Real protection is missing in the Nova Scotia Crown Lands Act
The purpose of the Nova Scotia Crown Lands Act [1], as defined in the Act, is to
provide the legislative and regulatory framework that will ensure Crown lands are sustainably used, protected, and managed to maintain and enhance biodiversity and considers climate change and for purposes that include wilderness conservation, recreation, economic opportunity in forestry, tourism and other sectors, community development, and for the cultural, social and aesthetic enjoyment of Nova Scotians.
Reading that, one would feel confident that Nova Scotia Crown land is safe from the secret sale to private interests. However, given the events at Owl's Head and the Eisner Cove Wetland, the assumption is clearly incorrect. This legislation describing how and when Crown land in Nova Scotia may be sold is summarized in a policy document released by the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables [2].
Nova Scotia has a limited amount of Crown land. Only 35% of the Nova Scotia landmass is owned and administered by the province, compared to 50-90% in other provinces and territories in Canada.
Because of the limited amount of Crown land and existing commitments on Crown land - such as forestry licenses, parks, trails, and leases - we rarely offer Crown land for sale.
Nova Scotia's Sale of Crown Land Policy sets out the circumstances in which Crown land may be sold. For example, Crown land may be sold:
- to a municipality, agency, non-profit group, or community organization when a public benefit can be demonstrated
- to support or promote economic activity when all other reasonable alternatives have been canvassed by the applicant
- to alleviate undue hardship or in extenuating circumstances, when in the best interests of the province.
The policy document also certainly seems to indicate that we aspire to protect our Crown land, but both documents provide loopholes for the provincial government to do as they please with Crown land when it is "in the best interests of the province".
If you want to "ensure Crown lands are sustainably used, protected, and managed to maintain and enhance biodiversity" and if you care about climate change, you should be deeply concerned with the current Act. Until the loopholes are removed, provincial ministers can use spurious arguments to do as they please with Crown land.
- [1] https://nslegislature.ca/sites/default/files/legc/statutes/crown%20lands.pdf (accessed 2022-10-01)
- [2] https://novascotia.ca/natr/land/clo/buying.asp (accessed 2022-10-01)