HALIFAX, N.S. — The government responsible for imposing approximately $8 million in new fees on a struggling trucking industry is ditching a law forcing it to debate deficits in the legislature.

The Hamm government finance minister, Neil LeBlanc, says he’s eliminating a vote that happened more than a year late and tightening rules on when the government must release documents confessing to overspending.

NDP finance critic Graham Steele says he’s suspicious why the Tories are getting rid of the vote after introducing a budget that’s supposed to produce a surplus of just $1.3 million.

He said the budget really isn’t balanced, and LeBlanc knows he’ll have to admit it eventually.

“If they had nothing to hide, what would they be afraid of?” says Steele. “It’s a bad sign. It’s one less forum for accountability.”