Thank You Letter to the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson

Dear Minister Wilkinson,

The Save Little Harbour/Owls Head Facebook group is a grassroots movement of over 3000 concerned citizens and scientists, passionate about saving the ecologically significant property known as Owls Head Provincial Park.

We are writing to thank you for your role in transferring the federal parcel of land (PID: 00555284) adjacent to Owls Head Provincial Park, Little Harbour, Nova Scotia, to Environment and Climate Change Canada. We appreciate your commitment to honour the best and highest use of these lands.

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Hold Them Close

The formal transfer of the so-called “surplus” federal land at Owls Head to Environment and Climate Change Canada is good news for all of us that are trying to prevent the secret deal to sell the lands of Owls Head Provincial Park.

The same developer, to whom Minister Rankin and Company offered to sell our parklands, was also secretly maneuvering to acquire these lands by using the Federal MP and the Provincial Cabinet.

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Federal Land Parcel Goes to Environment and Climate Change Canada

We are excited to announce that the federal parcel of land adjacent to Owls Head Provincial Park has officially been transferred to Environment and Climate Change Canada … a monumental step in the Save Owls Head Park campaign.

This would not have been possible without the intense opposition to the sale of public parkland or the committed advocacy of our conservation partners. We would especially like to thank CPAWS NS, who have been working tirelessly to save this ecologically significant property and its 45-year history of promised protections. The importance of your work at the provincial and federal levels cannot be overstated.

We are also grateful to the government of Canada and the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson (Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada) for recognizing the importance of this representative coastal ecosystem. Thank you for your commitment to honour the best and highest use of Owls Head Provincial Park.

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New Freedom of Information Request Reveals Government Process to Facilitate Sale of Owls Head Provincial Park

Public servants have been working with the prospective buyer, Lighthouse Links Development Corporation, to facilitate the sale of Owls Head Provincial Park

Update: In November 2019, Lands and Forestry had to file more documents in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, in response to the applicant’s request for a judicial review. As a result, we learned that the price for this unique coastal ecosystem had been assessed at $306/acre.

This means that 704 acres would only cost the developer $216,000, far below the asking price of nearby parcels. The appraiser (Turner and Drake) had determined the price based on the land being undevelopable, yet Lighthouse Links does plan to develop it.


Included in the Freedom of Information (FOIPOP) package are the signed Letter of Offer for the sale of Owls Head Park Reserve, a Valuation Report, and emails between members of the government staff and Gilbert’s representatives.

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