Latest news with #ProvinceHouse
CTV News
2 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
Majority of Atlantic Canadians satisfied with their governments: study
Nova Scotia Lt.-Gov. Arthur LeBlanc reads the speech from throne at Province House in Halifax on Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021. Despite the ongoing tumult of tariffs, food insecurity and the cost of living, most Atlantic Canadians are satisfied with their provincial governments, according to a new study. Narrative Research polled 400 Nova Scotians, 400 New Brunswickers, 350 people from Newfoundland and Labrador, and 300 Prince Edward Island residents about their satisfaction with their governments' performances. The study found residents reported an increase in satisfaction with their governments this year compared to 2024. Newfoundland and Labrador residents are 67 per cent satisfied with their government (up 14 points from 2024) while Islanders report 62 per cent satisfaction (a 15-point increase). Nova Scotia's satisfaction sits at 60 per cent (up 16 points) while New Brunswick is at the bottom with 59 per cent of residents being satisfied (a 30-point increase). 'The past year has been a time of much change within the region. We've seen multiple elections and three new leaders across our region,' said Margaret Brigley, CEO and partner of Narrative Research, in a news release. The study also found that 64 per cent of Nova Scotians are satisfied with how their government is handling U.S. tariffs while 63, 59 and 50 per cent of Newfoundland and Labrador, P.E.I. and New Brunswick residents are satisfied with their governments' response to tariffs, respectively. According to the study, none of the Atlantic Canadian governments score high in satisfaction with addressing the cost of living. P.E.I. sits at the highest point with 32 per cent of residents being satisfied, with New Brunswick right behind it at 31 per cent. Newfoundland and Labrador is at 28 per cent and Nova Scotia rests at 27 per cent.
CBC
02-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
Interim Liberal leader unsure if he wants job permanently as party releases leadership rules
Social Sharing Nova Scotia's interim Liberal leader said Monday he hasn't given much thought to whether he wants the job on a permanent basis, as the party released the rules for next year's leadership race. The new leader will be selected at a convention on Nov. 28, 2026 — two years after the party suffered its most devastating election performance ever and returned to Province House with just two MLAs. Candidates have until July 28, 2026, to submit their nomination package, but whether that shortlist will include interim Liberal Leader Derek Mombourquette remains to be seen. "That would be a conversation I would have with my family, which we haven't really talked about at length to date," the MLA for Sydney-Membertou told CBC News. Electronic and telephone voting for the party's next leader will run Nov. 21-28, 2026, using a preferential ballot. Leadership candidates must be at least 18 and a member of the Liberal Party — and no other party — and submit a non-refundable nomination fee of $25,000, paid in three instalments, plus a $5,000 compliance deposit. The deposit is returned to the candidate following the election as long as all required financial filings have been made. The nomination package must include at least 100 signatures from members in good standing, at least 10 of whom are young Liberals. The signatures must also include members from at least 10 different electoral districts and 15 new members of the Angus L. Club, the party's monthly donor program. All would-be candidates are subject to a greenlighting process before they can be officially considered in the race for leader. 1-member, 1-vote system Campaigns are subject to a $250,000 expense limit, which includes the value of donated goods and services, but not the nomination fee, compliance deposit or expenses related to accessibility or family. The borrowing limit for each campaign is $30,000. The election of the new leader will use a one-member, one-vote system, weighted by provincial district. Each district is worth 100 points, meaning there is a total available 5,500 points based on there being 55 electoral districts. A candidate requires 2,751 points to win the leadership. If no candidate has that total after the first tabulation, the candidate with the lowest total is dropped and their points are reassigned to another candidate based on the second selection on the ranked ballot. That process will continue until a candidate reaches 2,751 points. Former Liberal MLAs Patricia Arab and David Wilton are co-chairing the leadership committee. Rankin not running Mombouquette has served as the party's interim leader since last December when Zach Churchill stepped down after losing his seat in the provincial election. The party's bylaws state that whoever holds the role of interim leader must agree in writing to remain neutral and not run in the election of the party leader. When Mombourquette took the helm on an interim basis, it was understood he would do so temporarily and at some point the role would shift to Timberlea-Prospect MLA Iain Rankin, the party's other member in Province House. Rankin, who previously served as premier and party leader until the Progressive Conservatives defeated the Liberals in the 2021 provincial election, told CBC News on Monday that he's not interested in another run at the job.
