A few hours before the Nova Scotia legislature was set to resume, the government announced Monday afternoon it would postpone the sitting until Tuesday evening.
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The province’s MLAs were set to return to the legislature on Monday, after Premier Stephen McNeil announced he would impose a contract on teachers through legislation.
The Speaker’s office announced the move at 2 p.m. on Monday. The decision to close the legislature was made almost a full day after the government announced all provincial offices on mainland Nova Scotia would be closed Monday.
A release sent from the premier’s office said McNeil supported the decision to postpone the reopening of the legislature.
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“We have closely monitored the storm and it is clear now that conditions will not improve before this evening’s sitting of the legislature,” read the statement.
The entire province is under a blizzard warning from Environment Canada. In the Halifax region between 30 and 60 centimetres of snow is expected to fall from Sunday to Tuesday.
According to the press release the decision was made following updates from both the Emergency Management Office and the transportation department. Both those departments released statements on Sunday advising people to stay off the roads.
“It is clear the speaker cannot ask staff to report to the legislature this evening,” McNeil said in the release. “I fully support this decision.”
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On Sunday evening, opposition leader Jamie Baillie issued a statement asking the government to postpone the sitting due to the expected storm. The NDP and independent MLA Andrew Younger also asked the government to postpone the sitting.
The legislature is now set to resume on Tuesday at 8 p.m. when the Liberals are expected to introduce legislation that will impose a contract on teachers. The move comes after teachers rejected three contracts in the last year and a half.