[fenwick16]

There is a real reason for concern. Premier Dexter is preparing to introduce "first contract legislation" that will encourage the formation of unions at companies where they don't currently exist.

Even though Michelin Tire and other large private sector employers have stated that such legislation will make Nova Scotia a less attractive location for private sector jobs, Premier Dexter is moving ahead to satisfy his union backers instead of doing what is best to encourage job growth in the province. It is easy to see that Premier Dexter is out of touch with reality when he starts ignoring the advice of large employers such as Michelin Tire which has created 10's of thousands of jobs over the decades that they have been in Nova Scotia.

It seems that Premier Dexter feels that public sector-type unions will be just fine in the private sector. The problem is that NS public sector union jobs can't move out of the province; private sector plants can just shut their doors and move elsewhere, or not locate in NS at all.

A good explanation of the situation can be found in the following allnovascotia.com article from November 7, 2011 "Bill Black: Chasing the Jobs Away".

These concerns aren't unfounded negativity; such concerns are based on watching Premier Dexter take one step after another to scare away private sector jobs. Premier Dexter had nothing to do with attracting the shipbuilding contract to Nova Scotia but he has been trying to take credit for it. Now he actually could be responsible for driving thousands of jobs from the province and he will likely use it to get union backing for his next election campaign. There is a real reason for negativity. Can Nova Scotia survive the Dexter Years?