A headline in Saturday's Chronicle-Herald called Premier Darrell Dexter's churlish attack on a member of the Electoral Boundaries Commission "out-of-character." It was certainly at odds with the avuncular tone we came to expect from Dexter in opposition -- as premier-in-waiting, he took pains to maintain an aura of moderation and reasonableness -- but it is of a piece with the increasingly partisan tone in statements from the premier's office this summer. The previous Friday, when it appeared the deal to reopen the Point Tupper paper mill had come a cropper, the premier's official announement included this incongruous paragraph: There are some who...

30 September, 2012

Chapter Three of the Interim Report of the Nova Scotia Electoral Boundaries Commission is tittled, "Interpretation of the Terms of Reference." It might more honestly be called, "Decision to Disregard the Terms of Reference." That's what seven members of the commission decided to do: overrule the Terms of Reference set down in law by the elected representatives of Nova Scotia. They did so in response to a vociferous lobby by Acadians and African Nova Scotians, anxious to retain the four seats exempted from rep-by-pop to encourage the election of MLAs representing those ethnic groups. The seven members  — Chair Teresa MacNeil,* Johnstown,...

02 June, 2012