PCs introduce amendment to Elections Act, Liberals vote it down
HALIFAX, NS – Progressive Conservative House Leader Chris d’Entremont says the McNeil government broke its promise on setting a fixed election date for Nova Scotia.
Today at the Law Amendments Committee, PC MLAs Karla MacFarlane and Chris d’Entremont put forward an amendment to legislation changing the Elections Act to include fixed dates. The Liberals voted it down.
“Premier McNeil promised fixed election dates during the 2009 campaign and when he put forward a bill in 2013,” says d’Entremont. “Now he claims they don’t work. The Premier is playing a dishonest game by putting his own political interests ahead of what’s best for democracy.”
Nova Scotia remains the only province in Canada that does not have fixed election dates.
The province’s Chief Electoral Officer Richard Temporale has said that up to $500,000 in administration costs could be saved if we had fixed election dates.
“We want the Premier to keep his word and do the right thing by committing to fixed election dates,” says d’Entremont.