Over the last several days, Nova Scotians have heard a lot of speculation in the media about a spring election and they are likely to hear more in the coming days.
The spring session of the legislature will begin later this week and my government’s eighth consecutive balanced budget will follow. A balanced budget is a real achievement in these difficult times. Provinces such as Alberta, British Columbia and Newfoundland that were forecasting large surpluses a short time ago are now borrowing money to cover their deficits.
Unfortunately, both opposition parties are hinting that they may trigger an election.
By doing this, Liberal and NDP MLAs would be voting against a strong, stable government during a global financial downturn and against protecting the core services Nova Scotians rely on including the protection of civil servant jobs.
But most importantly if the Liberals and NDP force an election, my government’s stimulus plan, called Building for Growth, will be put on hold. Building for Growth is a 3-year, $1.9 billion capital stimulus package designed to get Nova Scotians working and keep our economy growing. Our plan invests in what businesses need to succeed, like roads and infrastructure. It invests in our people and ensures our workers have the skills they need to compete.
Delaying Building for Growth projects means we may lose our opportunity to access substantial federal infrastructure dollars. A spring election may delay many of the infrastructure projects associated with Building for Growth and the jobs the stimulus plan is expected to maintain and create.
That means some of the schools, roads, water and sewer projects and environmental retrofits already announced through Building for Growth could grind to halt or not get started. It also means that Nova Scotia’s brief construction season will be further shortened. Politicians will be going door to door for 30 days instead of Nova Scotians going to work.
I have met with members of my Economic Advisory Panel and they have said clearly that implementing Building for Growth is crucial for our province’s economy.
This is not the time for politics or for the divisiveness that accompanies an election. Now is the time for us to focus all our efforts on helping Nova Scotians weather these difficult economic times by creating jobs and keeping our economy moving.
The Progressive Conservative Party would rather focus on keeping the Nova Scotia economy strong and putting people back to work rather than fight an election. I hope Nova Scotia’s opposition parties will reconsider the consequences of putting their own political interests above the people of Nova Scotia.
