Nova Scotia MLAs call for a new way forward as fall sitting winds down

With the fall session of the Nova Scotia legislature poised to end sometime today, MLAs from all three parties are pledging to find a more constructive way of working with each other.

The session, which started on Oct. 12, quickly devolved into a protracted battle of wills between the Tories and Liberals, with the government extending hours to midnight most days and the Liberals using a multitude of delay tactics to fill many of those hours.

But after weeks of extended hours, long debate, filibustering and sometimes frigid relations between government and opposition MLAs, the proceedings took a cordial turn on Wednesday.

The filibustering came to an end, the government agreed to pass two pieces of opposition legislation — one to mark a day for sickle cell awareness and the other to mark an awareness month for endometriosis — and bills that had been stalled started moving briskly along, setting the table for the fall sitting to wrap up today.

Government House leader Kim Masland said the legislature has not worked well this session and representatives for the three parties need to meet to find a new way forward.

"It's something that I think desperately needs to be done," she told reporters.

"We're all in this place for the same reason and that's to do the work of the people. What happened this session, to me, is not doing the work of the people."

Masland and Premier Tim Houston have expressed frustration at the Liberals using filibuster tactics to keep the legislature sitting. The Liberals have repeatedly called for recorded votes on motions, a move that halts business for up to an hour. In some of those cases, they would then vote with the government.

"To me it's a waste of time, it's a waste of taxpayers' dollars," said Masland, who defended the long hours as a means of moving the government's agenda along.

"This House is to debate policy, it's to debate legislation to make sure that we're doing good things for Nova Scotians."

Liberal deputy House leader Patricia Arab made no apologies for the way her caucus approached the session.

"Our job is not to oppose, our job is to hold account," she told reporters.

The extended time at the legislature has meant more question periods and more opportunities to probe issues facing the province and the way the government is responding, said Arab.

But she agreed with Masland that everyone must work together to improve how things operate.