Government advanced a progressive plan to make Nova Scotia stronger during the third session of the 62nd General Assembly of Nova Scotia, which wrapped up today, Nov. 10.
“We are focused on investing in youth, helping our seniors, and helping those who need it most,” said Premier Stephen McNeil.
Premier McNeil said during this session the government promised to expand access to school breakfast programs and to increase investments for specialists in classrooms such as speech language pathologists and school psychologists.
“Government will work with its partners to expand school breakfast programs across the province so that no student goes to class hungry,” said Premier McNeil. “We will invest to put more specialists in our schools so our teachers can focus on teaching.”
Premier McNeil said he is proud of the government’s youth strategy and announced plans to expand it during this session.
“We’re helping more young Nova Scotians stay in our province,” said Premier McNeil. “This session we committed to expanding our Graduate to Opportunity program and launching a program to help young Nova Scotians buy their first home.”
Premier McNeil said government is committed to helping those who need it the most and making Nova Scotia more accessible.
“We are moving ahead with plans to further reduce wait lists for affordable housing,” said Premier McNeil. “And we are expanding the domestic violence court beyond the pilot project in Sydney.”
Premier McNeil also pointed to the introduction of the Accessibility Act, which will lead to more discussions about how to make Nova Scotia more accessible for people with disabilities.
Other government legislation will:
–strengthen the province’s ability to collect court-ordered child and spousal support payments
–give municipalities an important tool to help residents who are experiencing dry wells as a result of a historic water shortage
–help create a stable labour relations climate for mega-industrial construction projects in Nova Scotia
–allow Halifax Regional Municipality to set different commercial property tax rates in designated zones
Government also supported a bill put forward by the third party that makes the Public Interest Disclosure of Wrongdoing Act applicable to all government agencies, boards and commissions and to school boards.
For a complete list of bills passed this session, visit http://nslegislature.ca.
Source: Release