N.S. education minister denies 'schools for votes' suggestion

Nova ScotiaEducation Minister Karen Caseyis denying thegovernment built threeschools for political gain aftera reportby the province's auditor general found no reason for the new construction.

In his report released Wednesday, Michael Pickup saidhe could notfind any explanation for why three new schools were approved in Liberal-held districts,including Bridgetown and Tatamagouchewhich are held by Premier Stephen McNeil and Casey, respectively.

It's just one in a string of stinging criticisms Pickup made in his latest report, which also looks at ways to protect critical infrastructure during emergencies.

'Schools for votes'

Tory MLA Tim Houston was blunt in his assessment of how things look.

"Let's call it what it is: it's schools for votes."

But Casey said any suggestionwork was awarded based on politics is "a ridiculous comment to make."

"There was no suggestion that anything that was addressed by our government had anything to do with whether it was in my riding or not," she said."The request forTatamagouchewas in long before we formed government."

Pickup raiseda number of concerns with the way capital planning happens for schools.

"Overall, the department is doing a poor job of planning for new or renovated schools," he wrote.

Gov't approved low-ranking projects

Hesingledout the decision to spend $21 million on a new high school in Eastern Passage"despite no evidence of need" and the fact it would leave Cole Harbour and Auburn Drive high schools at less than 50 per cent capacity.

While government approved the top 10 projects identified by thepublic service evaluating committees thatreview capital submissions,it also approved four projects worth a total of $63 million that were ranked significantly lower.

The new schools in Bridgetown and Tatamagouche were among those four submissions,coming in at26 and 28 on the priority list.

"We are lost to understand why these schools were approved given the analysis provided to us," said Pickup's report.

Pickup found it was executive council that approved those two schools as it hasthe final call on capital projects.

Work awarded on fairness, outstanding needs

Aside from overall rankings on the capital list, Casey said cabinet also awards workbased on "regional fairness" and "the most outstanding needs" within communities.

The work in Bridgetown has been on the books since the days of the former NDP government, she said.

The government is busy making decisions about what to do with P3 schools as the end dates of their leases approach, but Pickup's office found the province "has failed to appropriately manage P3 decisions to date," despite 17 years to prepare.

No plan to protect critical infrastructure

On the issue of critical infrastructure, Pickup said risk assessments have not been completed for many government services as well asassets like roads and bridges.

One example is the Canso Causeway, where there is no plan for how to quickly manage an emergency response if something should happen to the only link between mainland Nova Scotia and Cape Breton.

"Nova Scotians want comfort that the government of Nova Scotia and the private sector are working together, so that plans are in place to quickly recover when things like natural disasters or other bad events occur," said Pickup in a video released with his report.

Private sector needs to be involved

Pickup said the government has not assigned a lead department to look after critical infrastructure, which includes roads and bridges, hospitals and communication systems.

The province has a plan in place to take care of critical infrastructure dealing with the health sector but isn't sure if plans exist for any of the other sectors.

"We noted the government has not made effective partnerships with the private sector who indeed own most of the critical infrastructure in Nova Scotia, like energy."

Pickup said the government needs to be able to work with those businesses to make sure they can recover quickly from an emergency and return life to normal for Nova Scotians in a timely fashion.

Pickup's report alsofocused on child care and government computer software used to manage licensing and permits.