Nova Scotia NDP Leader Claudia Chender speaks to reporters following a televised leaders debate in Halifax on November 14, 2024. The Canadian Press/Darren Calabrese
The Nova Scotia NDP has terminated MLA Paul Wozney’s appointment as caucus whip after he made an online post that appeared to advocate for “France-style riots in Nova Scotia and Canada.”
The Facebook post in question has since been removed from Wozney’s personal page.
“Don’t leave it to the courts. Learn from France. Own the streets. Shut government down,” the now deleted post said. “Grind the province/country to a halt… It’s the only ‘direct’ line to worker justice.”
The governing Progressive Conservative called on NDP Leader Claudia Chender in an Oct. 21 press release to remove Wozney from his critic roles and as Caucus whip to hold him accountable for the Facebook post, which the party said was a direct response to the $470-million Bill 148 settlement.
A Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge concluded in February that the statute passed by the 2017 Liberal government unconstitutionally interfered with Charter-protected collective bargaining rights and froze public-service awards and long-term service payouts.
The province earlier this week confirmed tens of thousands of Nova Scotia public workers will be eligible to receive lump-sum payments.
Wozney’s post also described the court striking down Bill 148 as a “symbolic win,” arguing that the actual financial remedy was completely inadequate for the long-term damage inflicted on public-sector employees.
Chender said in an Oct. 22 statement that her party “unequivocally denounces violence or the suggestion of violence in civic life,” and called Wozney’s words “careless.”
“We have spoken about his serious error in judgment, and he acknowledges the harm that he has caused,” she added. “He understands that there are consequences to his words and he has been removed as the NDP Whip.”
In his role as party whip, Wozney was tasked with overseeing the party’s inner workings, enforcing party discipline, and ensuring collaboration between party members during legislative activities.
Chender noted that Wozney will continue on as the NDP critic for ethics and accountability as well as labour, and education.
Wozney also issued a statement saying he did not intend to “encourage or condone violence in any way—that is never acceptable.”
“In the last year, we’ve seen the government forced to walk back some of their cruellest cuts when Nova Scotians spoke up, protested responsibly and treated one another with respect,” the MLA for Sackville-Cobequid wrote. “These are the actions I support and wanted to encourage but my comments were careless and I apologize for the harm and distress they have caused.”
PC MLA Damian Stoilov called Wozney’s now-deleted post “outrageous.”
“Paul Wozney is saying if Nova Scotians disagree on something, they should mimic riots in France where thousands of shops were looted and buildings burned to the ground,” Stoilov said in the PC press release, adding that Nova Scotians “will be worried that this is what Wozney and the NDP want for the province.”
France has witnessed an escalation of widespread and violent demonstrations in recent weeks, leading the Canadian government to release a travel advisory cautioning visitors about the unrest. The advisory warns Canadians to “exercise a high degree of caution” if travelling in the country where vandalism, looting, arson, and violent clashes between protesters and police have erupted.
Security forces have resorted to using force in some cases, deploying tear gas to break up protests. Several municipalities have implemented localized curfew restrictions in response to the riots.
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