Moving toward a greener province

It has been several months since I had a Political Speak column. Since that time a lot has happened in Nova Scotia, including the election of the first NDP government in Nova Scotia.
I am honoured to have been re-elected as your MLA for Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage and would like to thank everyone who helped me achieve this goal once again.
Not only was the month of June eventful for me, the whole summer in Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage was filled with excitement. Summer festivals and carnivals were held in several communities and were accented by sporting events and celebrity visits (congratulations Sidney Crosby!).
Although the weather wasn't always perfect, we had enough sunny, warm days to relax at Rainbow Haven with a picnic basket and a local newspaper.
I did have a chance to enjoy some of the summer weather and fun activities with my sons in between days of business. Soon after being elected in June, our government launched a new home construction rebate program that will help keep skilled trades people here in Nova Scotia. The rebate is equivalent to 50 per cent of the provincial portion of the HST, up to $7,000 and is expected to boost the home building market. We also made funds available to organizations that help people prepare for the workforce and we accelerated target dates to ensure we move toward making our province greener.
And now that the summer seems to be winding down and kids are back in class, MLAs will soon be back in session at the House of Assembly. As a new government, we are excited to put the legislature back to work for Nova Scotians.
We will introduce legislation that will make life more affordable for today's families including removing the eight per cent HST from home electricity effective Oct. 1. This will put money back in the pockets of Nova Scotians and will help alleviate some of the rising costs associated with dropping temperatures.
The fall will be a busy few months for government. However, I assure you that no matter how busy the work of the legislature keeps me, as always, I am available to the people of Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on our programs and your concerns in our communities.