“The premier has shown us time and time again that he does not have a Nova Scotians at the centre of his vision for our province – it's all about winning the next election,” said Opposition Leader Zach Churchill. “I’m proud of our Liberal team for staying focused on what matters and presenting a suite of bills that would make life better and more affordable for Nova Scotians this session.” 

The Nova Scotia Liberal caucus tabled 26 pieces of legislation, including:  

• reducing the HST by 2 per cent – from 15 per cent to 13 per cent – the lowest in Atlantic Canada, 

• combatting the housing crisis by introducing rent regulation and an arms-length housing authority, 

• expanding the Heating Assistance Rebate Program to allow more people to qualify and receive higher payments, 

• increasing emergency preparedness by creating a dedicated fund for emergency response, adding emergency roads for high-risk areas, and protecting homeowners who need to rebuild their homes from punitive property tax increases, 

• covering the cost of medical training for volunteer firefighters,  

• expanding job-protected leave for Nova Scotians with serious illness, and 

• providing supplementary breast cancer screening for Nova Scotians with dense breasts. 

“This session brought another provincial budget, and while our caucus is happy to see several of our ideas adopted by the government, it doesn’t go far enough for the many Nova Scotians struggling to make ends meet in our province.”