HALIFAX – An attempt by the Liberals to send former finance minister Graham Steele’s handling of an erroneous deficit figure to an internal committee of the Nova Scotia legislature has been defeated.
The legislature voted against a Liberal motion to send the matter to a committee for further examination by a recorded vote of 25-21, although New Democrat Michelle Raymond broke ranks and voted with the opposition parties.
The Liberals accused Steele of misleading the house.
Raymond told the house she believes it’s a matter of integrity to allow an internal affairs committee to look into what happened.
Steele, who wasn’t present for the vote, had previously dismissed allegations he misled the legislature, saying he presented budget estimates that were established before a March 1 cut-off point.
In a report released in February, auditor general Jacques Lapointe said the government delivered a deficit forecast in its 2012-13 budget of $211 million when it was aware the actual figure was $238 million.
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