Nova Scotia’s Minister of Acadian Affairs is balking at a Progressive Conservative (PC) MLA’s call for him to step aside in the electoral map dispute with the Acadian Federation of Nova Scotia.
READ MORE: Nova Scotia Acadian Federation threatens court action in electoral boundaries dispute
Michel Samson said on Tuesday that the suggestion by Chris d’Entremont was “ridiculous.”
“To suggest that the Minister of Acadian Affairs should not be involved in finding a resolution to ensure there’s effective representation for the Acadian community in new boundaries, I find it unfortunate,” Samson told Global News.
The response comes a day after the Acadian Federation of Nova Scotia said it would take legal action if the government calls an election before the electoral map is redrawn to restore three protected ridings that were eliminated in 2012.
In January, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal found the 2012 redrawing of boundaries violated the voter rights section of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Acadian ridings of Clare, Richmond and Argyle were eliminated, along with Preston, which represented a predominantly African Nova Scotian community.
READ MORE: NS court ruling not barrier to potential election call: professor
‘Playing politics’
D’Entremont said in a release by the PC caucus that the Acadian federation “can no longer trust Samson to protect their interests.”
“The minister does not represent Acadians at this point,” d’Entremont told reporters on Tuesday, adding “because of his constitutionality” he needs to remove himself from the file.
“This has been a court case won by the Acadian federation that needs a couple more steps dealt with before the election is called. We heard what they said yesterday, what they felt the community wanted … we then heard the shootback from the minister on the Acadian federation not speaking on behalf of Acadians across the province, which is a bit of a crock.”
But Samson said d’Entremont’s statement is “playing politics” and called it unfortunate.
He also said the redrawing of boundaries in 2012 caused the situation being dealt with now.
“There’s no question I’m going to continue to represent Acadians to the best of my ability and to work on finding a solution as to what effective representation means for the Acadian community in Nova Scotia,” Samson told Global News.
WATCH: The Acadian Federation says the Liberals risk opening “Pandora’s Box” if they don’t redraw riding boundaries before the next election. Marieke Walsh explains why the federation believes an election with current boundaries would be unconstitutional.
Asked for comment about d’Entremont’s call for Samson to step aside, the federation’s executive director Marie-Claude Rioux declined an interview but sent an email statement.
“The Federation acadienne is a non-partisan organization and is working closely with all parties,” Rioux said. “We will not be commenting any further on this issue.”
Federation wants court orders
On Monday, the federation said it wants immediate discussions with the province looking at getting court orders to reinforce the appeals court ruling.
Those orders would confirm the unconstitutionality of the 2012 boundaries abolishing the Acadian ridings and order the government to establish a new electoral boundaries commission with a mandate of ensuring effective representation for the Acadian community, among other things.
Samson said he doesn’t see the need to return to court because they accepted the decision by the Court of Appeal.
“We’re more than happy to work with the Acadian federation and the entire Acadian community to determine what is effective representation for Acadians in 2017 and how we can put that in terms of reference for a new boundary commission,” Samson said.
READ MORE: NS NDP member ponders legal move if election called without riding boundary review
He also said Monday that the government would state its position publicly once there was a chance for further talks.
Talks scheduled
The next day, Samson told Global News that he and the premier would be meeting with representatives from the federation on Thursday.
Thursday’s talks, he said, will be another opportunity to try to resolve the situation.
“That is going to take some time and we’re trying to work with the Acadian federation to establish how that consultation should take place.”
READ MORE: Nova Scotia must review riding boundaries before election or risk legal action: Tories
Both the province’s PCs and NDP legislature member Sterling Belliveau have said they are also looking at legal options if a formal boundary review does not take place before an election.
The province’s Liberals have said they will drop a budget on April 27, but last month Premier Stephen McNeil refused to rule out an election call after the budget is tabled. Nova Scotia is the only province without a fixed election date, meaning people could be voting as early as May or late as the fall of 2018.
—With files from The Canadian Press and Marieke Walsh, Global News
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