Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says he’s unsure whether he will publicly release mandate letters for cabinet ministers.
Houston says discussions are ongoing about his government’s goals for its second term, following his party’s decisive win in the Nov. 26 provincial election.
He told reporters after a cabinet meeting on Thursday that he doesn’t know yet if those goals will be written down in traditional mandate letters and published online.
Get breaking National news
After Houston’s Tories won their first mandate in 2021, he followed convention and published letters outlining his policy expectations for each cabinet minister.
Now the premier says it can be “counterproductive” to release public policy before it’s fully developed because such a move would leave it open to being “picked apart.”
- Ottawa giving Jasper an additional $520 million for wildfire recovery
- Alberta’s Smith is shrugging off UCP backbencher’s condemnation of MOU with Ottawa
- Lawsuit filed over voter privacy breach affecting almost three million Albertans
- Ontario education minister ‘clarifying’ students will be allowed to miss class for sports
Opposition NDP Leader Claudia Chender says she’s observed an increasing tendency from the government to “keep Nova Scotians in the dark,” through moves like withholding public reports and moving away from ministerial mandate letters.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2025.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.