Reporters blocked from swearing-in ceremony for new Nova Scotia cabinet

Premier Tim Houston's cabinet swearing-in ceremony to kick off his second mandate will be a private event that's closed to reporters.

The provincial government announced on Wednesday the break from the long-standing tradition of the event being open to members of the media.

A news release said Thursday's ceremony at the Halifax Convention Centre is not open to reporters due to limited capacity. The event will be livestreamed and a camera from one TV network will be allowed to gather footage on behalf of all outlets.

A document from the convention centre shows that capacity in the part of the building the Tories used during their last swearing-in ranges from 315 people to 1,200 people, depending on how much of the space is used and how it's configured.

It's not clear if the PCs will be using the same room for Thursday's ceremony.

Pandemic restrictions in 2021

In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, reporters were not permitted inside the room for Houston's first swearing-in ceremony, but another room in the building was made available to monitor a livestream of the event and interview members of the new cabinet.

So far, the government has announced no arrangements to make the new ministers available for interviews following Thursday's ceremony.

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said she doesn't think the government's decision has anything to do with capacity inside the convention centre.

"I believe that this government doesn't like public scrutiny, they don't like making themselves or their ministers or their decisions available to the public except for in a very controlled way," she said in an interview. "So this is more of the same."

Doesn't bode well

Interim Liberal Leader Derek Mombourquette said he cannot think of a reason why the Progressive Conservatives would not want reporters to attend the swearing-in. 

"I don't understand the rationale," he said in an interview, adding he believes this is the first time a Nova Scotia cabinet swearing-in has been closed to media.

Mombourquette and Chender said that if the government doesn't allow reporters to attend what is considered a happy occasion, it doesn't bode well for how they'll approach the rest of their term in office.

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