“We urge the the Members of the Legislative Assembly to pay close and serious attention to the hundreds of letters addressed to them, the thousands of petitioners and the multitude of red signs across the province, calling for the cancellation of the proposed sale of Owls Head.” said Interim GPNS Leader, Jessica Alexander.
(more…)FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Lindsay Lee
April 19, 2021 Administrator of saveowlshead.org
lindsaylee@saveowlshead.org
Grassroots Group Achieves 5,000-Member Milestone
Concern for Owls Head Provincial Park Growing Rapidly
Support for saving Owls Head Provincial Park is increasing across the province, as demonstrated by the continued growth of the grassroots Facebook group, “Save Little Harbour/Owls Head from Becoming a Golf Courses.”
“On April 18, we passed the 5,000 member-mark,” said Sydnee McKay, founder of the Facebook group. “People all over the province are learning from Owls Head Provincial Park that the provincial government is a threat to our network of parks and protected areas. There are nearly 200other provincial parks, nature reserves, and wilderness areas that our government could secretly delist and offer to sell – just like it did with Owls Head Provincial Park.”
Today, Justice Christa Brothers of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia will hear arguments in a judicial review of the Minister of Lands and Forestry’s decisions to de-list Owls Head Provincial Park from the Our Parks and Protected Areas Plan and to enter into an agreement to sell the land to a private company, Lighthouse Links, for development into a golf resort.
The applicants, Robert Bancroft and the Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association, have argued that the province should have consulted the public before de-listing Owls Head. The park, while not legally designated under legislation, had long been thought to be a park. Additionally, it has been managed by the Department as a park for many years under its Parks Program.
“For forty years the people of Nova Scotia have trusted successive governments which assured us that Owl’s Head was protected as a Provincial Park. Governments must be required to tell the truth about public land, and to consult the public when such a major decision is contemplated”, says Barbara Markovits, a director of the Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association.
K’jipuktuk (Halifax) – Judicial Review applicants Bob Bancroft & Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association will have their day in court on Thursday. In solidarity with the applicants, the grassroots “Save Owls Head” Facebook group is organizing a gathering of supporters outside the Law Courts at 9:30 AM on April 1, 2021.
“More than 4,300 Nova Scotians have joined the Save Little Harbour/Owls Head Facebook group,” said Sydnee Lynn McKay, founder of the Facebook group. “We’re gaining more members every day, as people across Nova Scotia learn about the park, the process, and the precedent.” McKay was born and raised in Little Harbour.
“The government’s decision to secretly delist and offer to sell a park awaiting designation sets a dangerous precedent for Nova Scotia. There are approximately 100 other provincial parks with proposed or pending protection, areas that Nova Scotians reasonably believed to be safe,” said Lindsay Lee of the Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association. That’s one reason that thousands of citizens across the province are passionate about reversing this decision through this lawsuit.” Everyday citizens have contributed over $25,000 to enable this legal case to go forward.
(more…)The grassroots group Save Little Harbour/Owls Head Provincial Park From Becoming Golf Coursesis calling on Premier Iain Rankin to immediately discontinue the sale of Owls Head Provincial Park.
(more…)Members of the Facebook Group Save Little Harbour/Owls Head will be holding a rally to save Owls Head Provincial Park on February 20 2020 from 12:30pm to 3:30pm starting at Grand Parade and then marching to Province House to hear from speakers.
(more…)Press Release Announcing the Filing of a Lawsuit to Stop the Sale of Owls Head Provincial Park. Includes profiles of participants and links of resource sources.
Opponents of the provincial government’s decision to sell Owls Head Provincial Park to a wealthy American investor to build 3 golf courses has launched a lawsuit at the end of January in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia in an effort to stop the sale. The applicants are the Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association (ESFWA) and Robert Bancroft.
(more…)January 30th, 2020 Halifax — The NDP Caucus will table legislation this upcoming session to strengthen the Provincial Parks Act to ensure pending protected land cannot be delisted without public consultation. The Wilderness Areas Protection Act already requires public consultation when changing designation of significant areas. “As we’ve seen with Owl’s Read more…