N.S. Premier withdraws bill that would allow province to fire auditor general without cause

Nova Scotia’s Premier is withdrawing proposed amendments to legislation that would allow the province to fire the auditor general without cause.

Last week, the Nova Scotia Government tabled a bill that would make it so it could fire the auditor general without cause and would allow the province to decide if reports can be made public.

The move drew swift backlash from many, including Kim Adair herself, who said the proposed changes threatened her independence and permits the government to veto the release of “any report it doesn’t like.”

But on Monday, Premier Tim Houston put out a statement, saying he is withdrawing the proposed amendments.

“After discussions with the Nova Scotia Auditor General and her team, I am no longer supporting the proposed amendments,” he said. “This afternoon, I asked the legislature to withdraw them.”

Houston went on to say he has nothing but respect for the auditor general and looks forward to continuing their working relationship.

Meantime, Adair said she appreciates that the Premier is withdrawing the amendments to the Auditor General Act.

“The groundswell of support for the work of the office has been overwhelming and appreciated since the bill was first tabled a week ago,” Adair said in a statement. “And now we look forward to getting back to work; focusing on producing impactful audit reports for the people of Nova Scotia.”

Both opposition parties in Nova Scotia were pleased by the news on Monday.

“Today the premier finally admitted he was wrong to attack the independence of the Auditor General when he tried to walk back his attempts to undermine that office.

Clearly, threatening her independence was never about being in line with other jurisdictions as the Conservatives claimed.” said NDP Leader Claudia Chender in an emailed statement. “When the government’s amendments are made available to us, we will absolutely support changes that ensure the Auditor General’s office remains independent. While this is a positive step forward, there are many other policies that the premier has in place which undermine our democracy and restrict information for Nova Scotians.”

The Nova Scotia Liberals also released a statement signed by both co-leaders.