CAJ
The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) calls on Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston to reverse his government’s ill-advised plan that would prevent journalists from ‘scrumming’ politicians within the provincial legislature.
“This is a bald-faced frontal assault on press freedom in a province where secrecy has long trumped transparency,” said Brent Jolly, CAJ president. “Now, the premier has decreed that journalists should only be able to interview members of his government at a time and place of his choosing.”
Premier Houston’s government is proposing that journalists should instead ask ministers questions in a media room in another building. According to the Halifax Examiner, several news organizations, including CBC News, allNovaScotia, and the Examiner will reportedly not be attending the media room for scrums while the legislature is in session.
“By hosting press conferences away from the legislature, this plan is lose-lose for the public’s right to know,” Jolly said. “It is deliberately designed to force journalists and news organizations into deciding: should they cover the affairs of the legislature or trek off site to hear a minister regurgitate sanitized talking points?”
The radical proposed changes are part of a new omnibus bill that was tabled by the government last week. The bill proposes other sweeping changes to how government works, including: allowing the provincial cabinet to dismiss the Auditor General, an independent officer of the legislature, “for reasons other than cause or incapacity,” and limiting the amount of time opposition parties can question the government.
Premier Houston’s government was re-elected with a supermajority in the provincial election held this past November.
In recent years, several organizations, including the CAJ, have called on Houston’s government to strengthen transparency and accountability measures. In November 2023, the CAJ submitted a letter to Nova Scotia’s Department of Justice as it was undertaking a review of the province’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPOP), which has not undergone substantive updates in nearly a quarter century.
To date, that submission has gone unacknowledged. Recent reporting, however, indicates the interdepartmental working group responsible for reviewing the updates is scheduled to be completed later this year.
“Transparency is the foundation of responsible democratic governance,” Jolly said. “What’s going on right now in Nova Scotia matters because it sets a tone that can trickle down to cities and municipalities across the province – and even, perhaps, beyond the province’s borders.”
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