BRENDAN MAGUIRE: 

A little-known fact, as he hardly ever mentions it: The Premier - his real job - was an accountant in Bermuda. He's so out of touch with minimum wage workers, he has no idea what it's like to keep the lights on, but don't worry, he's got a plan for Nova Scotians. That plan is to give corporations and big businesses a massive tax cut and hope their business decides to hand that money over to workforces - instead of giving Nova Scotians who need it a real, better paycheque.

BRENDAN MAGUIRE: Jobs can be difficult compared to some of the urban cores, you know. When we see large corporations, and I hope that changes, I think, you know, the Minister of Possibilities today talked about - the question that was given to the Minister of Possibilities today was around high‑speed internet and we know that that will help expand . . .

THE SPEAKER: Order please. Would the honourable member please retract his statement and call the minister by her correct title?

BRENDAN MAGUIRE: Sorry, Mr. Speaker, what is it?

THE SPEAKER: Economic Development.

THE SPEAKER: Order. The honourable Premier.

THE PREMIER: Madam Speaker, the reference to hare-brained schemes - I think Nova Scotians spoke very loudly and very clearly on Election Day when they made the determination as to what they thought of the validity.

THE SPEAKER: Do you have a point of order?

[page 6006]

MR. BAILLIE: Mr. Speaker, the only thing that is confusing to all Nova Scotians is why the Premier and his chief of staff won't just be honest about what they know about that conversation that included the chief of staff and the member for Dartmouth East.

They have turned a recording over to the RCMP but won't say why. Well, here's a chance. What in that recording caused the Premier to turn it over to the police?

HON. MAUREEN MACDONALD: Mr. Speaker, I rise in my place on second reading of Bill No. 148, the Public Services Sustainability (2015) Act. What a misnomer that is. Karl Rove and Stephen Harper would be very proud of this government. The use of such fraudulent - is that a parliamentary term, Mr. Speaker?

MR. SPEAKER: No.

MS. MACDONALD: I take it back then. Misleading? Misnomer?

MR. TIM HOUSTON: There is still time for this government to show some respect to the people whose lives they are impacting. We just ask that before they ram this through and go off on their merry way for the holiday season that they stop and think about what they're doing to the people who have entrusted them to show some leadership, because we are not seeing that, and it's time that some leaders stood up on that side of the House and stopped being such puppets over there.

DENISE PETERSON-RAFUSE: .. .It also says rights are of an essential importance and it is about ethics, something they don't understand. The fact is that when you put this together with the Ivany report that suggested that we must work together (Interruption) It's not funny. You can laugh because you think you are a bunch of entitled, arrogant people.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please. I will ask the honourable member to retract that statement.

The honourable member for Chester-St. Margaret's has the floor

MADAM SPEAKER: I would remind the honourable member to please table all of the documents that you have been quoting from. Also, I'd like to ask the members for their indulgence here. We heard a couple of comments here, one just recently was "the gun to the head of" and with the violence we've seen worldwide, I find all of these references objectionable. Although it is not unparliamentary, I would ask all members to use discretion in their speech.

HON. KELLY REGAN: Mr. Speaker, I wanted to raise an issue about something that happened earlier in this session. It was back on November 19^th. During Question Period, I answered a question placed by the member for Sackville-Cobequid. After that question, several members on our side of the House clearly heard the Acting Leader of the New Democratic Party refer to me as an actress.

MR. ANDREW YOUNGER: Yesterday the minister was so busy coming up with insults about a situation he actually knows nothing about and practising his best Donald Trump style bullying, that he forgot to answer the question I asked. So, again . . .

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please. Inferring that other members are bullying is unparliamentarily, I'll ask you to retract that.