Iain Rankin – Save Owls Head

April 6, 2021April 8, 2021

“Does the Premier regret forcing communities to take his decisions to court for a third time?”

Gary Burrill questions Premier Iain Rankin about a pattern of judicial reviews brought forward by citizens

GARY BURRILL: Mr. Speaker, the Premier’s decisions as minister are now in court a third time. This time, it’s the judicial review from last week of his decision to secretly delist Owls Head Provincial Park with a view to selling it to a developer who would turn it into a golf course.

Does the Premier regret forcing communities to take his decisions to court for a third time now?

March 10, 2021March 10, 2021

Premier Rankin on News 95.7

Host Jordi Morgan asks Premier Iain Rankin for an update on his stance regarding Owls Head Provincial Park.

The Rick Howe Show
News 95.7
March 10, 2021

Jordi Morgan: Speaking of Crown Lands, you’ve had some discussion, and I know that it’s certainly been a point of discussion here, around Owls Head and that deal… Can you tell us if you’ve turned your attention towards that and finding some solution to that problem down on the Eastern Shore?

Premier Rankin: Well, I’ve always had the position that it’s important that we listen to communities. I know that there was a project that was proposed that many people are concerned about, in terms of the environmental impacts of that area. So, it’s important that we hear those concerns and what’s really important is that we take conservation seriously and I’ve committed to an aggressive plan to protect land throughout the province. There’s a Parks and Protected Areas Plan that has many sites, literally over 100, that we’re going to commit to, and protect for generations to come.

March 6, 2021March 6, 2021

JIM VIBERT: Secret Owl’s Head deal could haunt Rankin

…Owl’s Head presents problems for Rankin, and not just because he was the minister who recommended delisting and selling it.

In his bid for the Liberal leadership and as premier since, Rankin has positioned himself as a champion of the environment. How he, and his government, handles the Owl’s Head controversy from here out will influence whether he can retain claim to that title.

March 1, 2021March 6, 2021

LTE: Not Binary Choice

Bob Rosborough’s Feb. 20 opinion piece failed to address the key concerns about Owls Head Provincial Park. The question has never been whether or not golf courses should be developed on the Eastern Shore. There is no lack of private land on the Eastern Shore that would be as suitable, if not more, for such developments.

Any politicians or private interests who frame the situation as “golf vs. conservation” or “economy vs. environment” are not only misrepresenting the situation but also doing a disservice to Nova Scotians.

February 25, 2021February 28, 2021

RICHARD BELL: They Do It Because They Can

In this issue, we are confronting a single problem that corrupts the politics of the province: our Liberal government’s insidious, systematic refusal to allow the citizens of Nova Scotia to participate in making major government policy decisions.

The issue at stake here, the tension between any government’s power and that government’s responsibilities to its citizens, is not a new one. In the first flowering of democracy in Greece, the Athenians wrestled with this problem. History shows us time and again how easily governments can con their subjects with “bright shiny objects” like promises of golf courses or long-delayed schools, today’s equivalent of the Romans’ bread and circuses.

February 9, 2021February 9, 2021

Group urges Rankin to revisit Owls Head property sale decision

“We are hoping that once Iain Rankin is sworn in as premier, he will reverse his decision on the sale of Owls Head Provincial Park,” said Sydnee McKay, who now lives in Gaetz Brook, 40 kilometres west of Little Harbour, where she grew up next to Owls Head on the Eastern Shore.

“His (Rankin’s) motto is listen, learn and lead so we are hoping he will listen to the thousands of Nova Scotians and the scientific data about the ecological values of the park and put it back on the Parks and Protected Areas Plan with a full designation as a provincial park,” said McKay, whose 89-year-old mother still lives near Owls Head, along with her brothers, aunts and uncles.

January 21, 2021February 15, 2021

The Rick Howe Show: Liberal Leadership Candidates on Owls Head Provincial Park

Host Jordi Morgan interviews Randy Delorey, Iain Rankin, and Labi Kousoulis

January 19-21
The Rick Howe Show
News 95.7

One of these three Liberal leadership candidates will not only become the leader of the provincial Liberal party but also the new premier of Nova Scotia. Take a listen to their responses to environmental questions, including the fate of Owls Head Provincial Park.

Mr. Randy Delorey
January 19, 2021

December 8, 2020December 8, 2020

Iain Rankin says he’ll quit coal early, electrify transit if he becomes premier

The former cabinet minister released his environmental platform Monday

Taryn Grant
CBC News
December 7, 2020

Full article here>

Nova Scotia Liberal leadership hopeful Iain Rankin is making far-reaching promises that he says will help the province make a difference on climate change.

… Further to his conservation goals, Rankin said he would designate remaining sites in the province’s parks and protected areas plan, which at one point included Owls Head — a 285-hectare area on the Eastern Shore.