Nova Scotia General

Premier Tim Houston’s cuts to cultural funding have ignited a backlash his government can’t seem to shake

According to his LinkedIn page, [Nova Scotia Independent Energy System Operator CEO Johnny] Johnston started and built his career in the methane industry. For over 21 years, he worked for National Grid plc, a British company that also owns utilities in the northeastern U.S.

By 2016, Johnston worked at National Grid’s SVP Gas Business Enablement, where he “Led the envisioning, development and delivery of an industry leading multi-$100M transformation, to deliver a step change in how National Grid serves its 7 million customers, how its 5,500 front line employees manage their work, and its engineers manage more than $10B in gas assets.”

After leaving National Grid, from August 2023 to August 2024 Johnston was a board member of the American Gas Association, which says that it “represents more than 200 energy companies that provide natural gas [methane] service to 189 million Americans.”

The pigs ran him down over groceries. In a populated area.

Just the three big revenue streams that Houston cancelled — $272.4 million for HST (that benefits those with the money to allow them to be big spenders), $160 million for income tax bracket changes, $40 million for bridge tolls (that primarily benefit people in HRM but have to be made up for by everyone in the province) — add up to $472.4 million.

The cuts save the provincial government just $304.9 million.

With the tolls now gone, the province is budgeting $120.1 million for Halifax Harbour Bridges.

No matter how you slice and dice it all, the fact is that Houston-the-professional-accountant seems to have badly messed up the province’s accounts.

We are in a severe drought and people in this province can be real dumb.

The provincial government has introduced a new regulation to allow Mi’kmaw communities to open legal cannabis retail stores on reserve by agreement with the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC).

“We’ve spoken with Mi’kmaw leaders across the province, and they have raised concerns about the sale of illegal cannabis in their communities,” Environment and Climate Change Minister Timothy Halman said in a news release on behalf of Finance and Treasury Board Minister John Lohr.

“These changes will allow bands to open a legal store for those who wish to buy and use cannabis.”

The new regulations will allow a band, or a band-owned corporation, to become an authorized seller within their community through an agreement with NSLC to set up a legal retail store.

Any cannabis stores in Mi’kmaw communities will sell cannabis purchased through the NSLC.

The NSLC is currently the only authorized cannabis seller in Nova Scotia.

There is an on-reserve NSLC location in Eskasoni that sells cannabis, which opened in September 2022.

The regulation was a result of a request from several First Nations because of concerns about safety and a regulated supply.

Finance and treasury board spokeswoman Rachel Boomer said the band would be in charge of running the stores, which would be a licensed NSLC store but not an outlet. The employees would come from the community and not be NSLC workers.

The regulations require cannabis to be retailed in a socially responsible manner. Authorized Mi’kmaw sellers must:

• sell cannabis in its original package

• sell no more than 30 grams of dried cannabis, or the equivalent, in one transaction

• only sell at the authorized, permanent location

• allow no sampling on the premises

• display a certificate issued by the NSLC indicating they are authorized cannabis sellers

• follow the NSLC’s responsible retail training and guidelines, ensuring cannabis products aren’t sold to minors or those who are impaired

• follow all Health Canada requirements.

The timeline for opening is up to the individual bands, who will decide whether they want to be involved. They would then sign an agreement with NSLC to set up the store, with training provided by NSLC.

There are currently no plans to authorize other third-party cannabis sellers.