The Nova Scotia government’s Economic Growth Council has issued its first set of recommendations, which focus on reducing the regulatory burden and treating housing as a strategic growth sector.

The provincial government released the 16 recommendations on Wednesday, saying that it has accepted all but one.

In an interview, Council Chair Scott Brison said the council recognizes the role innovation will play in growing Nova Scotia's economy, and even the recommendations on housing are intended to help nurture startups.

“Jim Balsillie was the guy who helped us with this part,” said Brison, referring to the Co-Founder and former CEO of what’s now BlackBerry. “We were talking about things in Nova Scotia that could encourage innovation, and he said, ‘One of your advantages as an ecosystem is affordable housing, and once people start moving into your area, you’re going to run up against it if you don’t prepare for it now.’”

Premier Iain Rankin named the Council in April, and appointed former federal minister Brison as the head. Though it focuses on the broader economy, the 10-member council has strong representation from the innovation community, including former Manifold and GoInstant CEO Jevon MacDonald, CarbonCure Technologies President Jennifer Wagner and REDspace Executive Jenn Priske.

Though many of the recommendations are vague (such as “Improve government service to business”), the government accepted a specific recommendation to reduce regulatory burden. In particular, the government will waive regulatory fees for companies in their first two years of operation.

The government also said it will accelerate its steps to reduce the “unnecessary” regulatory burden on business, promising to cut an additional $30 million in regulation by the end of 2022. However, the single recommendation the government did not accept was advice to refrain from imposing any new regulations on business.

Responding to the recommendation to make housing a strategic growth sector, the government said it will work with municipalities to encourage strategic solutions for the housing problem. These include generating more mixed-use developments, including those with units designated for affordable housing.

The council is due to file its second set of recommendations in the fall.