Lighthouse at Brier Island, Nova Scotia, from Government of Canada website
Just after the Nova Scotia Minister of Energy announced funding for geoscience research on June 20 to support the $11.8 million Offshore Growth Project to encourage oil and gas development, the Minister of the Environment made good on an election promise from 2017 with the launch of a consultation process to consider coastline protection, allowing the period from June 26 to August 17 for the public to respond to an online survey. Discussion will focus on The Coastal Protection Legislation: Consultation Document , which addresses the complexity of the legislative situation – both federal and provincial legislation – and addresses three questions: 1. How to define a “Coastal Protection Zone” ? 2. How to restrict certain activities within the Coastal Protection Zone? and 3. What provisions are required for monitoring and compliance? The document states: “Fishing and aquaculture will be exempt, but how do we define this exemption? What other economic activities must we keep out of the way of?”
The Ecology Action Centre in Halifax announced the consultation with this neutral press release ; CBC News summarized it with “Nova Scotia seeks public input on legislation to protect coastlines” CBC News, and the Halifax Chronicle published an Editorial on July 3, “Coastal construction rules needed to curtail climate calamities” , calling for the government to allow more time for public input.
