In response to critics, Nova Scotia amends bills on interprovincial trade, info law

Critics says a bill to remove trade barriers in Nova Scotia could weaken regulatory oversight.

HALIFAX — The Nova Scotia government is responding to critics by amending key parts of its legislative agenda, including its bill to eliminate interprovincial trade barriers.

Changes to the trade bill, shared with journalists on Thursday, are in response to concerns the proposed legislation would override the ability of regulatory bodies to provide oversight that protects the public.

Representatives from regulatory organizations for health workers, engineers, accountants and lawyers told a legislature committee on Wednesday that they had not been consulted before Premier Tim Houston announced his intention to proceed with the trade bill during an appearance in Ontario last month with Premier Doug Ford.

On Thursday, the Nova Scotia government said its amendments would ensure that the trade bill doesn’t supersede the ability of professional orders to regulate their members.

However, Houston said he doesn’t accept the idea his government is moving too fast to push through legislation.

“Absolutely not,” he said. “There’s a process to how a bill becomes a law and the process is actually designed to solicit feedback. The process is working, people are showing up at the public bills committee and having their say … we listen carefully and where there’s a need to make changes, we make changes.”

Nova Scotia’s trade bill aims to promote labour mobility and the mutual recognition of goods and services across all sectors of Canada’s economy, and will only be extended to provinces or territories that adopt similar legislation.

Houston has said the bill is needed because of the tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed on the Canadian economy, and the tariffs he has threatened to impose.

“Nova Scotians expect their government to feel the same sense of urgency that they feel on the issues of the day and we feel that urgency, and in this case right now we are talking about a national issue,” he said.

The government is also amending proposed legislation on the province’s freedom of information rules, following criticism the bill would threaten the public’s right to access government records and documents. Houston said the amendments address concerns raised by Tricia Ralph, whose term as information commissioner ended last month.

Ralph had taken issue with proposals that would have allowed departments to refuse access requests on the basis they’re “trivial, frivolous or vexatious,” and that would have required applicants to provide details such as precise times or locations in connection with the documents or records being sought.

In response to Ralph’s criticism, the government says it will instead require departments to apply to the information commissioner for approval to reject trivial requests, and if the requests are rejected to notify applicants and provide them with a reason. As well, the government will require applicants to make “reasonable efforts” to list details such as time and location in connection with information requests.

Following mounting public pressure, the government has also committed to withdrawing proposals that would have allowed it to fire the province’s auditor general without cause and veto the release of audit reports.

Opposition NDP Leader Claudia Chender said she doesn’t buy the premier’s explanation for all of the changes, adding that the Progressive Conservatives are “terrible legislators.”

“This is not the way that legislation is supposed to be made and it does not result in a good final outcome,” Chender said.

The amendments were scheduled to go back to the legislature for debate later on Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2025.

Keith Doucette, The Canadian Press