McNeil sidesteps questions about 'unconquered people' legal fight

Premier Stephen McNeilsidestepped questions and cut short an interview Wednesday about whether documents temporarily sealed by a Supreme Court of Canada order last Wednesday would cause "embarrassment" to him or his government.

"This really is about client-solicitor privilege and that is the foundation that every Nova Scotian would want protected," he said.

But in a ruling handed down in early Julyordering the documents be made public, Nova Scotia Appeal Court Judge Duncan Beveridge claimed the files could cause "embarrassment" for provincial officials.

The case involved former Justice Department lawyer Alex Cameron, who was removed from a high profile 2016 court caseafter suggesting Mi'kmaq people were conquered and therefore did not need to be consulted.

The 2016 court hearing relatedto the controversial Alton Gas project. The Sipekne'katik First Nation opposed Alton Gas's proposal to store natural gas in underground chambers that would be excavated from salt deposits near the Shubenacadie River.

At the time,McNeil said that was not his personal opinion, nor was it the view of his government. He later apologized to Mi'kmaq chiefs.

The provincial government has been fighting almost ever since to keep files related to Cameron's work secret, including what he may have been instructed to do.

On Wednesday, McNeilsaid he didn't provide any instructions to Cameron.

Beveridge's July 4rulingincluded a dismissal of the province's argument thatthe province, McNeiland former justice minister Diana Whalen"would suffer irreparable harm" if the papers were made public.

"The only harm that I see to the applicants is embarrassment from Mr. Cameron putting in the public domain his allegations and evidence that challenge the notion that he advanced an argument on behalf of the Province without or contrary to instructions," said Beveridge.

He also called other arguments by the province "spurious"and "hollow."

"That's his opinion," said McNeil about that assessment."We're letting the Supreme Court [of Canada] make its decision."