Premier Tim Houston says Nova Scotia's deficit could approach $2 billion as his government contends with a recent court ruling related to a previous administration's approach to labour relations.
Tim Houston says the cost of a remedy is not accounted for in the budget
Nova Scotia's deficit, which stands at more than $1.2 billion, could grow considerably larger as the government contends with a recent court ruling related to a previous administration's approach to labour relations, said Premier Tim Houston on Wednesday.
Speaking at an event organized by the Annapolis Valley Chamber of Commerce in Wolfville, Houston noted that finding a settlement in response to the court ruling on Bill 148 could have major implications for the provincial finances, pushing the deficit deeper into the red.
"It could approach $2 billion this year, to be honest, folks," he told the crowd of about 90 people.
Houston later told reporters he could not be certain of what the final number would be until negotiations conclude, but that it would be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
"The figure that I used [in the speech] was just to put an exclamation point on the fact that this is a problem to solve, and it's not in the budget," he said.
McNeil government passed Bill 148
In May, the premier speculated that finding a remedy to the ruling could cost the province at least $300 million.
The Nova Scotia Supreme Court ruled in February that Bill 148, also known as the Public Services Sustainability Act, is unconstitutional.
The former Liberal government of Stephen McNeil passed the legislation more than a decade ago and used it to impose contracts on a number of unions, establishing a wage pattern that helped the government balance the budget. The unions responded by taking the government to court.
The court ruling gave the two sides a year to reach a settlement, or the matter would return to a judge to handle. Houston indicated Wednesday that his government has "a willingness to put this behind Nova Scotians."
"It's been hanging over a lot of people for a long time," he told reporters.
"What the Liberals thought was a solution has turned into an issue we're going to have to deal with. It's a big number to solve this and we want to do what's right by Nova Scotians and by the unions on that, too."
Bullish on economic future
Despite the financial challenges, Houston told the crowd the province faces prime opportunities in the form of natural resource development and federal defence spending.
Such projects would help rebuild the province's economy while also making it less dependent on other jurisdictions for energy supply, he said. The government is moving forward with plans to pursue onshore natural gas development, expand onshore and pursue offshore wind projects, as well as offshore oil exploration.
Responsible governments make science-based decisions about energy development and protecting the environment, said Houston.
"But responsible governments also do not ignore opportunity," he said.
"They examine those opportunities, they test the opportunities and when it can be done safely and responsibly, they should be done."
Houston's speech was marred by a major protest outside the building that led to the vehicle he attempted to leave in being surrounded.
Police eventually escorted him back into the building before he later left in a marked RCMP car.
