Bad Actors

Letter submitted by Doug Lowry The Inverness Oran - October 22, 2025

The Porthawkesbury Reporter - October 23, 2025

Dear Editor

What does it mean to act in good faith?

The expression to “act in good faith” is often used within the context of contract law and it is an implicit assumption that the parties to the contract are sincere and will act honestly and fairly to uphold both the obligations and the spirit of the contract. A contract is thus an agreement between two or more parties that share common interests and that seek to partner for the mutual benefit of all parties.

Regarding the Nova Scotian government and its most recent mandate to govern, one might wonder if the government is acting in good faith as it relates to the consideration of a golf course at West Mabou Beach Provincial Park. An election is, after all, a contract between the electorate and those elected to govern. This contract is an agreement that allows elected representatives to act on your behalf, granting them the formal power and authority to make decisions that represent the interests of the electorate. While this power is formal and grants authority, it is not absolute. For democratic representation to function properly, transparency is essential in order to hold elected officials accountable.

How can you know if your interests are being represented if the processes of government take place behind a veil of secrecy? Transparency is a fundamental principle of democracy and it is absolutely imperative that the public be kept informed.

Despite the recent rhetoric from the Nova Scotian government that they have been clear and consistent with Nova Scotians, it is my belief that this government is not acting in good faith and there is ample reason for Nova Scotians to question whether this government has been honest and sincere and whether they have been fair to those they have been elected to represent.

Consider that, in April 2023, Premier Houston’s office made the statement to CBC that “[West Mabou Beach Provincial Park] is protected under the Provincial Parks Act, and [the government] has no plans to change that.” Additionally, Minister Rushton, acting on behalf of the Ministry of Natural Resources, “informed the company that even if Cabot does make a formal request, the government will not consider it.”

I cannot and do not claim to speak for all Nova Scotians, but, to me anyhow, this does not appear to be clear and consistent with the message coming from the government in recent weeks. Minister Rushton’s message appears to have changed from “the government will not consider a [proposal]” to “We’ll have a conversation and see what takes place.”

These are very different statements and, unless my grasp of the English language is not what I believe it to be, these messages are not clear nor are they consistent. Further to this, I am still very much interested in knowing who is having the conversation and what exactly is taking place.

Nova Scotia’s Environment Minister, Tim Halman, has also decided to join the conversation and, I’d say, it’s about time. He stated the government must consider “a new context” when it comes to the protection of land and water, adding further, that the economic use of land is something to be considered. This is not exactly what I had expected to hear from the Environment Minister and I should highlight that, it is not often that you hear environment ministers commenting on the economic value of land, especially as it pertains to the use of already protected public lands.

I am finding it difficult to uncover the clarity and consistency that this government continues to assert. This is especially the case when you consider that the government created a law that introduced fixed election dates under the Elections Act in 2021 and then proceeded to circumvent its own law to trigger a snap election. It should be noted that this appears to have been done for no other purpose than to consolidate power by capitalizing on a wave of popular support. This resulted in the lowest voter turnout of any provincial election in Nova Scotia’s history with significantly less than half the population casting a ballot. The government has since repealed fixed election dates in the province.

I ask, does this sound to you, like this government is acting in good faith?

I’d argue that it sounds more consistent with the deceptive tactic commonly known as a bait and switch.

Doug Lowry

West Mabou