Nova Scotia Liberals take legal action against Progressive Conservative candidate after her campaign handed out gift cards at a Tim Hortons in Lunenburg, N.S., saying the incident amounts to bribery of voters.

The Liberals want Susan Corkum-Greek removed from the ballot in the upcoming provincial election, but the Nova Scotia Supreme Court confirmed Wednesday it will not hear the case until voting day, Nov. 26.

On Tuesday, the Liberals filed a complaint with Elections Nova Scotia over alleged “vote buying” by Corkum-Greek, in violation of section 327 of the Nova Scotia Elections Act.

The law states that “anyone who, directly or indirectly, offers a bribe to induce or influence another person to vote or to abstain from voting for or against a particular candidate is guilty of an offense.”

Liberal Leader Zach Chuchill said the party acted after receiving information from voters in the riding that Corkum-Greek was handing out gift cards.

Later Tuesday, the PC campaign manager in Lunenburg admitted to purchasing $51.75 worth of gift cards, each worth $2.07 — the price of a small cup of coffee — to distribute. to Tim Hortons customers. The manager, Peter Zwicker, then resigned.

“The candidate did not know what happened,” Zwicker wrote in a statement. “I am sincerely sorry that my actions distracted a candidate for whom I have so much respect.”

Petition aims to disqualify Corkum-Grec

In a statement released Wednesday, the Liberals said that, given the “admission” of Corkum-Greek’s campaign manager, they filed a petition under the Controversial electoral law Tuesday.

The motion asks the Nova Scotia Supreme Court to declare that the incident constitutes a corrupt practice within the meaning of the Elections Act.

“The effect of such findings, if granted by the court, would be to disqualify Ms. Corkum-Greek from her eligibility to be elected to or serve in the Legislature.”

On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Nova Scotia Judiciary said that after reviewing the motion, the Contested Elections Act and case law, the court determined it would not set a date for the case before election day, November 26.

Corkum-Greek could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday. She was first elected to the Nova Scotia Legislative Assembly in 2021 to represent Lunenburg and served as the province’s Minister of Economic Development.

In a campaign announcement Wednesday, PC Leader Tim Houston appeared to deflect blame away from Corkum-Greek and the man he described as a “party volunteer,” and accused the Liberals of trying to “militarize the justice system.”

“If you think about what’s going on here, a Tim Hortons coffee worth $51? There’s absolutely no way in the world that Zach Churchill’s newest coffee costs less,” Houston said to journalists in Halifax.

“Let’s not lose sight of the fact that this is a Nova Scotian who is volunteering his time to contribute to a political campaign and may have made a mistake.”

But the Liberals said the Elections Act made no exception for “small” bribes.

“To ignore the impact of a ‘small’ bribe is to diminish and tarnish the integrity of our electoral process and, ultimately, our democracy,” the statement said.

He urged Houston to remove Corkum-Greek from his candidacy and at that point he would drop his legal request.

The statement also says that while Elections Nova Scotia is investigating the initial complaint, it has no authority to provide any remedy, other than referring the matter for prosecution.

Naomi Shelton, director of policy and communications at Elections Nova Scotia, confirmed Tuesday that the office is investigating the incident.

The petition was filed by John Robart, president of the Lunenburg Liberal Riding Association, against Corkum-Greek in Bridgewater.