Elections Nova Scotia asks RCMP to investigate alleged Elections Act breach

Elections Nova Scotia has asked the RCMP to investigate an alleged breach of the Elections Act.

Chief Electoral Officer Dorothy Rice ordered the Liberal Party and its candidate in the Preston byelection, Carlo Simmons, on Aug. 1 to remove signs and campaign material related to a potential construction and demolition (C&D) site in the community.

The signs read "Dump the Dump. Houston's Conservatives have done nothing to stop this dump. We must stop them. Vote Carlo Simmons."

Rice says the campaign materials are misleading, and ordered them to be removed by 12 a.m. AT Thursday.

In a news release issued early afternoon Thursday, Elections Nova Scotia said both the Liberal Party and Simmons have refused to comply.

The agency has contacted the RCMP to begin a formal investigation of the alleged violation of the Elections Act.

"As a non-partisan election management body, Elections Nova Scotia, under the direction of the CEO must take the legislative actions required to ensure that all election campaign messaging is accurate and truly reflective of the facts," the news release reads.

A violation could result in a fine of up to $5,000.

Order infringes on 'political speech,' Liberals say

Rice's letter to the Liberal Party on Aug. 1 said the party will be in breach of section 307 of the Elections Act if the materials are not taken down.

That section of the law states: "Every person is guilty of an offence who, during an election, knowingly makes, distributes or publishes a false statement of fact about a candidate's character or conduct for the purpose of influencing the election."

In a statement Thursday, Simmons's campaign manager, Ray Anjoul, called Elections Nova Scotia's move disappointing and said it is "an attempt to suppress political discourse about a real and important issue days before the election."

Simmons and the party "stand by all statements about the potential dump."

The PC Party has said no permit applications for a potential C&D site have been submitted to the province, so the government cannot address the issue.

The Liberals have countered that the Tim Houston government has put their foot down on other developments before an application was made, such as in the case of an idea for a golf course in Mabou, N.S.

Earlier order to PC Party

At the beginning of the campaign, the chief electoral officer ordered the Nova Scotia government to end an ad campaign that was critical of the federal Liberal government and its carbon tax because she felt the ads were partisan.

The Houston government complied and ended the online component early. The radio ads had already run their course by the time the Liberals complained about that campaign.

The statement from Simmons's campaign Thursday said the anti-carbon tax ads were an attempt to influence voters and purposely mislead the public.

The Liberal Party has asked Elections Nova Scotia to review the matter, "and given the precedent they have established they must treat this matter with the same urgency and weight," the statement said.

The byelection is scheduled to take place on Aug. 8.