Chender questions transparency after public shut out of budget vote

Nova Scotia’s NDP leader is criticizing how the province’s budget was passed, after the public was barred from the legislature during the final vote.

The Appropriations Act passed Wednesday after an earlier attempt the night before was disrupted by protesters in the gallery opposing cuts to the arts.

When MLAs returned, Province House was closed to the public, with only staff and media allowed inside as the Progressive Conservatives used their majority to pass the bill. Protesters gathered outside during the vote.

NDP Leader Claudia Chender says the move breaks from long-standing practice and limits public access to the legislative process.

“They have closed Province House for the first time ever… people are not allowed into the building… and this is a budget people are really upset about,” Chender said.

She also rejected the idea that public access to the legislature is optional.

“It is a right for people to visit Province House… there’s a reason we call this the people’s house,” she said.

Chender also pointed to the absence of both Premier Tim Houston and Finance Minister John Lohr during the vote, something she says she has not seen before.

Houston was in Texas at an energy conference, while Lohr was at a separate meeting.

All opposition members, including two Independents, voted against the bill.