MLA Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin Has Been Removed From Caucus

USPA NEWS - Cumberland North MLA Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin has been removed from the Progressive Conservative caucus for her role in the blockade at the New Brunswick/Nova Scotia border that shut down traffic which  frustrated travellers and delayed essential goods from being delivered.

PC Leader Tim Houston, with the full support of his Caucus following a Zoom meeting, removed MLA  Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin from caucus and  she will not be allowed to run for the party in future elections. This follows Cumberland North MLA Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin publicly issuing an ultimatum to Premier Iain Rankin on Tuesday which threatened a protest which would  involve shutting down a portion of the Trans Canada Highway near the NS/NB border, if the Premier did not remove restrictions on anyone traveling into Nova Scotia from New Brunswick.

Tim Houston, the Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative leader, issued the following statement, "I appreciate her frustration and the frustration of everyone affected by the Premier's 11th hour changes. These changes are a gut punch to people and to businesses in Nova Scotia. As a Caucus, we are focused on holding the Premier to account for his decisions but Ms. Smith-McCrossin's failure to accept accountability for her actions at the blockade shows a lack of judgment and personal responsibility. As colleagues for the past four years, I owed her an opportunity to explain her actions, and the efforts she took to conceal those actions from her Caucus colleagues. Unfortunately, Ms. Smith-McCrossin refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing and - when explicitly asked by her Caucus - refused to apologize to Nova Scotians."

At an event on Thursday, Premier Iain Rankin was asked whether the House  Speaker should have anything to say about the way Smith-McCrossin conducted herself in regards to the protest and  blockade. Premier Rankin said, " I think elected members need to be held to a high standard and I think it is inconceivable that a member of the legislature would orchestrate so much disruption at the border. I wouldn’t tolerate that in my caucus. Obviously the conversative party had been openly opposing restrictions in this province and to take it to this level, to disrupt people’s lives, I think is completely inappropriate.”