Thursday afternoon, Nova Scotia changed the current rules for people entering the province from New Brunswick, and confirmed June 30 as the date for New Brunswick to be included in relaxed restrictions with the other Atlantic provinces.
Nova Scotia Premier Iain Rankin told reporters that the plan had always been to bring in New Brunswick on June 30, but very few got that message after the news conference on Tuesday.
“On June 30, New Brunswickers can come and go freely into Nova Scotia, and Nova Scotians can do the same in that province,” said Rankin Thursday. “Also on June 30, we are scheduled to open up in phase three, opening to the rest of the country with modified isolation requirements.” After questioning from reporters, Rankin admitted that the June 30 timeline was pending no surge in cases in either province. “We’re not fully certain of anything when it comes to the pandemic,” said Rankin. “We have to have flexibility to be able to adapt.”
The premier also announced an immediate change to the current border rules for those entering from New Brunswick. Anyone with two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine at least two weeks prior can enter without isolation or testing requirements. As of Friday, that’s about 71,000 New Brunswickers.
Rules for single dose people remain the same as those announced Tuesday: seven days isolation with two negative COVID-19 tests on days 1 or 2 and days 5 or 6. People with no vaccine coverage are required to self-isolate for 14 days.
Nova Scotia Chief Medical Officer Robert Strang explained the six-day delay to bring in New Brunswick. “New Brunswick made a decision that you can come in New Brunswick with one dose of vaccine and you don’t have to quarantine,” said Strang on Thursday. “I don’t believe that’s sufficient to protect against the Delta variants. We’re watching what has been the impact on New Brunswick of that decision. The 30th will give us two weeks to observe that impact in New Brunswick.”
Reporters questioned why risk calculations in PEI and Newfoundland, where New Brunswickers remain part of border relief plans, were different than in Nova Scotia.
Strang didn’t address PEI and Newfoundland, but said that he and New Brunswick Chief Medical Officer Jennifer Russell simply disagree on the risk assessment of the Delta variant, and the precautions in place in each province.
“I feel that because of the Delta variant, and the need for two doses of vaccine to give you good protection, that to open up to other parts of the country, where there’s much higher risk of somebody bringing the Delta variant, and without having good two-dose coverage in our province, we felt it was too much risk,” said Strang. “New Brunswick made a different a different risk calculation. That’s their choice and their ability to do that.”
When a reporter pointed out that recent case numbers in New Brunswick remain low, Strang said it was still too early to draw a conclusion. “I’m pleased that they’re not seeing the impact, but it’s early days yet,” he said. “Also, this is about risk. Just because nothing happens, you may get lucky. You may take a risk and nothing happens to you. The next time you take a risk, something bad may happen. So this is all about risk calculation. And in Nova Scotia, we’ve always taken a cautious approach.”
SMITH-MCCROSSIN FACES THE MUSIC
In a somewhat predictable consequence of Tuesday and Wednesday’s unpredictable events around the Nova Scotia-New Brunswick border, Nova Scotia MLA Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin has been kicked out of the Nova Scotia PC caucus by leader Tim Houston.
Smith-McCrossin published a video online on Tuesday giving Nova Scotia Premier Iain Rankin an ultimatum to reverse his decision to exclude New Brunswick from Nova Scotia’s plan to lift border restrictions, under threat of “shutting down the TransCanada highway”. When Rankin did not cede to the demand, Smith-McCrossin followed through and led a highway blockade on Highway 104 at the beginning of the Cobequid Pass. The blockade remained through the evening, and was disbanded near 10pm.
At some point during that night, protesters regrouped on the TransCanada highway, this time at the New Brunswick border, on the Nova Scotia side, and continued to blockade the highway until Nova Scotia RCMP decided to take action around 8pm Wednesday night.
In a letter posted to social media on Thursday morning, Houston says that after a meeting with PC MLAs and Smith-McCrossin, he decided to remove the MLA from caucus. Smith—McCrossin will now sit as an independent MLA and not be permitted to run as a PC in future elections.
In his letter, Houston says, “I appreciate her frustration and the frustration of everyone affected by the Premier’s 11th hour changes.” He also said Smith-Mccrossin’s “failure to accept accountability for her actions at the blockade shows a lack of judgment and personal responsibility.”
He adds that she “refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing—and when explicitly asked by her caucus—refused to apologize to Nova Scotians.”
In a statement on her Facebook page, McCrossin says she will take some time to reflect on her next step in politics but that she will continue to represent Cumberland North until the next election.
