A cabinet shuffle that distracts us from a crisis

Last week, Premier Tim Houston unceremoniously removed two members of his cabinet. One of them was Becky Druhan, MLA for Lunenburg County and the now-former Minister of Justice — notably, the only person with a law degree to hold that portfolio under Houston’s leadership.

This shake-up came right after the shortest legislative sitting Nova Scotia has seen in generations, just eight days long. In that time, the government tabled a ridiculous omnibus bill that lumped together everything from changing bar security regulations to a concerning amendment to the Crown Lands Act. I think it is fair to ask whether Houston’s method of “getting things done” is actually reckless, and more importantly, whether it’s creating deeper divisions within Houston’s caucus.

But as someone connected to the gender-based violence coalition, and to many people doing the hard work in that space, I can tell you this sudden change in justice ministers is deeply unsettling. It does not inspire confidence to see a capable and competent woman replaced by yet another white man with limited legal experience in a portfolio that disproportionately impacts women, gender-diverse people, and marginalized communities. The last time we encountered this, it was Brad Johns, who resigned in disgrace because he didn’t believe that gender based violence was an epidemic.

Even more troubling, is the fact that this new minister will also oversee the Office of Equity and Anti-Racism. When Houston first took office in 2021 he appointed Minister Pat Dunn to lead African Nova Scotian Affairs and Anti-Racism Initiatives. I said it then and I’ll say it again now: if the best we can do is put another white man in charge of “equity,” we are failing miserably.

I can’t tell you why these decisions were made. But I can tell you about their impact.

As a survivor of sexualized violence—and as someone surrounded by others who carry similar pain—I can say this: trust is fragile. When you’ve experienced institutional betrayal, when systems meant to protect you have failed, faith is hard to come by. It’s hard to keep showing up, to keep believing that someone will actually do something to fix what’s broken.

Every time we share our stories, we relive our trauma. Every time we speak about systemic failures, we’re told to “just be patient.” We’ve been patient. We’ve been waiting for the government to announce who will sit on the long-promised Gender-Based Violence Roundtable. Those notices are now weeks overdue. And in the middle of that waiting, we learn that the minister responsible for creating that table has been fired.

Imagine what that does to a community this government claims to prioritize. Imagine the trust that’s been eroded and the growing sense of dread that this cycle will just repeat itself. This is why advocates and survivors so often don’t trust the government to fix the very systems that harmed them. The government is a part of the problem.

This work can’t be measured in election cycles or news cycles. It requires leadership that prioritizes people over photo ops, headlines, or wind farms and golf courses.

So the question now is this: will Minister Scott Armstrong honour his predecessor’s commitments to the gender-based violence community? We will see.

What’s more concerning, though, is what this shuffle says about the Premier himself. In a time of political turmoil and public frustration, Houston appears focused on one thing: his own agenda. His unrelenting pursuit of a legacy, and perhaps a leap into the national political arena, is becoming exhausting to watch.

And for those of us working every day with communities most affected by his government’s choices, it’s not just exhausting, it’s heartbreaking.

Liz LeClair is a gender-based violence advocate and activist based in Punamu’kwati’jk (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia).

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