REGAN AND WHALEN: KEY COMMUNITIES LEFT OUT OF PUBLIC CONSULTATION
Date: Friday January 22, 2010

(Bedford, NS) Bedford-Birch Cove MLA Kelly Regan and Halifax Clayton Park MLA Diana Whalen are questioning why the communities of Bedford and Halifax have been left off the province's list of pre-budget consultations.

"The Finance Minister has announced he's going to hold consultations around the province. Apparently, Halifax, Clayton Park, Bedford, and Birch Cove
aren't part of the minister's Nova Scotia," said Regan. "These communities represent a huge part of the population of the province; those voices need to be heard."

The Finance Minister has indicated people from those communities can travel to meetings on the outskirts of peninsular Halifax.

"The minister is ignoring the most populous part of the province with the largest number of walking residents. He is bypassing the fastest growing part of the province," said Regan. "How can this be considered full consultation?"

"The financial centre of the province is in Halifax," said Whalen. "It's hard to imagine a full consultation excludes such a huge part of the business community.
Limiting participation in the economic engine of the province just doesn't make sense."

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