N.S. Speaker scraps planned legislature bans just days before fall sitting begins

The Speaker of the Nova Scotia legislature says she is rescinding a decision to temporarily ban 36 people from the premises for allegedly causing a disruption in the gallery during the spring sitting.

The unexpected decision, released late Friday afternoon, comes as provincial politicians are set to return to the legislature on Tuesday following the long weekend.

2:24 Nova Scotia legislature sends out 36 letters, temporarily banning individuals from the house

Speaker Danielle Barkhouse’s temporary bans came into effect on Sept. 1 following an incident in March that saw protesters against government budget cuts break into song and later yell, delaying a vote that was passed the next day.

Barkhouse said in a statement Friday that the Nova Scotia Arts Coalition, opposition parties and the Progressive Conservative government have all expressed their opposition to the bans.

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Barkhouse says she’s still concerned about the protest, saying the disruption was unlawful and a breach of parliamentary privilege.

She says if it happens again, protesters will be removed from the gallery and could be barred from the legislature grounds and a committee room in a nearby office building if they persist.

“If disruptions of the house are permitted to occur unfettered, the house will be paralyzed and the work of elected (representatives) stymied,” Barkhouse said in a statement. “There is nothing democratic about this. The actions of the disrupters must not be condoned.”