Some N.S. municipalities continue to oppose fall election during COVID-19

The groups representing Nova Scotia's municipal politicians and administrators are continuing to push back against general elections scheduled for October.

They say the possibility of a second wave of COVID-19 could make the voting process unsafe.

The Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities (NSFM) and the Association of Municipal Administrators of Nova Scotia (AMANS) are already on record opposing the government's decision to forge ahead with elections.

Municipal Affairs Minister Chuck Porter has dismissed their concerns, recommending voting by telephone or internet.

However, some municipalities are still planning to use paper ballots and now NSFM and AMANS are refusing to formally be part of a provincial committee set up to establish safe voting procedures.

John MacKinnon, Cape Breton Regional Municipality's deputy chief administrator and a vice-president with AMANS, said officials did not feel they could oppose the election and formally take part on a provincial committee.

"It's not something that we can confidently put our name to, that we can make happen safely, so what we did is we backed off from that," he said during a CBRM council meeting on Tuesday.

CBRM Coun. George MacDonald said the federation has done the same, basically to send a protest message to the minister and his deputy.

"There's no logic to the whole situation and no matter what we say, what arguments we use, Minister Porter and or [deputy minister] Nancy MacLellan are not going to listen, so it's very frustrating," he said.

The move follows a decision by Springtide, the organization hired to encourage candidate and voter participation in the elections this fall, which recently quit its contract saying there might not be enough time to prepare for safe and fair elections during the pandemic.

Coun. Jim MacLeod called the province's decision to proceed with elections "irresponsible," because not all communities have access to decent telephone or internet service.

In an 8-3 vote, CBRM council approved a staff recommendation to accept only telephone or internet votes in the fall election.

Venues a challenge

Clerk Deborah Campbell Ryan, who is also CBRM's returning officer, said finding venues willing to host polling stations and dealing with the logistics of protecting polling staff and volunteers, as well as voters, during a pandemic would be difficult.

She said although Municipal Affairs "will be addressing some of these challenges, it is not practical to run a traditional paper-ballot election while ensuring the safety of voters.

"The only way to do that is a fully electronic election with the safety and convenience of voting from home."

Campbell Ryan said the municipality will establish at least one polling station with telephone and internet capability for those who aren't able to vote from home.

MacDonald, MacLeod and Coun. Clarence Prince voted against the recommendation. All three said it was no reflection on staff, but they had to take a stand against the province.

Guidelines on the way

Some councillors who voted in favour said the province's decision appeared to be final, so it was best to plan as much as possible for a safe election.

MacDonald said he believes the provincial government has its own reasons for insisting on the fall vote.

"From what I'm hearing ... the province I think is intending to go ahead maybe with a provincial election in the next seven or eight months and therefore it would be hypocritical to cancel our elections," he said.

The minister did not respond to a request for comment, but in an email, the Department of Municipal Affairs said the municipal politician and administrator groups are continuing to provide feedback on guidelines for safe elections, even if they are not on the provincial committee.

The department said the guidelines will be made public as soon as they are ready.

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