N.S. legislature sitting marked by moves to consolidate power: political scientist – Halifax [Video]

With the Nova Scotia legislature expected to adjourn Wednesday, a political scientist says the winter sitting was marked by government moves aimed at increasing cabinet’s authority and shrinking the legislature’s ability to provide oversight.

Tom Urbaniak, a professor at the University of Cape Breton, said the government’s multiple omnibus bills paint the picture of a government working to consolidate its power after winning a sweeping majority last fall.

The Progressive Conservative government’s activity has been “about passing legislation to enable more discretion and provide more authority to the executive, to the centre of power essentially,” Urbaniak said in an interview.

He said some examples of this are laws that allow the government to fire non-unionized civil servants without cause, that give the government more control over Nova Scotia universities and that eliminate the requirement for an annual report on emergency room closures.

However, Urbaniak said it’s worth noting that Premier …