Nova Scotia’s opposition leaders are criticizing Premier Tim Houston for comments he made about Cape Breton Regional Municipality’s state of emergency following a historic event that left much of the province covered in snow.
The premier would later call his own comments “unfortunate” and apologize for his “poor choice of words.”
Over 100 centimetres of snow fell in some areas of Cape Breton between Friday and Monday, burying cars, piling on roofs and blocking roads. The amount of snow prompted Cape Breton Regional Municipality to declare a state of emergency.
Additionally, central areas of the province received 40 to 50 centimetres and parts of northern mainland Nova Scotia saw between 70 and 80 centimetres.
During a news conference Monday afternoon, Houston raised doubts about CBRM’s decision to call a local state of emergency.
“It’s not required to access resources or assistance,” he said.
Houston said declaring a state of emergency can grant additional powers, such as permitting authorities to issue fines to people unnecessarily on the roads, enter homes without a warrant, order evacuations and confiscate property — “but what a state of emergency does not do is get you a plow faster.”
“They can absolutely do that, they don’t need provincial approval to do that, we respect their ability to do that, but at the end of the process I kind of wonder what they’ll do with it,” he said.
“Will they do anything with it, or was it more of just kind of a PR issue?”
He later said that officials have a responsibility to do their best to “calm fears and anxiety and not stoke it” and reiterated the province was doing everything it could to get everything cleared up.
In a social media post late Monday, Nova Scotia Liberal leader Zach Churchill took issue with Houston’s comments.
“While Cape Bretoners are trapped in their homes and unable to make it to crucial medical appointments, the Premier brushed off their calls for a state of emergency, calling it a ‘PR issue,'” he wrote.
NDP leader Claudia Chender also criticized the premier’s comments, accusing Houston of “playing politics.”
In a thread posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, Chender said the comments were “rude” and “dismissive.”
“We want a leader who will respond to pleas for assistance, who will do whatever it takes,” she said. “Not get miffed when an elected body does the best they can to help the communities they serve.”
In an interview Tuesday, CBRM Mayor Amanda McDougall said it was a stressful time for everyone, including elected officials.
“I’m hoping it was simply a slip of the tongue and the intention was not to disparage the residents of CBRM in our time of emergency,” she said.
“It’s been a really rough few days. People are worried. Panic is setting in because there are people that are isolated, they can’t get out of their houses. Roads are still not plowed, particularly those that are provincial. And we need those authorities under the state of local emergency.”
Premier apologizes
In a statement sent late Tuesday afternoon, Premier Houston said he “made some unfortunate comments that took the conversation away from the important snow removal efforts that are happening.”
“But, when I make a mistake, I will always own it. I used a poor choice of words. And I apologize for that,” the statement read.
“My intention was just to make the public aware that resources were coming regardless of a state of emergency being in effect or not. For example, there is no state of emergency in Victoria County, but that will not impede them getting access to plows and support.”
‘We’re stuck’
McDougall said there’s been some misinformation about what the state of emergency means. The measure gives government additional powers, but she stressed that it does not ban businesses from opening, for example.
She said the state of emergency was largely declared to keep people off the road and keep non-essential travel to a minimum.
“Many of the roads in the CBRM are very dangerous and full of snow,” she said, adding that some vehicles have even been abandoned, causing a “huge hazard” for snow clearing and first responders.
McDougall also said the state of emergency was intended to help procure services and people outside of the municipality’s procurement policy.
“We simply need to put a call out and say, ‘Anybody who is able, anybody who has machinery, we need your help,'” she said. “The snow is heavy, it’s dangerous, and we can’t do it alone.
“I think it’s easy to be passive and say, ‘OK, the storm is over, move on.’ We’re stuck. I myself am stuck in my home, there’s absolutely no way I can leave my driveway,” McDougall added.
“I know we’re going to get out, but those feelings of anxiety and nervousness, they’re real. And I think that’s where my focus is. If I’m feeling that way … how are the thousands of other people feeling after hearing those words?”
Despite the challenges, she said the people of Cape Breton are coming together to help each other through the crisis.
“I’m going to focus on the beautiful part of our community,” she said. “In times that are trying, boy oh boy, do Cape Bretoners stick together. I’m beaming with pride for our community.”
Cleanup continues
Meanwhile, the cleanup after the snowfall is continuing and is likely to take days.
Federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan says Parks Canada will be sending snow removal equipment and the Canadian Coast Guard is sending helicopters.
Sajjan says organizations including the Red Cross will help with humanitarian work.
John Lohr, Nova Scotia’s minister responsible for emergency management, says the province had already sought help from neighbouring provinces but needed federal aid to maintain public safety.
The Nova Scotia government says provincial offices in Inverness and Victoria counties as well as Cape Breton Regional Municipality will be closed today due to ongoing storm cleanup, while offices in Pictou, Antigonish, Guysborough and Richmond counties will not be opening until noon local time.
The provincial government says all other offices will be open regular hours unless they are experiencing power outages or other local issues.
Nova Scotia Health says some non-emergency services may be reduced in the Northern and Eastern zones because of heavy snow and poor road conditions.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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