HALIFAX, N.S. - The Official Opposition NDP today abandoned their responsibility to question government departments on their budgets.
Under the budget process, opposition MLAs have four hours per day, to a total of forty hours to question individual departments. Today, after less than 30 minutes, the NDP abandoned their work in the sub-committee.
“It’s absolutely puzzling that the Official Opposition is choosing not to exercise their responsibility to question the budget,” said PC MLA Brian Wong. “The Opposition has a job to do, and today, they didn’t do it.”
Earlier today, NDP Leader Claudia Chender dodged questions about how the NDP would manage the budget, saying “The reality is, I don’t have access to the books.”
Wong pointed out that the NDP has access to the budget and those responsible for drafting it, but today neglected their opportunity to ask them questions.
“For the NDP to claim that they don’t have access to the budget while neglecting their opportunity to ask the Government questions shows that they are not a party that is serious about the responsibilities of government,” said Wong.
“Governing is about making difficult decisions and as the Official Opposition, the NDP owes it to the public to explain which taxes they will raise to pay for their proposed new spending without making budget cuts or using our natural resources to grow the economy.”