his first day in the House as a Tory by pointing out that in the past six months alone, he’d described the Houston government's efforts to address the needs of low-income and vulnerable Nova Scotians as “cruel, destructive, shameful, arrogant, needing a dose of reality.”
The NDP leader also pointed out that two months ago, the minister accused the government of turning a blind eye to the homeless crisis and leaving people out of the cold. This came as he was pressing the government to index income assistance, which had been frozen for two years.
Chender asked whether Maguire would follow up on his words with action.
Maguire didn't address the question, but said the province is “facing generational issues” and that people he's spoken with are tired of leaders bickering.
“They want people to step forward with solutions and work for Nova Scotians and that’s exactly what I’m here to do.”
Chender also quizzed Maguire on his comment last week that he’d reached a point where it became difficult to disagree with the government’s approach.
“What was it that the minister found difficult to disagree with? Was it the freezing of income assistance rates? Was it the cuts to the home heating assistance rebate program or the lack of action on affordable housing? Can he explain?” Maguire didn’t take the bait. “I will say for the first time in my lifetime, there’s an investment in public housing, for the first time in my lifetime, we’re seeing record investment in health care right across the board.”
The exchange punctuated a heated debate at the legislature, with the Liberals and NDP calling for more financial relief for Nova Scotians. The Liberals, for example, are pushing for a cut to the provincial sales tax. The NDP want a reduction in the heating fuel rebate rolled back.
The premier and Finance Minister Allan Macmaster gave no indication that there would be either in Thursday’s budget. Rather, the priority would be on health care.
Chender doubled down after Question Period.
“This government has frozen income assistance rates in a time of record inflation ... It’s a travesty. A third of people accessing food banks are children.
“It is time for government to take action in a whole number of areas to ensure people can afford to live in this province.”