Achi news desk-
Former Nova Scotia Justice Minister Brad Johns says comments he made about domestic violence broke trust with community agencies he and the government work with and left him no choice but to quit his job as a minister.
“As soon as I made my comments, I regretted what I said, and I unintentionally belittled domestic violence,” Johns said in an interview with CTV News on Monday.
“The Government and the groups we work with need to have confidence in their government officials and I recognized that once I hurt that confidence and trust I needed to step back ,” Johns said.
On Friday evening, Prime Minister Tim Houston accepted Johns’ resignation as justice minister and emphasized that domestic violence is an issue their government takes seriously.
“We will continue to work with partner organizations to do everything we can to support the important work being done in response to the Mass Casualty Commission’s final report and in response to the ongoing epidemic of domestic violence across Nova Scotia and in Canada,” Houston said in a statement.
Johns says that stepping down was his decision alone and that he was not forced by Houston to resign.
“As soon as I realized that I had hurt the confidence and trust of the groups dealing with domestic violence I knew I had to step back,” said Johns. “I often say ‘talk is cheap and actions speak louder than words’ and I hope that by stepping back people recognize that I am sorry and it opens the door for a minister just came to build back that trust and confidence.”
Last week, during a cabinet meeting that fell on the fourth anniversary of the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting, Johns was asked what his department was doing to address domestic violence.
Johns said he misspoke when he downplayed the seriousness of domestic violence and it was something he immediately regretted saying.
In comments to reporters, Johns said he did not believe domestic violence was at an “epidemic” level in the state, which counters what the Mass Casualty Commission report concluded.
“No, I don’t because I think there’s an epidemic, you see it everywhere all the time,” Johns said. “I don’t think that’s true.”
Johns went on to say that he thinks domestic violence is a problem but said he thinks “there are bigger issues as well.”
“We have issues related to guns drugs, we have issues related to drugs,” Johns said. “There are many issues…violence in general.”
Calls for Johns to resign quickly came from opposition leaders including Liberal Leader Zach Churchill and NDP leader Claudia Chender and from several community organizations across the province that deal with those affected by domestic violence and assist them.
Johns says following the comments he made during the press conference that he reached out to almost 40 organizations to offer his personal apology and that domestic violence is an important issue for the government.
“Once I recognized that the confidence in me was broken I knew I had to step back,” said Johns. “Once again, I apologize to anyone that my comments may have hurt, it was certainly not my intention.”
On Monday, Houston announced that Barbara Adams would replace Johns as minister of justice and attorney general and that she would also maintain her portfolio as minister of the elderly and long-term care.
