Finance Minister Allan MacMaster
In the past year, there have been multiple incidents at constituency offices around the province, prompting questions over their security, however, Finance Minister Allan MacMaster says government is unlikely to allocate funds to address it at this time.
The most recent incident, reported by CBC a staffer at the Halifax Atlantic Constituency office was assaulted. The victim is often the only person in the office (as is common at constituency offices), however, a teenage intern was on site the day of the attack and was able to intervene before any serious injuries were inflicted.
Throughout the year there were also threats made to constituency offices on multiple occasions, and in one case powder was sent to an office that caused a lockdown over poison suspicions- however, the powder turned out to be non-toxic.
When asked by reporters on Thursday if the province had considered spending more on security for their offices MacMaster indicated it was unlikely- “I’ve spoken with other MLAs and I dont think many of them would support increasing constituency budgets in a time when so many people in our province are struggling,”.
MacMaster says the province won’t stand idly by, however, and they’ve asked security personnel within the government to assist in strategies to help improve security without spending taxpayers’ money.
