Attacked N.S. constituency worker says second staffer would create safer offices

View of Province House from the south lawn.
Credit: Communications Nova Scotia

A Nova Scotia constituency assistant who faced a violent attack at work is calling on the government to approve funding for a second employee at legislators’ offices as a safety measure.

Kelly Gomes said in an interview today that on Dec. 14 a man whom she had assisted over the past four years entered her constituency office and held her by the throat against a hallway wall.

She says things “could have ended very badly” if it hadn’t been for the presence of a teenage student who was doing a work term at the office of Brendan Maguire, the Liberal member of the legislature for Halifax Atlantic.

Gomes says the man released his grip after the student threatened to call police, but she says the man then threw an air purifier, knocked over a Christmas tree, smashed pictures and upended a desk before departing.

The 60-year-old says neither door locks nor panic buttons can protect constituency assistants in many situations, adding that the best solution is for the province to fund a second worker in the offices of all 55 members.

Derek Mombourquette, the Liberal Party’s house leader, said in an interview that on Jan. 24 at the legislature’s management commission he will present his party’s position for the added funding.