Know How They Vote - NS Legislature
Know How They Vote
Crusading for Accountability in the Nova Scotia Legislature
From the About page of the Know How They Vote website:
In 2008 Nova Scotia celebrated 250 years of democracy, making it the oldest democracy in Canada. Indeed, Nova Scotians had much to celebrate.
However, in our progression as a Province we can spot many cases where democracy, in its most pure form, appears to be lacking. The ability of citizens to hold their MLA to account in the Nova Scotia Legislature is obstructed by the lack of recorded votes in Hansard, the official recording of all business in the Legislature. Nova Scotians have no way of knowing how their MLA voted on crucial issues affecting their families and communities.
In the past 6 years, spanning the 59th and 60th General Assemblies, 853 Bills have been introduced, debated and voted upon in the House. Of these 853 Bills, only 12 votes were recorded in Hansard. The rest of the Bills were voted on anonymously, with no indication of which MLAs voted in support and against.
This blog was created to raise awareness about the lack of accountability citizens currently have over their MLAs, and to pressure citizens, media and MLAs themselves to change the voting behaviour of the Nova Scotia Legislature. The blog will also monitor Hansard regularly for the 61st General Assembly and will post all recorded votes that occur. My goal is that this will serve as an educational tool for Nova Scotians to hold their MLA to account.
Michael Kennedy
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