The honeymoon looks to be over, Premier Houston

The shine is coming off the election silver, the tarnish is starting to show and the honeymoon is now over for the Tim Houston government.

Welcome to the political trenches, Premier Houston.

It is, of course, what you would expect from any government: the gradual erosion of the idyllic promises of a new premier as reality crashes in.

We’ve had the recent skirmishes at the legislature as the government pushed through its agenda.

There were accusations of name-calling and abusive comments. Independent MLA Elizabeth Smith-mccrossin alleged Premier Houston made a derogatory comment when he said: ”Why don't you block another highway?"

This would be a reference to Smith-mccrossin’s involvement in a blockade on the Nova Scotia-new Brunswick border.

Houston denies it, but former Liberal cabinet minister Kelly Regan confirmed that she heard the comment.

In another incident, three female politicians were called a “coven” by Economic Development Minister Susan Corkum-greek. The minister later apologized.

A lot of this is the result of exhaustion and frayed nerves as the House sat long hours to pass bills. Decorum goes to the dogs when people are tired and stressed.

This is not an excuse. Pushing government work long hours into the night is unfair to elected members and staff who cannot be expected to function properly. Unpredictable hours are also unfair to members with family responsibilities. It also limits the public’s ability to scrutinize government work.

Then we had the poorly-executed rollout of the new out-of-province taxation. The Houston government passed a five-per-cent deed transfer tax and a two-per-cent increase on property taxes for property owners who do not live in the province full time.

The plan was originally pitched as a way to address the housing crisis, but when no analysis was offered on how this would be done, the government conceded that it was a revenue generator in response to a $500-million deficit.

This has drawn an almighty clamour from out-of-province property owners who accuse the government of a tax grab on seasonal residents who have no vote and who contribute to local rural economies. Municipalities that benefit from seasonal residents are warning that this will hurt their economies.

The legislation is also prompting a re-think from businesses that are now pulling back on expansion plans in Nova Scotia. They say this legislation will scare off future investment in the province.

But the big elephant in the room for Houston is health care. He obtained his majority on the promise to “fix” a health-care system in crisis.

Now that the rubber is hitting the road, the promises and reality are crashing into one another. Critics have panned the four-year plan, saying it is not new and lacks timelines and benchmarks.

And Houston is now backing away from the definitive word “fix,” saying it is a subjective word. That’s not what he was saying in the election campaign. His biggest mistake with his health-care agenda was raising the expectations of Nova Scotians in order to get elected.

Or maybe it wasn’t a mistake: Houston was elected with a majority.

There are still 88,000 Nova Scotians without family doctors and thousands of surgeries and procedures are being cancelled and delayed due to Covid-related absentees and impacts on the health-care system.

Houston and Health Minister Michelle Thompson are now asking for patience, pointing out that you can’t turn the health-care crisis around on a dime. They say many of the points in the health-care plan are already being implemented.

And this week we had news of a record number of COVID deaths. Twenty-four people died between April 19-25.

The government says deaths are a “lagging” indicator of a sixth wave that is now subsiding. Unfortunately, the number of deaths has not reached its peak.

I guess the government will also be asking for patience here, too.