Nova Scotia Legislature to get a committee dedicated to health care
Economic development and natural resources committees will also be merged
Nova Scotia's Health Department consumes 40 per cent of the provincial budget, yet it has no dedicated committee of the provincial legislature to debate matters related to its business. That will soon change.
Government House leader Geoff MacLellan tabled a resolution Wednesday that would see the creation of a health committee, as well as the merger of the natural resources and economic development committees.
The creation of a health committee is something members of all three parties have called for in the past, but members of the opposition said Wednesday they wanted more details, particularly as it relates to public access, before they are willing to throw full support behind the idea.
Right now only the public accounts committee meets in the legislative chamber, which allows it to be broadcast on LegislatureTV. All other committees of the legislature meet in a different building, which does not have the capability to broadcast meetings.
Tory House leader Chris d'Entremont said he'd have preferred the committee be structured like public accounts, where the chair is selected from the opposition "so it keeps government a little more to account," while also maintaining the services available in the legislative chamber.
D'Entremont also said he wants to make sure members of the public accounts committee still have the ability to call matters related to health care, particularly pertaining to the finances of the system.
"We don't want to substitute one for the other, because I think they will both have different roles."
D'Entremont was mostly supportive of the move, as was NDP House leader Dave Wilson. But like d'Entremont, Wilson said the devil will be in the details.
"We're a bit concerned that maybe they're trying to take some of the attention away from public accounts committee that really has stepped up to the plate the last couple of years to bring in witnesses dealing with health care and health funding and spending."
Wilson also said the new committee needs to be televised so the public can follow the proceedings.
Debate on the motion will happen Friday and ultimately the changes will go through, if for no other reason than because the government holds a majority in the House.
The move is warranted
MacLellan said the plan is to get the new committees in place "relatively immediately" once the motion goes through the legislature.
"There's no reason for us to not move swiftly to get this in place."
While no discussions have happened yet about where the health committee would meet, MacLellan said he sees merit in having it televised. Final decisions won't be made without talking to the opposition, but getting contentious matters for the government out of the public eye has nothing to do with this effort, said MacLellan.
"The reality is, is that a health committee is something that's seen as being warranted," he said.
"It wasn't to deflect anything from the [auditor general] or public accounts or any of those functions."
MacLellan said the merger of the economic development and natural resources committees is intended to reflect how closely the two are linked.
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