N.S. premier will not waive confidentiality so former minister can talk police probes

HALIFAX — The premier of Nova Scotia says he won’t allow his former justice minister to reveal cabinet secrets, after she pressed his government about whether there was political interference with the police.

Premier Tim Houston heckled former justice minister Becky Druhan in the legislature during question period on Wednesday after she asked if he or someone working on his behalf had ever sought to influence or direct a police investigation or incident response.

Although she addressed the question to Justice Minister Scott Armstrong, multiple people present said the premier could be heard heckling as Armstrong responded, saying “she should go out there and say it,” while pointing to the doors of the chamber.

Parliamentary rules in Canada allow politicians to speak freely inside the chambers of legislatures, without fear of being sued for defamation, but they can lose that protection if they repeat something outside.

Druhan said she asked the premier to waive requirements for her to keep cabinet discussions confidential so that she could tell the public what she knows.

“I am merely asking questions that deserve answers, but I am constrained by strict legal rules, cabinet confidentiality and solicitor client privilege,” she said during question period Thursday.

But on Friday, Houston told reporters Friday he would “never” allow cabinet confidentiality to be waived.

“Our democracy is based on the principle of members being able to have free-flowing debate about issues and sharing policies, and I would expect everyone to honour cabinet confidence,” he said before walking away as reporters tried to press him with further questions.

In response to Druhan’s question Wednesday, Armstrong said there has been “no illicit contact” and the independence of Nova Scotia’s justice system is sacrosanct.

“I take offence to the fact that there’s some sort of accusation in the former minister’s question that something untoward is going on here,” Armstrong said.

Druhan said she’s “curious” as to why the premier invited her to talk about the issue outside the legislature when he won’t allow her to do so.

“If he wants me to speak, let me speak,” Druhan said in an interview Friday.

The former attorney general, who is also a lawyer, says cabinet confidentiality and solicitor-client privilege is “extremely” important and valuable, and she is not in favour of it being broadly waived.

“But I don’t know why you’d invite somebody to speak on something if you had no interest in them actually doing it,” Druhan said.

Both opposition NDP and Liberal leaders said Friday they are in favour of Druhan being granted privilege to speak freely about the topic she raised in her question.

Alex Marland, a political scientist with Acadia University, said there are “very isolated” cases in Canada where cabinet confidentiality is lifted.

In 2019, former prime minister Justin Trudeau asked the governor general to waive some cabinet confidences so that his former justice minister, Jody Wilson-Raybould, would be allowed to speak about her privileged discussions with him and other government officials about a criminal investigation into engineering firm SNC-Lavalin.

At that time, Trudeau had triggered an inquiry into allegations he and others in his office had attempted to influence a decision about the prosecution of the Quebec firm.

Marland said such an example would not apply in the Nova Scotia case, because there’s no ongoing inquiry. He added that waiving of cabinet confidentiality could be “a really slippery slope.”

Cabinet members are tasked with discussing a range of sensitive matters, and those people have to be trusted with any information that’s presented to them, Marland said.

“It would actually be a major problem for our system of government if cabinet confidentiality was being selectively revealed, it undermines the entire system itself. So when it does happen, it has to be for outstanding reasons,” he said.

Tom Urbaniak, a political scientist at Cape Breton University, also emphasized the importance of cabinet confidentiality, and said he can’t imagine it being waived in this case unless Druhan’s question about police independence were brought to a future investigation or inquiry where she is called as a witness.

The political scientist said the interactions in the legislature between Druhan and her former party this week have been “fascinating,” as the newly Independent Druhan appears to be asking questions of government as though she is “prosecuting a case.”

He said the premier’s response to Druhan’s “carefully worded” question about police interference was interesting.

“I’m not sure what would have been defamatory in her question… So the premier’s heckling makes me more curious about what’s actually happening or what happened,” Urbaniak said.

Marland said the tense interactions between Houston and his former minister are to be expected.

“There’s going to be heckling, there are going to be barbs. There is bad blood between these two individuals.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 28, 2026.

Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press