PCs complain to Elections Nova Scotia about Liberal-supporting website

The Progressive Conservatives have filed a complaint with Elections Nova Scotia about a website the party believes violates election rules.

While Urban Halifax has a dedicated website, it is the blog's social media presence — including a Facebook page with 45,000 followers — that's drawn the ire of the Tories.

It's there that Urban Halifax's founder, John Grant, has been regularly posting information throughout the election that is pro-Liberal and anti-Progressive Conservative, often targeting Tory Leader Tim Houston.

In the complaint filed Tuesday by the PC Party, provincial director Jim David asks the chief electoral officer to review Facebook posts and tweets and determine whether they constitute election advertising or spread false statements about the character or conduct of candidates.

The complaint also asks the chief electoral officer to determine whether Urban Halifax ought to be registered as a third-party advertiser. 

Barb Adams, the Tory candidate for Eastern Passage, said she was falsely targeted by the website when it questioned her claims about volunteering at a seniors' home during the pandemic.

Adams, a registered physiotherapist, worked at the home during the pandemic to ensure residents continued to have coverage. Because public health rules prevented volunteers from going into long-term care homes, Adams was brought on as an employee for several hours a week, but returned or donated everything she was paid.

"I donated all of that time because that was something concrete that I could do as an MLA," she said. "So then for somebody to turn around and try to make it look like I was doing something that I wasn't, or was saying something that was untrue, is really insulting."

In an interview, Grant said he took down the posts about Adams because he was concerned the tone was too negative.

"I don't think anything in it crossed the line in terms of being over the top," he said.

It's just opinion

Grant said he doesn't think he needs to register his site with Elections Nova Scotia and he doesn't think he's breaking any rules.

"I think that the idea that I'm operating as a third party, seeing as I haven't really taken an advertisement in over a year and I'm not really operating a business, is a little bit far fetched, but we'll have to see what happens," he said.

Urban Halifax, which also shares links to news stories and posts the latest COVID-19 numbers, started in 2019. Grant said he's open about the fact he's a Liberal and supports the party's leader, Iain Rankin.

While he has worked for the party in the past, Grant said that's no longer the case. He isn't taking any money from the party for his posts and they aren't vetted by anyone ahead of time.

"I just kind of share my opinions," he said. "That's just kind of a platform to share what I think is going on with the election."