One-man government in Nova Scotia?
Dormant House committees, invisible ministers are concerning
The House of Assembly, legislative committees and ministers must be able to function. And they must be seen to be functioning.
In a major crisis, the leader of a province or country must be particularly visible and reassuring. It's not business as usual.
But during this pandemic, most democratic societies are actually finding ways for their legislatures and oversight committees to function, in modified forms. In other places, cabinet ministers, not just the head of government, are in the public eye, explaining policies in their areas of responsibility. Ministers are prepared to go into detail and even enter into debate.
During this pandemic, Nova Scotia stands apart from most of the democratic world. Other than Premier Stephen McNeil, provincial politicians have not been seen playing a public role in policy, accountability or oversight.
Add to all this the shock and grief we all share over the horrific recent mass murder spree in our province. In the aftermath of that overwhelming tragedy, some legitimate policy and operational questions have been raised. Here is another important reason for our elected officials to hold some sort of initial, albeit cautious, public deliberations.
On the pandemic, there has been no opportunity for House of Assembly's committees to call experts, make recommendations or dig into what measures are being taken, or not taken. No committee is functioning.
Not even the House of Assembly's Health Committee is at work. That committee could easily be holding on-line meetings right now. It could be consulting and making recommendations about how to shore up long-term care homes – right now.
Nova Scotia Health Minister Randy Delorey has been barely heard from since the middle of March. In other provinces, and at the federal level, the health minister is a major figure.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney are not known for their modesty. And yet even they have allowed other ministers to be seen and heard from during the pandemic.
They are not one-man governments. They lead visible teams.
Maybe the problem is that Nova Scotia's ministers simply lack the competence or communication skills to handle their portfolios or to handle questions from House committees or the media. If that's true, it's very concerning.
Last Friday, Premier McNeil announced that schools would be closed for the rest of the academic year, another school workbook is on its way to homes and that on-line classes will end on June 5. Education Minister Zach Churchill did not make a statement and was not available to take questions or go into details on the new measures.
This is a problem because, according to the new Education Act, the minister of education now takes the place of all the former English-language regional elected school board members. These elected people were all removed from their positions by the current government.
Measures under the Emergency Management Act are justified. Measures under the Health Protection Act are justified. But the renewal of these extraordinary measures should be subject to deliberation by the people we elect. And the administration of these Acts falls under specific ministers. We are not hearing from them at all.
The premier has already stated that he will probably not take a region-by-region approach to easing restrictions. Maybe that is a good idea, but maybe not. No committee is holding any public sessions with experts. Moreover, McNeil and Dr. Robert Strang, the province's chief medical officer of health, are very guarded about the local data they share.
Dr. Gaynor Watson-Creed, Nova Scotia's deputy medical officer of health, has been off the public radar since March. She's a very good communicator – perhaps even better than Dr. Robert Strang.
Letting her and others speak and respond would make the premier look stronger, not weaker. Involving public servants other than Strang in public (on-line) interactions with legislators would give us more granular data. It would improve the quality of discussion about options going forward.
Elected officials, not just the premier, also have a constitutional duty to provide oversight of the public purse. MLAs have a constitutional duty to inspect the public accounts and monitor spending, and to ask questions to make sure investments have their intended effect. For instance, one question might be: Should others be included in the “essential worker top-up”? That monitoring and that examination are not really happening in Nova Scotia.
The recent crises have exposed the weakness of Nova Scotia's democracy. The House of Assembly, legislative committees and ministers must be able to function. And they must be seen to be functioning. That would be reassuring.