Nova ScotiaLunenburg West MLA Becky Druhan says it became clear that her days as a member of the Nova Scotia government and Progressive Conservative caucus were numbered when a staff member warned her not to speak about a government bill in the legislature this fall.Becky Druhan left government and the Nova Scotia PC Party in OctoberMichael Gorman · CBC News · Posted: Nov 28, 2025 5:00 PM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Independent MLAs Becky Druhan (centre) and Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin (right) particpated in a panel with Acadia University political science professor Alex Marland on Friday. (Michael Gorman/CBC)Lunenburg West MLA Becky Druhan says it became clear that her days as a member of the Nova Scotia government and Progressive Conservative caucus were numbered when a staff member warned her not to speak on a government bill in the legislature this fall.“To me that is just the antithesis of democracy,” Druhan said during a panel discussion at Acadia University in Wolfville on Friday.“I spoke my piece in any event, but I didn’t appreciate that and I truly feel that that’s not appropriate and not what we want to see happening in a democracy.”Speaking to reporters after the event, the former justice minister declined to identify the staff member, but confirmed that she was referring to the night she spoke to government legislation that brought in stiffer regulations for security staff at bars and lounges.“I thought it was incredibly important because it was such a good piece of work, such a worthwhile cause and it really was a best-effort solution to a challenge that had been facing those families for a long time and they had been advocating for for a long time,” she said.Druhan was one of only a few cabinet ministers who spoke to government bills during the fall sitting to address questions and concerns on the floor of the legislature.The need for free exchange of viewsNot long after the sitting wrapped, Premier Tim Houston shuffled his cabinet and Druhan was no longer a part of it. She was offered a different portfolio but declined. A few days later, Druhan announced she was leaving the PC caucus to sit as an Independent.Druhan said at the time her departure wasn’t related to the cabinet shuffle or any specific policy disagreement, rather ” a difference of principles between my views and those of the leadership.” She was joined on Friday’s panel by fellow Independent MLA Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin (Cumberland North.) The two spoke with political science professor Alex Marland about the pros and cons of party politics, the advantages and disadvantages of sitting as an Independent and the challenges faced by a political system that’s become increasingly leader-centric.Both women said there needs to be more room for caucus members to speak their mind in meetings, even if their views are not shared by the party leader or staff.“I think it’s very important whether it’s in politics or any team environment that there’s a culture where people feel safe to speak up, especially if they feel they don’t agree with the situation,” said Smith-McCrossin.“Obviously in a respectful way, but we are all better off when we have that kind of culture.”A call for more civilitySmith-McCrossin was forced out of the PC caucus in 2021 by her leader, Tim Houston, after she refused to apologize for her connection to a blockade of the Trans-Canada Highway near the New Brunswick border during the Covid-19 pandemic.She’s subsequently been elected twice as an Independent.During the panel discussion, both women called for greater efforts by politicians to engage in civil discourse and disagreement. Druhan said during the panel that such a tone shift must begin with party leaders, whether it’s at the caucus table behind closed doors, or in public “because it needs to be a demonstration for everybody else about how we can do this.“That’s fundamentally what democracy is.”When asked by reporters whether the current party leaders can disagree civilly, Druhan responded with an anecdote about the communication training she and other PC MLAs received from the party after the 2021 election.Druhan told to know ‘who the enemy was’She said they were told that “every story should have an enemy, and to make sure that you knew who the enemy was when you were making your plans for communicating about the story.”“And to me, I think that that speaks volumes because I truly do not believe that every story has an enemy. In fact, most stories don’t have an enemy; most stories have complexity but not enemies,” Druhan told reporters.“I think it’s important for people to know that that is a lens through which some I think see the world and are attempting to frame the world, and that’s not the way that it is.”Druhan said she has no difficulty disagreeing, but tries to do it in a constructive way and she believes the same is true for “many, many colleagues within government.”MORE TOP STORIESABOUT THE AUTHORMichael Gorman covers the Nova Scotia legislature for CBC, with additional focuses on health care and rural communities. Contact him with story ideas at michael.gorman@cbc.ca
Former NS justice minister decries staff interference, lack of civility in legislature
