Legislature wraps spring session
Posted May 20, 2011 05:47:23 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The latest sitting of the provincial legislature wrapped up with the premier worried about the federal government’s plans.
Premier Darrell Dexter says the province will face a challenge as the Harper government tackles the federal deficit.
Speaking on Global News, he says federal funding affects everything from health to housing to energy.
“If they start turning off the tap on many of those initiatives, we of course get left with the program without the money,” he said.
Dexter said he’s worried because the people in charge of federal finances – Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Treasury Board president Tony Clement – were members of what he called the “Hack and Slash Harris Tories.”
But the opposition parties say Dexter’s concerns about finances are disingenuous. Liberal leader Stephen McNeil called the NDP “arrogant,” claiming they have consistently misled the public over the province’s books.
“On the one hand, they’re telling us they have no money and they’re raising every user fee, and as you know a year ago they raised the HST by two per cent,” he said. “But then they have a balanced budget.”
McNeil also criticized the Dexter government for a lack of consultation, citing the new Elections Act which has raised concerns about privacy breaches, and the Fair Drug Prices Act, which has provincial pharmacists up in arms.
In a release, Dexter calls the spring session “productive,” saying the government took several important steps to “make life more affordable and ensure the province lives within its means.”
