NSNDP

February 20th, 2019

Liberals block NDP motion to restore Public Accounts Committee

Halifax -- Liberal members of the Public Accounts Committee have blocked an NDP motion to restore weekly meetings.

“In the past this committee has done vital work to uncover how government spending would affect Nova Scotians and make sure government is working in the public’s best interest,” said Lisa Roberts, NDP committee member and MLA for Halifax-Needham. “That work is restricted by only meeting monthly, and by limiting the topics we can call witnesses on.”

Earlier this month the Liberals reduced the number of Public Accounts meetings to one per month. On average the committee usually meets 20 times a year.

“The McNeil Liberals continue to make changes that restrict Public Accounts Committee from doing the work it’s supposed to do,” said Susan Leblanc, NDP committee member and MLA for Dartmouth North. “We want to ensure that Public Accounts is as effective as possible. The number of meetings should not be restricted in order to allow witnesses on any topic to be called as quickly as possible.”

The NDP would rescind the recent changes made to the Public Accounts Committee. The committee plays a vital role in Nova Scotia and works to hold government departments accountable for how public dollars are spent.

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