Nova Scotia government employee fired in relation to antisemitic message

An antisemitic social networking post regarding the Middle East conflict has resulted in the firing of a Nova Scotia government employee and the removal of a Progressive Conservative party member.

Nargis DeMolitor, who ran unsuccessfully for the PCs in the 2021 provincial election in the Clayton Park West riding won by Liberal Rafa DiCostanzo and who most recently had worked in an advisory capacity for Labour and Immigration Minister Jill Balser, was fired by Premier Tim Houston earlier this week.

A post on DeMolitor’s X account, the former Twitter social networking platform, described Israel as the “Nazis of the 21st century.”

DeMolitor said her account had been hacked.

Houston told the House Wednesday that an investigation was launched by his office to determine who was responsible for the account.

“This investigation confirmed that there was unauthorized access to the account in question,” the premier said.

“We are now satisfied that we have identified the person responsible for the tweet. I can tell the House that this person is not an employee of the province, caucus or PC party, however this person was a member of the party. I acted immediately and removed the person from the party.

“We have also suggested to the account holder that they notify the authorities of the unauthorized access,” Houston said. “Even though the access was unauthorized, it was made easier by the actions of a provincial employee (DeMolitor) who shared social media log-in information with an individual outside of government. This was also an obvious breach of trust. As a result of that breach of trust, that individual no longer works for the province.

“There is no place for hate in the PC party or in Nova Scotia.”

This was the second time during his two years as premier that Houston has taken decisive action regarding discriminatory or racist messaging.

In October 2021, a Justice Department staffer was fired by the premier for making racist comments about then Preston MLA Angela Simmonds in a social media message.

That incident was instrumental in the collaborative Act to Dismantle Racism and Hate that passed in the spring 2022 House session.