The Party is Over
Independent NS
A friend of mine decided to run as a candidate in the provincial elections after being inspired by a new movement in Nova Scotia. Independent NS was founded by people who noticed that fewer and fewer citizens were voting and believed this decline stemmed from a fundamental flaw in the political system—perhaps even by design—namely, political parties themselves. Political parties act as guardrails against true democracy because representatives are expected to follow the party line rather than their own conscience or constituents’ views. This is why Independent NS states: “The party is over.”
As an example of what happens when party representatives defy the party line, we can look at a few cases from the so-called “pandemic.” In June 2021, a protest took place at the border between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.1 The protest was against restrictions requiring travellers from New Brunswick to self-isolate upon arrival in Nova Scotia. This protest received support from Provincial MLA Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin (Cumberland North, Amherst, Nova Scotia), who posted a video on her Facebook account encouraging participation. Soon after her involvement, she was expelled from the Progressive Conservative Party by Tim Houston, now the Premier of Nova Scotia.2
Smith-McCrossin continues to serve as MLA to this day, now as an Independent with no party affiliation.
There are other examples of representatives being removed from their parties during COVID, such as Roman Baber, formerly of Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Party, who was expelled in January 2021 after speaking out against lockdown policies.3
Independent NS proposes that in every riding of Nova Scotia, citizens should seek out someone they trust to represent them as an independent candidate in each election. Anyone willing to take on this challenge would be expected to represent the people—not any political party. The benefits of having independents include the following:
“Independent representatives will have a free vote on all new laws, not restricted to voting as they are told by the party whip or leader. They can table legislation that helps all of us without biased party approval. Ideas such as recall for lying to constituents or removing pensions for politicians after two years of service have already been suggested.”4
However, in 2021, after being elected Premier, Conservative leader Tim Houston introduced new reforms to the Nova Scotia Elections Act. These reforms appear to restrict access for anyone without party backing.
For instance, when my friend decided to run as a candidate, she needed to appoint an official agent—a role she asked me to fill. The official agent must complete ten separate forms each year concerning donations and fundraising. In our case, all forms were filled with zeros, as we received no donations and held no fundraisers. Another obstacle is that each candidate must also retain a chartered accountant. Because of this requirement, my friend’s name did not even appear on the ballot in our riding.
During the last election, Premier Tim Houston called a snap election5—ironically, something prohibited under his own new legislation. This sudden move made it impossible to find a chartered accountant in time, especially since there is already a shortage of qualified accountants eligible for this role.
This situation illustrates how the latest election law reforms have not served to benefit the public. Instead, these changes appear deliberately designed to discourage ordinary citizens from participating as independent candidates in provincial elections, contrary to the government’s stated claim that the reforms would promote fairness.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/border-restrictions-protest-transcanada-wednesday-1.6076442
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/elizabeth-smith-mccrossin-progressive-conservatives-1.6078399
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/york-roman-baber-ontario-covid-19-january-15-2021-1.5874606
https://independentns.net/index.html@p=20119.html
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/independent-nova-scotians-united-election-1.7391035
There is no doubt that system has disintegrated into despotism. The electoral process has fallen pray by design to support it. Democracy is an illusion in Canada and we must fight to get it back.
Leslie