David Jackson at the Chronicle Herald reports the public accounts committee would like to question the [PC] government about the state of the provinces' finances - before the budget in June. That's 6 months after the update of December 19.So now a two month prorogation doesn't sound so bad, eh?
PC MLA Jamie Muir said "I think you're playing crass politics, and I'm not sure that's the place of this committee," in an accusation directed at NDP opposition MLA Graham Steele.
It isn't crass politics for the opposition to demand updated information during a 6-month government absence from the assembly, especially with the current economic climate.
NS is expecting an election this year, and I expect the PCs are planning their election campaign around the release of fiscal and economic news. Especially, they're probably waiting to see what the federal budget looks like (assuming it passes) and to see how that affects NS. But that's life - the government gets to set the agenda to its own favour.
But both the federal Conservatives and the NS PCs are withholding fiscal and economic information from the opposition. How can the opposition do its job without that information? It can't, and that's the point. Again, this is the privilege of the government to withhold that information and this isn't new either.
But don't accuse the opposition of crass politics because its doing its job. That's crass politics.
Meanwhile, public transport and the country's ports ground to a halt as two of the largest Greek public-sector unions began a strike on Tuesday in protest at continuing austerity.
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