PC Party fundraiser asks supporters to help 'bypass the media'
The letter also takes aim at unnamed 'special interests' and the Opposition NDP
The Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia is asking supporters to give donations to help it fulfil its plan for the province, a task it suggests now requires skirting the media.
In a fundraising letter last week, Leah Martin, a cabinet minister and the MLA for Cole Harbour, reminded party faithful of the government's targets, before adding reporters to that list.
"Will you pitch in here right now to help us withstand NDP attacks, overpower the special interests and professional protesters, bypass the media when we need to and stay on track with our plan to make it happen for Nova Scotia?" read the letter to PC supporters.
Since January, the Progressive Conservatives have repeatedly called out unnamed "special interests" they say have stood in the way of meaningful natural resource development in the province.
The Halifax Examiner was first to report on Martin's letter.
Government controlling reporter access
Martin refused to answer questions about the document on Monday evening at Province House. Like the premier and the rest of cabinet, she will only speak to reporters during times organized by the government in a room they control across the street from the legislature at One Government Place.
Members of the press gallery from CBC and some other media outlets are boycotting those sessions.
The government's move breaks from the longstanding tradition of the premier and ministers speaking to reporters during press gallery-organized scrums in the common spaces of the legislature.
"As we've repeatedly said, we are taking steps to ensure more reporters from more outlets have access to the premier and cabinet on a regular basis," Catherine Klimek, the premier's press secretary, said in a statement.
"For example, that is why we are holding media availabilities in the media room at One Government Place. We look forward to announcing more measures to support local and independent media in the future."
'A sad state of affairs'
Opposition leaders condemned the continued targeting by the government of certain groups.
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said specifically targeting reporters for the purpose of fundraising "should send a chill through the entire province."
"The media is here to report unbiased information, and what the government is saying is that they are raising money because they do not want that unbiased reporting to take place and they would prefer to tell people what they would like them to hear," she said during a news conference Tuesday at Province House.
Interim Liberal Leader Derek Mombourquette said the letter shows that Houston "is not really a premier for everyone, he's a premier for the people that support him."
"It's about hiding information," Mombourquette said in an interview at Province House.
"Imagine asking party members to give money to do something like that. It's really a sad state of affairs of where we're at right now."
When she was sworn into cabinet in December, one of Martin's responsibilities was Communications Nova Scotia, the government communications agency mandated by legislation to be non-partisan.
The Progressive Conservatives recently disbanded the agency, a process that will be finalized through omnibus legislation known as Bill 1, which Houston tabled last week.
Responsibility for government communications will now fall to the executive council office, the office that supports the premier and cabinet.
On Monday, Houston gave notice to the legislature that he intends to remove one of the most controversial portions of Bill 1, changes that would have given the government the power to fire the auditor general without cause with two-thirds support of the House. The legislation would also have allowed cabinet ministers to keep reports from the AG's office hidden from the public.
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