Premier Stephen McNeil mulls rehiring Kirby McVicar, who resigned amid scandal

Premier Stephen McNeil would be willing to hire back his former chief of staff, Kirby McVicar, he said in a year-endinterview with the CBC's Jean Laroche.

"Nothing is out of the question for me, whether it's in the role he was in, or in another role," McNeil says.

McVicar resigned earlier this year after he publicly disclosed details of former cabinet minister Andrew Younger's mental health record as Younger left the Liberal government.

McNeil reviews the year's political events in a wide-ranging interview which airedon CBC Nova Scotia's Information Morning.

The interview covers many of the more controversial aspects of McNeil's record over the past year.

The premier talks about the ongoing labour negotiations with the province's public-sector unions, and with doctors.

McNeil defends his government's position on the new Child Welfare Act. He also sayshe hasn't changed his mind on the reduction of the Film Tax Credit.

"We did listen to them," he said of people in the film industry. "Minister [Mark]Furey has gone out and made some changes to the program, and we believe it works, and it's fair."

Hear the unedited version of the interview here.