Province House closed to public after protesters block vote on N.S. spending bill

The Nova Scotia legislature is closed to the public after a demonstration on Tuesday.

The Nova Scotia Speaker of the House has made the decision to close the legislature to the public for the rest of the week after protesters disrupted the final vote on a spending bill related to the provincial budget Tuesday night.

Finance Minister John Lohr moved to have the Appropriations Act read a third time, but interruptions from the gallery caused a recess and clearing of the gallery just before midnight.

The speaker adjourned the house until 1 p.m. Wednesday.

“In light of the events in the gallery on Tuesday, March 24, that prevented the House of Assembly from conducting its business, as well as other security incidents throughout this sitting, Province House and the rest of the legislative precinct, which includes the grounds of Province House and the committee room in One Government Place, will be closed to visitors for the remainder of the week starting today, March 25, to ensure no further obstructions to the House’s proceedings,” said the Nova Scotia government in a news release Wednesday morning.

Province House remains open to MLAs, caucus, government and staff, as well as accredited media.

“What I would say is we all have a tolerance, and I would say this is a hard job and I would say this should be a safe space for everyone who works here,” said the speaker of the house, Danielle Barkhouse.

The proceedings of all committees, including the public bills committee, are closed to visitors for the rest of the week.

Scheduled presenters are permitted to attend committee meetings, along with staff and media.

“The decision will be reviewed at the end of the week to determine whether the precinct will be reopened to visitors on Monday, March 30,” said the province.

Person arrested for mischief

Halifax Regional Police says one person was arrested outside the legislature Tuesday night.

The justice department asked for a police presence after a demonstration formed.

Police say demonstrators blocked the building’s exit and prevented vehicles from leaving as the legislative session ended for the night.

“Officers spoke with the crowd and explained their rights for assembly, speech and expression. The group was warned that if they continued to block the exit, they could face charges of mischief,” spokesperson Marla MacInnis said in an email to CTV Atlantic.

“After several conversations, one man who continued to block the exit was arrested for mischief. He was later released with no charges.”

Premier not in attendance Tuesday

Premier Tim Houston was not in attendance for Tuesday’s vote.

He is currently in Houston, Texas, for an energy conference and plans to return to the province on Thursday.

Houston posted a video on social media around 9 p.m. Atlantic time in support of the province’s $18.9-billion budget.

“I’m saying yes to this budget. It’s a budget that invests heavily in health care, long-term care, housing, education, the future of Nova Scotia,” he said.

“I know not everyone is happy. My dad used to say you can’t please everyone and he was right, but this is the best possible budget for this moment.”

Earlier Tuesday, the opposition argued that Houston, who is also the province’s energy minister, should have been in the legislature to vote on the Appropriations Act, which enables budget spending.

“I don’t think that budgets should be forced for a vote at midnight without the premier in the chamber. I don’t condone that,” said NDP Leader Claudia Chender.

Chender later responded with her own social media post just before 11 p.m.

“The Houston government is about to lock in the budget cuts before Nova Scotians have finished having their say at Public Bills,” Chender said in her caption.

“This is not how you represent the people.”

She later updated the caption to say the Appropriations Act has not yet passed and a public protest blocked the vote.

Meanwhile, hearings over Bill 148, the Financial Measures Act (FMA), continue until Thursday.

“There’s two parts to the budget, there’s the Appropriations Act and the FMA,” Lohr told reporters Tuesday.

“Both need to pass for the budget to pass.”

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Jesse Thomas

RELATED STORIES:

• N.S. government pushes budget close to finish line
• Nova Scotians use Bill 148 hearing to voice concerns over budget cuts
• N.S. premier popularity drops amid controversial budget cuts, partial reversal

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page