Why isn’t Stephen McNeil being honest with you?

Dear members,

The Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union (NSGEU) has launched a series of print and social media ads asking Nova Scotians why Premier Stephen McNeil isn’t being honest with them.

Print ads are in local news papers across the province already and a full page ad will appear in the Metro and provincial Chronicle Herald on Friday. The NSGEU Facebook and Twitter accounts also have ads that you can like and share.

During a recent media tour McNeil made a number of public statements that were not accurate.

Stephen McNeil:

• Told Nova Scotains that he sent Bill 148 to the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal for review because it was important to get clear answers.  In fact, he only sent sections of the bill that were favourable to him.

• Told CTV Anchor Steve Murphy that he got rid of MLAs generous transition allowance.  In fact, he only tweaked it and if Stephen McNeil retired today he would still receive it.
• Told Nova Scotians after the election that he had heard their message and would change.  In fact, he continues not to negotiate in an open and honest way and proclaimed a law that strips 75,000 working people of their rights and benefits that their families count on.

Stephen McNeil made a point of appearing on every news outlet he could to explain why he stripped working people of their rights.  During those press conferences and interviews he made a number of statements that were misleading. When we called him out on these statements he refused to speak with media and instead used government spokespeople to spin for him.

This pattern calls into question how much detail the Premier shared with his own Liberal caucus on his plans for Bill 148 and whether he was honest with them.

We will continue to hold Liberal MLAs accountable.  They were elected on a promise that the Premier had learned his lessons and would stop picking fights with working people.

Together, we need to remind Liberal MLAs that they represent working people in their communities and aren’t just a rubber stamp for the Premier’s personal agenda.

I encourage you to ask your MLA where they stand on the McNeil government’s attack on working families and make sure the Premier didn’t mislead them on this important issue.

In Solidarity,

Jason MacLean

President, NSGEU