Province House, Nova Scotia Legislature Building
iStockphoto.com / peterspiro

This article appears in the Mid-October 2022 issue of Investment Executive. Subscribe to the print edition, read the digital edition or read the articles online.

Less is more. That is the Nova Scotia government’s new refrain when it comes to eco-nomic growth. This past summer, Premier Tim Houston announced that two new Crown corporations would be established to replace five existing agencies. The transition is now well underway, and legislation is expected to be in place by the end of the year to make the new regime official.

Gone are Develop Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Business Inc., Innovacorp, Nova Scotia Lands and the Invest Nova Scotia Fund. In their place have risen Build Nova Scotia and Invest Nova Scotia. Despite announcing that “ours will not be a government that hides behind Crown corporations,” Houston said the two new organizations will do what their five predecessors failed to do effectively: plan for growth and make it easier for businesses to start, thrive and succeed.

Critics are not convinced. Build Nova Scotia’s focus is on infrastructure — everything from health-care redevelopment to high-speed internet and environmental remediation — while Invest Nova Scotia will strive to “build relationships” with businesses at all stages, attract new investment and expand the economy.

The advantage the new Crown corporations have over their predecessors is the ability to reduce red tape, Houston said at a news conference. “We have startup companies working with one government entity, then they get to a certain stage and they’re ready to scale up. Well, you got to go deal with another entity under the old structure. What we’re doing is putting a structure in place that can work with these companies all through their life cycle.”

The new business and investment landscape was shaped after a review of 20 Crown corporations found overlapping mandates, duplicate operations, outdated legislation and arm’s length boards making decisions involving millions of dollars in taxpayers’ money — specifically, $100 million in government spending that passed each year through the five organizations that were folded into Build Nova Scotia and Invest Nova Scotia.

The Progressive Conservative government also looked at the status of all agencies, boards and commissions across the province as part of the review, and determined 485 bodies are either defunct or inactive. Another 160 active organizations are currently under review.

On the day Build Nova Scotia and Invest Nova Scotia were announced, Houston also said two interim CEOs — “personal friends” — had been hired and would report directly to government. (Three of the five CEOs from the former agencies had been let go.) That is sufficient oversight, the premier believes: “Government has to be accountable for the decisions it makes. I’m not interested in pointing the finger at somebody else or in saying that board made that decision.”

Others are concerned about the close-knit relationship between government and its new entities. Liberal economic development critic Fred Tilley said the arrangement does not build greater transparency. “Crown corporations being arm’s length from government and moving that to centralized seems to be a theme for this government,” he told reporters.