An independent Nova Scotia MLA says she plans to take legal action against the Progressive Conservative government for calling to remove her from the House of Assembly over comments she made last week while debating a bill to ban non-disclosure agreements in sexual assault and harassment cases.
Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin says correspondence has been sent to the minister of justice challenging the legality of a notice of motion calling for her to be removed from the chamber unless she apologizes for and retracts the statements she made.
“I believe, and so does my lawyer, that it’s a very undemocratic step to have me removed,” Smith-McCrossin told reporters Tuesday afternoon.
“I’ve been elected by the people of Cumberland North to be here in this legislature to represent them, to be their voice, and I believe that I should be able to do so, based on democracy.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice confirmed a notice of intended action was received and is under review.
Last week, Smith-McCrossin tabled legislation aimed at prohibiting the misuse of NDAs, specifically for victims of sexual assault and harassment.
During second reading of the bill, Smith-McCrossin said it was personal and alleged that one of her former employees was “coerced” into signing an NDA with the Progressive Conservative caucus.
The MLA said she introduced the legislation in honour of the woman, who was a junior staffer with the PC caucus at the time. The woman, who later worked for Smith-McCrossin, died unexpectedly at the age of 33 last June. CBC reported her death was due to a brain hemorrhage.
The alleged incident is said to have happened in 2018, when Smith-McCrossin was still a member of the PC caucus. In January of that year, then-PC leader Jamie Baillie was forced to quit after an investigation found he had acted inappropriately and breached the legislature’s policy on workplace harassment.
Smith-McCrossin tabled an unsigned copy of the alleged NDA, which she said she found after her employee’s death.
The province’s current community services minister, Karla MacFarlane, was the interim leader of the party at the time, but she denied having any knowledge of an NDA ever being used.
“There was no disclosure agreements at all between the caucus, between any individual,” she told reporters last week. “I know for certain I did not sign anything.”
And on Monday, MacFarlane said Smith-McCrossin “misled” the house, and made a notice of motion that Smith-McCrossin not be allowed to take her seat until she apologizes and retracts her statements.
In response, Smith-McCrossin said “I only speak the truth.”
Tuesday afternoon, MacFarlane again insisted that the alleged NDA “never, ever” came from the caucus, herself, or anyone she knew. She called the situation “discouraging and frustrating” and said the caucus is “very upset” with the allegations.
MacFarlane said the intent of her notice of motion was not to expel Smith-McCrossin, but in hopes she would “retract her incorrect statements and make an apology.”
“The step was simply to set the record straight and have a conversation – one that the individual will not have outside the chamber, unfortunately,” she said. “I am totally open to having that conversation, setting the record straight.”
Daughter was ‘ghosted,’ parents say
The parents of Kaitlin Saxton, the former staffer, said in a statement that while their daughter is gone, they feel they “should come forward in one final attempt to lay this to rest.”
Katherine and Michael Saxton alleged their daughter was coerced into signing the NDA, “but what was worse for her was the total abandonment she endured from her ‘friends’ in the caucus office.”
It said she was “ghosted,” “treated like a pariah,” and was “just beginning to live again” when she began working for Smith-McCrossin.
“Sadly her life ended abruptly. Kait was smart, beautiful, compassionate and funny. Our lives will never be the same,” the statement said.
Province says NDAs are a ‘complex issue’
Opposition leaders have questioned the government, asking whether a conflict of interest is keeping the party from moving the NDA bill forward.
Last April, when the NDP first tabled their bill on the matter, the government seemed to be supportive — but in the fall, Justice Minister Brad Johns told reporters it was not a priority.
During question period Tuesday, Liberal leader Zach Churchill asked if the government was considering legislation to restrict the use of NDAs “whose intent is to protect perpetrators, and not victims of sexual assault and harassment.”
Premier Tim Houston responded that he agreed NDAs should “not be used to silence victims of sexual assault,” but added that the province is hearing from “two sides.”
“This is a very complex issue, we’ve had a number, now, of people reach out from the other side, talking about why they may have entered into one of these,” he said. “We have to honour those victims as well.
“We’re doing the research, we’re listening to both sides, we’re taking the issue very seriously.”
— with files from Alicia Draus
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