Lloyd Hines

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Lloyd Hines
Member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly
for Guysborough–Eastern Shore–Tracadie
In office
October 8, 2013 – July 17, 2021
Preceded byJim Boudreau[1]
Succeeded byGreg Morrow
Personal details
Born(1951-06-19)June 19, 1951
Neil's Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada[2]
DiedSeptember 11, 2023(2023-09-11) (aged 72)
Political partyLiberal

Lloyd Patrick Hines (June 19, 1951 – September 10, 2023) was a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in the 2013 provincial election. A member of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party, he represented the electoral district of Guysborough–Eastern Shore–Tracadie until 2021.[3]

Prior to his election to the legislature, Hines was a warden of Municipality of the District of Guysborough.[3]

On July 24, 2015, Hines was appointed to the Executive Council of Nova Scotia as Minister of Natural Resources.[4][5]

In April 2017, Nova Scotia's Office of the Ombudsman published a report that criticized senior officials of the Municipality of the District of Guysborough, including former warden Hines, for their "indulgent" spending and "opportunistic" practices.[6] The report noted that Hines had used his corporate credit card for thousands of dollars in personal purchases and cash advances. Although Hines repaid all the charges, the Ombudsman found that he had benefited by essentially using cash advances from the municipality as short-term loans to cover expenses.[6][7]

The report also noted that there was insufficient documentation of the purpose of expensed meals, which were often above standard per diem rates and included alcohol, even when the only attendees were council members or administrators such as Hines. Hines defended the higher rates and the expensing of alcohol, telling the Ombudsman that the costs and alcohol were often standard when municipality officials hosted guests with more expensive tastes that they wanted to persuade to invest in the community.[6]

Hines was re-elected in the 2017 election, although his margin of victory of 71 votes was thin enough that the Progressive Conservatives sought a judicial recount, which confirmed the result.[8]

On June 15, 2017, premier Stephen McNeil shuffled his cabinet, moving Hines to Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal.[9][10] In October 2017, Hines indicated his support for the renewal of Bay Ferries to continue operating "The Cat" ferry between Yarmouth, Nova Scotia and Portland, Maine, citing the ridership increases in the past year despite engine problems.[11][12]

Hines came under fire in February 2019 after a media scrum where he failed to disclose any information about the Yarmouth-Maine Ferry contract which he was responsible for.[13] He died on September 10, 2023, at the age of 72.[2][14]

Electoral record[edit]

2021 Nova Scotia general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Greg Morrow 3,281 63.39 +21.49
Liberal Lloyd Hines 1,571 30.35 -12.74
New Democratic Matt Stickland 247 4.77 -10.23
Green Gabriel Bruce 77 1.49 n/a
Total valid votes 5,176 100.0  
Total rejected ballots 13 0.25
Turnout 5,189 66.81
Eligible voters 7,767
2017 Nova Scotia general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Lloyd Hines 2,565 43.09 +3.10
Progressive Conservative Rob Wolf 2,494 41.90 +14.82
New Democratic Marney Simmons 893 15.00 -17.93
Total valid votes 5,952 100.0  
Total rejected ballots 65 1.08
Turnout 6,017 59.05
Eligible voters 10,189
2013 Nova Scotia general election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
  Liberal Lloyd Hines 2,876 39.99 N/A
  New Democratic Party Jim Boudreau 2,368 32.93 N/A
  Progressive Conservative Neil Decoff 1,947 27.08 N/A

References[edit]

  1. ^ Guysborough-Sheet Harbour
  2. ^ a b Lloyd Patrick Hines obituary
  3. ^ a b "Tories take Pictou County ridings back from NDP". The Chronicle Herald, October 8, 2013.
  4. ^ "Andrew Younger sworn back in to cabinet after shuffle". CBC News. 24 July 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  5. ^ "Cabinet shuffle: Whalen out as finance minister, Younger back in". The Chronicle Herald. 24 July 2015. Archived from the original on 25 July 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  6. ^ a b c MacIvor, Angela; Allen, Susan (21 April 2017). "Guysborough officials slammed for 'indulgent' expenses". CBC News. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  7. ^ Final Report: Municipality of the District of Guysborough, Department of Municipal Affairs (PDF). Nova Scotia's Office of the Ombudsman. 2017.
  8. ^ "Judicial recounts confirm tight Liberal victories for 2 Nova Scotia seats". CBC News. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  9. ^ "Stephen McNeil shuffles cabinet, but vows not to change course". CBC News. 15 June 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  10. ^ "N.S. cabinet unveiled: Casey now deputy premier, finance minister". The Chronicle Herald. 15 June 2017. Archived from the original on 15 June 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  11. ^ Gorman, Michael (25 October 2017). "The Cat fast ferry will be back in 2018". CBC News. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  12. ^ Gorman, Michael (6 November 2017). "Yarmouth ferry operator pondering service to Bar Harbor, Maine". CBC News. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  13. ^ "N.S. transport minister has few answers around Yarmouth ferry's move to new port". CTV News. 14 February 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  14. ^ Lloyd Hines, former Liberal cabinet minister and Guysborough warden, dies