Today’s Tory government in NS is the worst. And I mean that.
You can criticize the governments of men such as John Hamm, Rodney MacDonald, Darrell Dexter, Stephen McNeil and Iain Rankin — but the worst is the Tim Houston government.
“It’s an issue, there are bigger issues too. We have issues around guns, we have issues around drugs, we have issues, I mean, there’s a lot of issues…violence in general.”
former Nova Scotia Justice Minister Brad Johns, denying domestic violence is not an epidemic
Why is that?
The first reason is the Tories don’t believe women, they don’t listen to women. Some of the Tories, including the (former) Minister of Justice Brad Johns, didn’t even read the report from the Mass Casualty Commission. Recommendations 6 to 17 have to do with violence against women and intimate partner violence.
We know this because just yesterday on the 4th anniversary of the single largest mass murder in Canadian history – the Minister of Justice said that domestic violence is not an epidemic. This contradicted section after section of the Mass Casualty Commission Report.
Premier Tim Houston had to rush to cover for Johns, but we know that Houston must have thought he was just putting out a brush fire. But It was not merely that.
Johns didn’t just misspeak– he didn’t read the Mass Casualty Commission’s report
For others in the province, especially women, we knew that Johns didn’t merely misspeak – it’s what he really thinks.
Did Johns ever read the Mass Casualty Commission report and its recommendations? I doubt it. It seems his aides were MIA, and never bothered to send him a memo. According to Yvette D’Entremont in The Halifax Examiner,
“The Mass Casualty Commission’s final report recommended that all levels of government in Canada and non-governmental bodies ‘declare gender-based, intimate partner, and family violence to be an epidemic that warrants a meaningful and sustained society-wide response.’ It also recommended that men “take up individual and concerted action to contribute to ending this epidemic.”
The same day as Brad Johns’ fumble and Tim Houston’s rush to save his ass, Houston suggested (manspoke) ONE MINUTE of silence for the victims of the 2020 mass murder and their families. Please note that 13 of the 22 murder victims were women.
One minute of silence is miniscule in a 960 minute day
Houston’s one minute of remembrance was scheduled for 12 noon Thursday.
I was in a downtown mall at that time, and noticed no one stopped, no store shut, no tributes rang out.
The premier must have known that one minute of respect for the dead at 12 noon meant
a) school children would be having lunch at school or walking home for lunch which meant no discussion with them, no lesson about violence against women could be offered
b) office workers would be off shopping and/or buying their lunch
c) high school students would be wending their ways to malls and cafeterias to eat
d) food service workers in bars and restaurants, and at Tim Hortons, would be very busy working the lunch hour
What’s more, one minute is miniscule in a 960 minute day (of 16 waking hours). One minute is hardly worth noticing.
And who was leading the one minute observance? Certainly not the premier, and no one would have tasked Brad Johns to do it—would they?
The government’s abysmal record toward women is also evidenced in their attitude toward non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).
Tories continue to prop up Non-disclosure agreements
This week’s quick exit of former Minister of Social Services, and former House Speaker Karla MacFarlane provided us with a breadcrumb path to the possible reason the Tory government refused to pass Bill 144 to limit the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).
In spring 2022, the Tory government signalled it would support the NDP private member’s Bill 144 to restrict the use of NDAs. Liz LeClair a volunteer with the advocacy group Can’t Buy My Silence fought hard for Bill 144. She asked, “Why are victims of abuse expected to keep their stories a secret? Who does this protect?” And noted labour lawyer Ron Pink said “NDAs are a murderous tool.’ ” Typically, women and racialized people are boxed into signing NDAs when they want to settle sexual harassment/assault issues or human rights complaints. The effect of signing an NDA means the victim is not able to talk about what happened with anyone, nor write or speak about it ever— in exchange for money. Bill 144 looked like a sure thing especially since the PEI legislature had passed similar legislation against NDAs in November 2021.
But six months later, Premier Houston said he “was not aware of situations where people would be forced into signing these [NDAs].”
He abruptly reversed his decision on NDAs with no explanation. Justice Minister Brad Johns, when asked for reasons for the about-face on NDAs had no reply. He could not say one cogent word about it. Instead he said incongruously, “I don’t want to say something and be misquoted, that’s all.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender called Johns’ response “insulting” and “a disservice to survivors and to women across this province.”
She noted, “I think that the message is that the safety and equity of women in this province is not a priority for this government.” This reaction was echoed by Liz LeClair “they’re not listening to the people who are marginalized, they’re not listening to the people who are on the front lines of these issues.”
The Tories’ absolute refusal to limit NDAs likely has to do with the scandal involving an aide, Kaitlin Saxton and rumours of a coerced sexual affair with former NS Tory leader Jamie Baillie.
In January 2018, Baillie suddenly resigned as party leader and left the province. Word was that he was forced out due to “inappropriate behaviour” toward a Tory staffer. Many believed the staffer was 28-year-old Kait Saxton, who worked in communications and as a policy analyst for the PC caucus.
On 16 January, 2024, Saxton’s parents revealed an affidavit they signed which said that their daughter Kait “was the victim of some sort of sexual assault and battery by Jamie Baillie.” . And that Kait had hired a lawyer to launch legal action against Baillie and the PC Party; according to the parents, it was settled by a secret agreement (a non-disclosure agreement– NDA) for an undisclosed amount of money.
In the affidavit, parents Mike and Kathy Saxton said, “In our possession we have unsigned minutes of settlement and mutual release between Kait Saxton and Jamie Baillie which is eight pages long.”
Baillie denied everything, and refused to be interviewed about it.
Tragically, Kait Saxton, aged 33, died in 2022 of a brain hemorrhage.
The Saxtons’ affidavit supports MLA Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin’s case against two cabinet members in the Houston government, Attorney General/Minister of Justice Brad Johns and then-Speaker of the House Karla MacFarlane.
Smith-McCrossin, once a Tory MLA, was kicked out of the caucus by Tim Houston on another matter, and has sat as independent since 2021. You can read more about her case here.
The parents’ affidavit also noted that in late Dec. 2017, they were with their daughter when she met Karla MacFarlane outside a café across from Province House. The parents watched Kait Saxton signing a document on MacFarlane’s back– but no one knows what that document was. But it was clear that Saxton was no longer employed in the caucus office. In any event, if she signed an NDA there was no lawyer present.
Smith-McCrossin, hired Saxton after she had left her job and been unemployed for more than three years– as a result of the above events. The MLA found an unsigned NDA between Saxton and Baillie in papers Saxton had left in the office. Smith-McCrossin and others want to get to the bottom of what happened to Saxton, and a coverup by the Conservative caucus.
What else have Tim Houston’s Tories done to help women? In March 2023, Nova Scotia earmarked $8 million for women’s shelters, transition houses, and women’s centres. While it sounds like a lot of money, when you compare it to other budget items NS’s 2024 budget, we see what really “deserves” funding:
- $108 million on construction
- $9.6 million each year for 3 yrs for 5700 new and upgraded beds in long term care
- $208 million for school renovations, repairs
- $483.3 million for 100 series highway construction
- $15 million to expand cell service
- $55 million for gravel roads
- $35.3 million for new public housing.
It’s quite clear that no matter how many mea culpas Justice Minister Brad Johns offered to women’s groups, centres, shelters and individuals women are fed up. On Friday night, Johns resigned. I’d say it’s not a moment too soon. And Premier Houston should have a look in the mirror.
Thanks to Jennifer Henderson’s reporting in the Halifax Examiner for background on the Kaitlin Saxton case.
Image at the top: a NS beach (credit: GlobeGuide.ca)
Another ruined dinner party... 