CTV News
16-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
N.S. government starts plans to develop nearly 20K residential units in Bedford, Halifax
Growth and Development Minister Colton LeBlanc speaks during a news conference at Province House in Halifax on Wednesday March 22, 2023. (Lyndsay Armstrong)
CBC
14-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
'Throwing money at Band-Aids': Advocates tell N.S. government to do more on gender-based violence
Social Sharing Meghan Hansford says gender-based violence is a societal disease akin to cancer, and officials are focusing on treatments, but the smarter approach would be to turn their gaze to prevention. "We need to prevent the cancer from happening, before the crisis and before it's too late," she said Tuesday at Province House. Hansford, who has a PhD in family violence intervention and prevention, was among a panel of advocates and experts on gender-based violence invited to speak at the legislature's health committee about the issue. The panel reiterated many of the same concerns they've been highlighting in recent months as Nova Scotia has witnessed a spate of homicides related to intimate partner violence. Among the asks the panellists made to the government are increased core funding for shelters, more second-stage housing and greater access to mental health supports. The province recently dedicated some additional funding to transition houses, but Hansford said she's still not seeing enough resources directed to prevention. "We have started to have some interesting conversation, but that is where I see the littlest amount of work and action," she said. Hansford added that preventive measures — such as education for the general public and for professionals in health care and justice who can intervene when they see early warning signs — have the biggest impact. She said focusing on crisis response is "throwing money at Band-Aids." Josie McKinney, acting executive director of Nova Scotia's Status of Women Office, said there are conversations happening in government about how to increase prevention efforts. "The other thing the province is looking at is how to turn every response into an opportunity to prevent," she said in an interview following the committee meeting. "While we do want to get ahead of something, once something happens, how are we showing up to prevent it from happening again?" Hansford and others at the meeting expressed some skepticism about the effect of their advocacy on an issue that is long-standing and getting worse. "Conversations are great and a good starting point, but we've also been having these conversations for decades," she said. Hansford pointed to an abundance of evidence and recommendations that have come out of Nova Scotia's mass casualty commission and the Desmond fatality inquiry, as well as the national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. "The conversations need to move into action, into concrete action. And there were a few suggestions around this today and we need to keep that momentum moving forward," she added. Ann de Ste Croix, executive director of the Transition House Association of Nova Scotia, echoed that sentiment. When she came into her role a few years ago, de Ste Croix said, she took cues from her predecessors. "I am saying the same thing that they've been saying for decades," she told the committee. "As has been shared many times before, we need long-term investment, we need collaboration, we need a shared commitment to transforming the systems that survivors rely on."
CBC
20-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
At least 5 MLAs to gain right to taxpayer-funded Halifax apartment
Nova Scotia Finance Minister John Lohr will soon be apartment hunting, joining other members of the legislature who bill taxpayers for a Halifax pied-à-terre. As part of a change to the House of Assembly Act, the Speaker, two cabinet ministers — including Lohr — and at least two PC backbenchers will be eligible for the housing allowance, which is already used by 25 of the 55 MLAs in the House. "The three-hour drive daily, I've done it for a long time," said Lohr, who was first elected as the MLA for Kings North in 2013. "I really didn't mind that most of those years, but it becomes tiring." Under the existing rules, representatives who live at least 100 kilometres from Province House — known as outside members — are eligible for the allowance. Now that distance is being amended to 50 kilometres. An independent panel made up of three senior bureaucrats suggested the change as part of a review of the salaries and benefits available to members of the House. Lohr, whose home is just a half kilometre short of the existing 100-kilometre limit, said he intends to look for a Halifax apartment once the change is formally adopted by the House. His cabinet colleague Scott Armstrong, the minister of opportunities and social development, said he would consider taking advantage of the entitlement. The Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley MLA said his ministry "is pretty hands on," meaning plenty of time spent in the city. "There's a lot of times I'm here at night, working hard," he said. Armstrong suggested if he wasn't in cabinet, he might be less inclined to rent a place in the city. Others still deciding Other new outside members — Speaker Danielle Barkhouse, the PC MLA for Chester-St. Margaret's; Melissa Sheehy-Richard, the PC MLA for Hants West; and Dave Ritcey, the PC MLA for Truro-Bible Hill-Millbrook-Salmon River —all said they were not sure if they would avail themselves of the new entitlement. Barkhouse lives near Chester, Sheehy-Richard has a home in Windsor and Ritcey is a Truro resident. There is only one MLA who has the right to an apartment but is reimbursed for a hotel room instead. Independent MLA Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin, who represents Cumberland North, rents a room during sittings instead of renting an apartment year-round. The Nova Scotia Legislature normally sits twice a year, in the spring and fall, and usually for six to eight weeks. That's among the least amount of time for any legislature in Canada. This week, an all-party committee of the legislature adopted other non-binding recommendations including increasing the housing allowance to $2,100 a month and increasing the expense allowance for MLAs by $921 a month. A bill before the House will provide MLAs with their first salary increase since 2013, one of the panel's binding recommendations.
