With a stalled economy and pressure to slow an exodus of the young, Nova Scotia appears to be getting serious about providing boosts for the private sector and reducing public spending.

A recent example is pooled registered pension plans: two years after the federal government made these plans available, Nova Scotia adopted them. The hope is that these optional plans for businesses without existing pension plans will make the private sector more attractive to both job seekers and those already employed. Because the plans are pooled, with many contributors, the management cost is lower than for a typical defined-contribution pension plan, and employees who move to another job can continue contributing to their pooled pension, regardless of their employer.

New thinking certainly is needed to keep the province competitive. Although the exodus of skilled craftspeople and young workers heading to Alberta has waned along with the oil industry’s fortunes, Nova Scotia still is struggling to attract and retain workers, partly because wages are not comparable to those in other jurisdictions.

But more is needed to keep the province’s population from continuing to slip. In a 2016 report, the Halifax Partnership, the city’s economic-development arm, identified attracting and retaining talent as one of its four main priorities. The 53-page report noted that business and government have to build and sell the case for students, workers and immigrants to come to Halifax, then ensure that their experiences in the city make them want to stay.

Following the pooled pension announcement, Liberal Premier Stephen McNeil unveiled the Study and Stay initiative, a new pilot program to help recruit and retain international post-secondary students from key markets. The program, which will recruit 50 international students from China, India and the Philippines, offers students customized support and mentoring throughout their studies and after graduation to help those students launch their careers in Nova Scotia.

The provincial government also is taking a tough stance in the public sector. Hard lines have been drawn in the sand with nursing unions and, most recently, doctors.

The latter deal offers physicians no increases for the first two years of their new agreement and 2.5% over the next two – increases that could amount to a decrease if the cost of living rises by more than this level over the four-year period.

Doctors Nova Scotia admitted in its communication with members that the agreement was not a good one, but recommended that physicians ratify the contract because it was the best offer they were going to get.

With these moves, the provincial government seems to be sending a message that it is in control and looking to be seen as giving businesses what they want: more affordable ways to attract and retain the kind of employees they need.

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