Letter to the Editor

Letter: Three Years of Secrecy by Lindsay Lee

Francis Campbell’s Nov. 4 article kicked off with one of the most consequential points yet written about Owls Head Provincial Park Reserve: “The province was preparing to remove Owls Head Park Reserve from the parks protection list and sell it to an American developer more than three years before the public was notified, provincial documents show.”

If the sale of this biodiverse coastal ecosystem was such a great idea, then why did our government orchestrate three years of secrecy? If betraying the 45-year history of Owls Head Provincial Park Reserve was truly beneficial to our province, then why did the government refuse to organize public consultation? 

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By Save Owls Head, ago

Letter: Steeped in Secrecy by Beverlee Brown

When did “secrecy” become the provincial byword for the governing Liberals? 

There is a review of Northwood and its recent COVID-19 problems going on, but we’ve been told the results will be mostly kept secret. Confidentiality is needed in order to protect those named in the review. Wouldn’t it be easier just to not publish their names? 

And then there’s Owls Head and the delisting of that area as a reserve in order to quietly sell that land for a golf course. That’s not the premier’s land to sell, especially by changing the rules behind the scenes. It belongs to the province and therefore to the citizens. There should have been a transparent process. If the deal is a good one for Nova Scotia, then secrecy wouldn’t have been needed; a public meeting on the proposal should have been the way to go, allowing full knowledge of the province’s intentions.

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By Save Owls Head, ago
Rally 2/20/2020 - photo Peter Barss

JAMIE SIMPSON: Up to citizens to challenge government when laws not followed

Contributed by Jamie Simpson
The Chronicle Herald
June 3, 2020

Thank you for the thoughtful editorial in Wednesday’s paper (“EDITORIAL: Judge to province: Listen to the Lorax,” June 3), and for drawing attention to Justice Brothers’ decision regarding the Department of Lands and Forestry’s systemic and chronic failure to fulfill its legal obligations under Nova Scotia’s Endangered Species Act. Combined with the recommendations of the Lahey Report, which stressed the need to adopt an ecological approach to forestry, the department has an opportunity to reinvent itself and let go of the outdated (and reckless) “clearcut, plant and spray” ideology. 

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By Save Owls Head, ago
Nina Newington at Rally, photo Peter Barss

Letter: No Respect by Peter Barss

This province wholeheartedly endorses open-pen fish farming that contaminates our bays with chemicals and fecal waste. It is engaged in a deal to sell off Crown land at Owls Head so a rich American can build three golf courses. It sees no problem with waterways polluted by gold mining. And it clearcuts large tracts of forest, including old growth stands.

Bob Bancroft, the Federation of Nova Scotia Naturalists and the Blomidon Naturalists Society had to spend the money and time to win a recent court case (“Nova Scotia broke endangered species law, judge rules,” May 30) that forces the province to obey its own laws designed to protect endangered species.

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By Save Owls Head, ago

Letter: Nova Scotians Gradually Losing Access to Shores and Beaches

Picture this.

The ocean breeze is blowing through your hair. Imagine the feel of sand underneath your feet as you listen to the waves lapping against the beach. Think back to days spent sailing in the bay or walking along a rocky shore. You are building sandcastles, watching the fishing boats, looking for sea glass, or collecting shells.

Can you imagine life in Nova Scotia without these things?

No, neither can I.

When we open our eyes, we see that more and more of us are losing access to our shores, as land that the public has enjoyed for generations is being sold to the highest bidder.

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By Lindsay Lee, ago

Letter: Owls Head(ache) Provincial Park by Dusan Soudek

If you think the provincial cabinet’s secret decision to remove Owls Head Provincial Park reserve (or an “undesignated” provincial park in government-speak) from a list of public properties slated for permanent protection is of interest only to a few Eastern Shore locals, think again.

Many other provincial parks in HRM, and elsewhere in Nova Scotia, are “undesignated” under the Provincial Parks Act and hence enjoy only administrative protection—not legal protection. On the Eastern Shore, they include Paces Lake Provincial Park, Lower East Chezzetcook Provincial Park, Liscomb Point Provincial Park, and others farther east. Closer to home, they include the immensely popular McCormacks Beach Provincial Park in Eastern Passage and Herring Cove Provincial Park and Blind Bay Provincial Park outside Halifax.

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By Save Owls Head, ago