Avalon

As part of its Five Point Democracy Plan the Atlantica Party wants an end to unrecorded voting in the Nova Scotia Legislature. According to the Know How They Vote Campaign during the 59th and 60th General Assemblies, out of 853 bills only 12 votes were recorded! More recent activity has been no better.

“In a time when electors want greater transparency this is a scandal,” says Atlantica Party Leader, Jonathan Dean. “How are voters to know who voted for what or even if their representative was present in the house during the vote? Without an accurate voting recorded how can electors assess their representation? And yet when we approached the Premier and the Liberal leader the need for recorded voting was dismissed out of hand.”

It takes two MLAs to request a recorded vote. During the June 10th Glace Bay all-candidates debate all of the candidates stated they opposed anonymous voting. “On June 17th during the Yarmouth all-candidates debate I publicly stated that I oppose all anonymous voting. So if elected I will work with my colleague from Glace Bay to ensure all voting is recorded for Nova Scotians.”

As part of its Five Point Democracy Plan the Atlantica Party supports free voting in the Nova Scotia Legislature. Free voting allows MLAs to arrive at their own decision on how to vote issue by issue. Currently MLA voting is dictated by their party resulting in constituents having no say. Ideally all votes should be free votes.

“If I am a sitting MLA and I am told how to vote issue by issue, why should I take the time and energy to consult with my constituents on these issues when their opinions will not alter my vote?”, asks Atlantica Party Leader, Jonathan Dean. “Atlantica Party MLAs will constantly be consulting with their constituents on the issues of the day and that will influence their final voting decisions.”

The Atlantica Party proposes a bundle of reforms such as Recall that are intended to substantively loosen party discipline.

“Pressure to vote a certain way from one’s party is valid and in fact a good and necessary thing, but not to the extent that all other influences are stifled such as one’s constituents wishes and one’s good judgment. What we need is a balance so that each MLA can decide freely how to cast their vote.”

As part of its Five Point Democracy Plan the Atlantica Party supports Recall legislation for Nova Scotia similar to the Recall mechanism currently in use in British Columbia. Recall allows a riding signature campaign to trigger a by-election.

Until Recall is established all elected Atlantica Party MLAs vow to be re-callable; they will resign their seat after a successful signature campaign according to the BC model.

“Public trust is at an all time low in Nova Scotia. Constituents deserve a voice within the legislature, yet have none since voting is not free. What is needed is a legislature that works for the people of Nova Scotia, not one that just ‘represents’ them.”, said Dan Wilson, Atlantica Party candidate for Glace Bay.

“We propose Recall to make an elected member better motivated to serve his constituency to the best of their ability. If for some reason, said MLA were to lose the confidence of those within the riding, the constituents would be able to trigger a by-election.”

“This legislation is not a new idea, it already exists in the province of British Columbia.” said Jonathan Dean, Atlantica Party candidate for Yarmouth. “Forty percent of the riding has to sign on within sixty days, that is quite tough but good since it stops partisan and frivolous recalls. In fact 19 of 20 recalls in BC failed since they could not reach the target.”

The Atlantica Party is pleased to release its Five Point Democracy Plan for Nova Scotians. Both of our candidates, Dan Wilson (Glace Bay) and Jonathan Dean (Yarmouth) will be campaigning on these reforms in the coming weeks, reforms that are vital to our democracy’s health.

FIVE POINT DEMOCRACY PLAN

Atlantica Party Leader Jonathan Dean calls on the government to give complete access to the Auditor General and his staff.

“Why is taxpayer money falling under solicitor-client privilege to begin with? No disbursement of taxpayer’s money should ever fall under any conditions that preclude public disclosure. ” said Dean.

The Atlantica Party proposes, as part of its reform of government, that all government departments regularly make public their finances.

“Where is the Legislature on this? Why aren’t they sitting so they can compel the government to abide by the Auditor General Act? It is the Legislature’s job to oversee the government. Why must the Auditor General go it alone? With a subverted legislature it is possible for a ‘pervasive policy of secrecy’ to flourish.”