Voters in municipalities across the province are still slated to head to the polls in the fall despite the uncertainty with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities President Pam Mood wrote to the Minister of Municipal Affairs in April, asking for guidance surrounding the election and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Minister Chuck Porter’s response confirms that postponing the October 17th election ‘was examined’, but ultimately it will go ahead.
Mood says the timing of the election will be challenging.
“How do you – in the middle of trying to clean up the pandemic, economically – how do you run an election?”, she asked. “How do you get new people at the table, which is never ever an issue, but how do you get them up to speed?”
Mood notes there’s no consensus from fellow municipal leaders on whether or not to move forward; some are ready to go while others want a postponement.
“Some say we need to go forward, we’ve certainly heard from those that say we absolutely shouldn’t be doing this,” she noted. “I would suggest that there will not be knocking on doors. If you can’t knock on doors…how do you reach the people?”
Mood notes that she will be discussing the letter and next steps with fellow municipal leaders on Wednesday evening.
