The Chronicle Herald

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

Judge Grants Extension to Apply for Judicial Review into Owls Head Decision

Stuart Peddle
The Chronicle Herald
August 5, 2020

Full Article Here >

HALIFAX, N.S. — A Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge has granted opponents of the province’s decision to delist Owls Head as a provincial park reserve an extension to file for a judicial review of the matter.

Justice Kevin Coady heard arguments from Jamie Simpson, the lawyer for Bob Bancroft and the Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association, on June 29. They were seeking permission to file their review application even though the six-month time limit to file after the decision was made had passed.

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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to adopt an ecological approach to forestry, the department has an opportunity to reinvent itself and let go of the outdated (and reckless) “clearcut, plant and spray” ideology.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
"There is No Planet B" - Photo by David Sorcher

Letter: Owls Head rally tally lowballed by Ian Guppy

Re: Your Feb. 21 front-page news story on protesters rallying to save Owls Head park. It is good to see this important issue of our government’s secret delisting and removal of Owls Head Provincial Park from Nova Scotia’s Parks and Protected Areas Plan receive the coverage it deserves. However, ironically, this is undermined by an inaccurate account of the number of participants at the rally. I attended and would estimate, based on that experience and counting people in post-event photos, that the crowd was easily twice the size than what was reported.

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By Save Owls Head, ago

Letter: Too Busy Reacting by Karen Schlick

Re: the Feb. 1 opinion piece,  “Conservationists have missed the boat on ecotourism.” The headline should have read: “Developers and governments are missing the boat on ecotourism.”

Conservationists are generally busy running around putting out fires: proposals like salmon farms and golf courses in inappropriate places, gold mines that ignore watershed issues, rampant clearcutting and expropriation of Commons land. 

Where are the conservationists out there with time on their hands and money to burn? Personally, I don’t know any of them.

Karen Schlick, Musquodoboit Harbour

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By Save Owls Head, ago