Peace activist takes her protest against the warships to Province House today

Calls for investigation of Irving Shipbuilding’s absence from the Nova Scotia Lobbyists Registry

by Tamara Lorincz

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Tuesday, March 26, 2013

 

MEDIA ADVISORY – PHOTO OPPORTUNITY

 

Peace activist takes her protest against the warships to Province House today and

calls for investigation of Irving Shipyard’s absence from the Nova Scotia Lobbyists Registry

 

(Halifax ) – A peace activist who has been protesting the $25 billion warship contract every week since last December outside the Irving Shipyard is taking her protest to Province House today. Tamara Lorincz will be delivering a letter to Premier Dexter calling on him to cancel the $304 million loan to Irving Shipyard and to investigate the company’s failure to register its lobbying activities with the provincial government as the new spring session starts at the legislature.

 

In her letter, Lorincz writes, “it is unacceptable that one of the wealthiest private family businesses in the country is getting a multi-million dollar loan of our tax dollars while education has been cut and poverty has risen in this province.”  Under the loan agreement if Irving Shipyard meets employment targets, $260 million of the loan is forgivable. She will be unveiling a new sign “HEALTH CARE, EDUCATION & ENVIRONMENT: NO WARSHIPS!” to remind the government of the priorities of Nova Scotians.

 

The peace activist is also calling on the Premier to investigate the failure of Irving Shipyard to register as a lobbyist under the Nova Scotia Lobbyists’ Registry. Lorincz discovered that Irving, which secured the largest forgivable corporate loan in the province’s history, has failed to register as a lobbyist and identify any of its activities in relation to the loan or the “Ships Start Here” campaign last year. The Aerospace and Defence Industries of Nova Scotia, which is headed by Lockheed Martin Canada, also received money for human resource training for the shipbuilding contract but failed to register.  According to the Nova Scotia Lobbyists Registration Act, all lobbying that involves communications with and contributions from the government must be registered and failure to do is an offence punishable by a fine up to $100,000.

 

Lorincz believes that it is especially important that the government ensure that any lobbying in relation to the shipbuilding contract be publicly registered. She explained that Irving Shipyard’s financial statements are private, Lockheed Martin’s defence contracts are prone to cost-overruns, and there has been little political oversight and scrutiny, which is putting tax dollars at risk. “The NDP government has not ensured that the provincial Lobbyist Registry is current and complete and so is denying accountability and transparency to the people of Nova Scotia,” she says.

 

More information about Lorincz’s struggle against the federal government’s planned construction of warships and the provincial government’s support for the warships can be found on her web site and blog: www.demilitarize.ca

 

What: HEALTH CARE, EDUCATION & ENVIRONMENT: NO WARSHIPS! Protest at the Nova Scotia Legislature

When: Tuesday, March 26 from 10:00-11:00 a.m.

Where: 1726 Hollis Street, Halifax

Why: Deliver letter to Premier with copies to Minister of Finance, Minister of Service Nova Scotia, Liberal Leader Stephen MacNeil and PC Leader Jamie Baillie, to unveil a new sign “HEALTH CARE, EDUCATION & ENVIRONMENT: NO WARSHIPS!”, and to stand with signs outside of Province House as a new session begins.

 

Background:

·   Nova Scotia Lobbyists Registry: http://www.gov.ns.ca/snsmr/lobbyist/search.asp

·   Nova Scotia Lobbyists Registration Act: http://nslegislature.ca/legc/bills/58th_2nd/3rd_read/b007.htm

·   Nova Scotia Lobbyists Fact Sheet: http://www.gov.ns.ca/snsmr/lobbyist/pdf/LRA_Fact_sheet.pdf

·   Demilitarize: www.demilitarize.ca  and “Wednesdays against Warships” Blog: http://demilitarize.ca/wp/

·   Twitter: https://twitter.com/tamaralorincz

 

 

-          30 -

 

For additional information and interviews, please contact:

Tamara Lorincz, DEMILITARIZE.CA

Home Ph: (902) 443-2423 / Cell/Text: (902) 478-1379 / Email: tlorincz@dal.ca