Full Breakdown
Proposed Amendments to Nova Scotia’s Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act Raise Constitutional Questions
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Legal-Aid Critique and Constitutional Concerns
Legal-aid lawyer Nadia Shivji of Dalhousie Legal Aid argued that the government should first assess whether the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) Act complies with constitutional due-process protections. She noted that police already possess warrant-based powers for property investigations, whereas SCAN permits surveillance without judicial authorization. Shivji cited a case involving a Black woman whose neighbours reported “suspicious” activity; SCAN officials installed exterior cameras, concluded she was dealing drugs, and supplied a report that led to her eviction despite a lack of disclosed evidence. The tenant was forced to prove her innocence on a balance of probabilities, a burden Shivji said reflects systemic bias against marginalized communities.
Government Defense and Oversight Mechanisms
Justice Minister Scott Armstrong responded that SCAN targets properties, not individuals, and that procedural safeguards exist. He emphasized that a closure order requires departmental officials to appear before a judge, and that the act has operated for two decades under three successive governments without court challenges. Armstrong pointed to the record of 2,100 complaints and only 22 closure orders as evidence that the law is not “frivolous” and that a higher investigative threshold is required. He added that the example provided by Shivji was the first of its kind he had encountered and that any systemic problems would prompt a review.
Statistical Overview of SCAN Complaints
Verbatim Quotes
- “If the police want to place cameras in your front yard on your property, they have to get a warrant from a judge,” — Nadia Shivji
- “She now has to find a way to prove on the balance of probabilities that she is not selling drugs or she is going to lose her home,” — Nadia Shivji
- “It has to rise to a level of investigation. So there’s a bar to get there, it’s not just one or two complaints. There have to be more to cause an official investigation.” — Scott Armstrong, scotia justice minister
These sections synthesize the core dispute over the SCAN Act’s balance between expedient property investigations and constitutional safeguards, reflecting both the legal-aid perspective and the provincial government’s justification.