Nova Scotia's 3 major parties say 2021 is a momentous year for diversity on their tickets

Welcome toCBC's Election Notebook, your source for regular updatesandessential news from the campaign trail.

It's Day 13 of Nova Scotia's 31-day provincial election campaign.

The slates are carved in stone

The deadline for candidates to register for this election has come and gone. Elections Nova Scotia accepted applications until 2 p.m. AT Wednesday,and by that time, the Liberals, Progressive Conservatives and New Democrats had all put forward full slates of candidates one name for each of the province's 55 ridings.

There are also 43Green Party candidates, 16 Atlantica Party candidates and six Independents running.

Nova Scotia's three major partiessay 2021 is a momentous year for diversity on their tickets.

For the PCs, almost 35 per cent of candidates are women, for the Liberals it'sjust over 41per cent, and the NDP have over 63 per cent of candidates who identify as women or as gender diverse.

The Greens have just shy of 43 per cent of candidates who identify as women or gender diverse. The Atlantica Party slate is made up of about 20 per cent women.

When the legislature dissolved earlier this month, about 30 per cent of sitting MLAs were women.

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The NDP claims to be the first party in provincial history to have a full slate where at least half of its candidates are women or gender diverse. The PCs and Liberals both say they're running their most diverse slates ever.

Based on the ballots, representation of racial minorities in the legislature couldimprove this election although it wouldn't be hard to do so. Tony Ince was the only Black MLA in the outgoing legislature. There has never been a Mi'kmaw MLA in Nova Scotia.

Each of the major parties now have six candidates who are Black, Mi'kmaw or people of colour. The Greens say they have four candidates who are visible minorities;the Atlantica Party, two.

Green platform released

The Green Party of Nova Scotia released its platform Tuesday night. True to its name, the party promises the most ambitious goals for greenhouse gas emissions reductions of any of Nova Scotia's registered parties: 70 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 and net zero by 2045.

The party also promises to ban single-use plastics in businesses and institutions, end all subsidies to fossil fuel sectors and eliminate clear cutting of forests.

The Greens list three pillars on which they say all platform items are built: ecological stewardship, justice and empowering democratic collaboration.

Most of the proposals in the 52-page document are not costed, save for one very large item. The Greens want to introduce a guaranteed income starting at $18,329 per year for every adult in Nova Scotia. It would increase to $20,000 over four years.

This guaranteed income would replace the existing income assistance program, which pays out up to $16,716 annually for a household of three or more.

The Green platform estimates the guaranteed income program could cost $2.15 billion, but it also predicts $278.7 million in savings from "remediating the costs of poverty," namely in health care and justice. Another $554 million would be taken from programs that would be replaced by the guaranteed income, meaning the net cost would come to about $1.32 billion.

Other items in the Green platform include extending rent control, eliminating student tuition fees and public transit fees, implementing universal dental care and establishing a "provincial safety force" to replace the RCMP.

Interim Green Leader Jessica Alexander said she's been in touch with members of the other registered parties to talk about how their respective platforms overlap with the Greens'. She said she hopes to be able to collaborate with them.

The Atlantica Party platform is not as detailed as the Greens', but it does have some similarities, as well as some significant differences. Both parties propose some democratic reform. The Greens are looking for proportional representation and they say they would not whip their MLAs' votes.

The Atlantica Party says it would give constituents the power to trigger a byelection if they're dissatisfied with their MLA's actions, and give Nova Scotians the ability to organize binding referenda, which could apply to topics such as daylight savings time or clear cutting.

When it comes to the environment, the Atlantica Party platform says it would "implement the most efficient and environmentally responsible practices possible," however, it would leave decision-making to the public.

"The Atlantica Party supports open debate on the use of our natural resources, including fossil fuels," the platform says.

The party also proposes reducing or eliminating business taxes, legislating a balanced budget, eliminating debt in 10years, privatizing cannabis and alcohol sales and making Nova Scotia "a leader in fulfilling access to information requests."

The PCs have already released their fully costed platform. The New Democrats released their "vision document" on the second day of the campaign and have said additional costed details will be released before election day. The Liberals released a health-care platform earlier this week.

CBC debate

Liberal Leader Iain Rankin, NDP Leader Gary Burrill and PC Leader Tim Houston all had light itineraries Wednesday in the lead-up to CBC's leaders' debate.

You can watch all 90 minutes of the recorded debate here.

How to vote

Checkwhether you are registered to vote with Elections Nova Scotia.

Once registered, you can vote in advance of election day by requesting a mail-in ballot or by visiting a returning office or advance polling station.

On election day, polling stations will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. AT.

More information on voting is available fromelectionsnovascotia.ca.

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