Group of Independents in N.S. requests judicial review of snap election call

A group of Independents is calling for an emergency judicial review with the intent to quash the snap election.

The Independent NS Initiative has filed for a judicial review of the provincial election that was called months before the fixed date set out in the Elections Act.

The group is also asking the court to reverse a decision not to approve the nomination of candidates who did not provide an auditor to elections Nova Scotia. The applicants claim the nomination refusals are a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

With the election on Tuesday, they're requesting the motion for date and direction be heard on the earliest possible date. Otherwise, the matter will come before the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia in Port Hawkesbury on Dec. 6.

A spokesperson for Elections Nova Scotia said it could not comment on a matter before the courts.

None of the applicants, John Hurley, Peter MacIsaac, Julissa Stewart and Morgan Guptill, agreed to be interviewed. Their agent, Paul Westhaver, also declined an interview request.

The Progressive Conservatives and Liberals each have a full slate of 55 candidates. The NDP has 54 after parting ways with Tammy Jakeman. The Green Party has 23 candidates. There are four Independent candidates.

5th party out

Nova Scotians United, which became a registered party in December 2021, has no candidates in the provincial election.

Emily Clarke-Haughn, the party's deputy leader, said the party was deregistered by Elections Nova Scotia because it failed to nominate 10 candidates by the Nov. 6 deadline.

"And it's funny that that specific area of the Elections Act they took very seriously. But the part about the fixed election, you know, that part's a little bit foggy," she said in an interview with CBC earlier this month.

Clarke-Haughn said the party was hoping to use the election, originally set for July 2025, to share the party's vision with Nova Scotians. She said a resurgence of Nova Scotians United is possible because the society, which holds the bank account, is still active.

"We just need more collaboration from the people of Nova Scotia in order to build it up because it just is a lot for a small group of people to take on," she said.

Instead of running, Clarke-Haughn is the official agent for Hants West Independent James Omand, who had intended to run for the party. She said Omand and Stemer MacLeod, who is an Independent candidate in Victoria-The Lakes, both used a Nova Scotians United auditor.

"It's a lot easier now than it was 30 years ago," said MacLeod, who has been a perennial Independent candidate in the Cape Breton riding.

In an interview with CBC News, MacLeod said voters deserve an alternative to the major political parties. Still, he said it can be tough to compete.

"Why are these people not voting? Because they've come to realize, I think inherently, that it doesn't make any difference. They're going to get the dirty end of the stick no matter who they vote for," he said.