NDP government is ‘normal’

BY BRENT FOX

Kings County Register

Nova Scotians should begin to see an NDP government would be “normal.”

Nova Scotia Opposition finance critic Graham Steele was the guest speaker at the capacity-crowd annual Kings North NDP Valley-grown supper at the Centreville Community Centre May 15.

The Halifax-Fairview MLA said, as a child in Manitoba, he had found “an NDP government was normal…. It was as normal as the sun coming up and going down.”

In fact, current Manitoba Premier Gary Doer is the longest-serving premier in Canada. His administrations have provided good government and balanced budgets for years.

He acknowledged past NDP governments, like any other, could often be in office too long. Just as normally, they would eventually return to power.

But it could be at least a year before Nova Scotians get an opportunity to elect an NDP government. The third-party Liberals opted to support Conservative Premier Rodney MacDonald’s budget earlier that day.

Steele charged the Liberals were concerned about their relative weakness outside Cape Breton and in the Western Annapolis Valley. To hold on to what they have, “they had to take what they could get.”

Steele said the NDP has supported budgets in the past, but those documents had provisions the party could support. This budget eliminates the eight per cent rebate on electrical home heating during the warmer months.

Steele said the Liberals and Conservatives will try to scare the public from supporting the NDP.

“They will throw everything at us.”

He said, however, “when Nova Scotians go to the polls the next time, they will be looking for change.”

Also on hand for the supper, Opposition agriculture critic Hants East MLA John McDonell said what’s left of the province’s pork industry is on unstable ground.

Responding to a question from the crowd, McDonell said the Larsen pork processing plant in Berwick is still operating, but he questioned if the long-term pork numbers will still be available. The province’s own pork production has been just about halved by high costs and low prices. Prince Edward Island hogs have been keeping processing numbers up, but prices and costs have also been getting worse.

“I think it’s reason to worry,” McDonell said.

Responding to a question on energy and the environment, McDonell said the province should look at what other jurisdictions, such as California, are doing. Sources such as tidal power and the upcoming Lower Churchill hydro project could be power sources for the province.