As an Official Opposition Finance critic, I had a first-hand look at the budget during the (virtual) budget lockup; I began responding to it immediately after the Finance Minister finished his budget speech. You can read my initial reaction in Hansard (the transcript of proceedings in the House of Assembly) here.
I appreciated having my colleague Fred Tilley (Northside – Westmount) and caucus staff there with me as we sifted through the budget.
I want to thank the many people who reached out to me over the past month to talk about concerns with the government’s budget. We worked hard to bring these issues to the provincial government and brought forward many amendments. Although it took a while for those concerns to register, we are pleased to see the government has listened to at least some of them.
During Question Period this session, I raised a number of issues that concern our district, including the blasting for the Sackville – Bedford – Burnside Connector. You can read the Hansard transcript here.
I also raised issues of concern to our riding during Budget Estimates. (This is a 40-hour process that sees ministers defend their departmental budgets for four hours at a time. It can provide a useful look into the inner workings of government.) I’ll be sharing more of those transcripts in the coming days as Hansard makes them available.
Outside the House, I’ve continue to meet with stakeholders related to my two critic portfolios (Finance and Treasury Board, and Seniors and Long Term Care) as well as with constituents who have concerns about areas of provincial jurisdiction. During caucus meetings, we also hear from organizations across the province; for example, we recently had an update from the Mass Casualty Commission about their work.