Inverness MLA & tourism industry respond to West Mabou Beach controversy

CBC Radio

Information Morning Cape Breton - November 5, 2025 Listen online here

The Natural Resources minister says this province is open for business, and protected spaces are not exempt. Michael Gorman interviews local MLA, Kyle MacQuarrie, and Darlene-Grant Fiander, President of the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia.

"Our natural product is really our key asset, from a tourism perspective. So when the government talks about economic opportunity, we already see the economic opportunity in maintaining these places, as they were intended to be, in their natural state. And there's a reason why those locations were selected. So while we very much support new tourism investment and new development, not in our protected areas, not in our public parks. There's lots of land available for sale in Nova Scotia. We feel very strongly about that, for this one, and every other protected area." - Darlene Grant Fiander, President of the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia

"To throw economics as the only metric that you're looking at, there's already a lot of economic value in the parks as they are... To say this is about economic development when you haven't said the value of them is as they are, and they belong to all Nova Scotians." - Darlene Grant Fiander, President of the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia

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