Is a Memory Charm Behind Houston and Rushton's Cabot Golf Mania?

Lorna MacNeil GoCapeBreton.com - October 14, 2025 Originally published here

Minister of Natural Resources Tory Rushton appears to have been subjected to a powerful memory charm which has left him blithely unaware that - just two years ago, in 2023 - he assured us that West Mabou Beach Provincial Park was safe from golf. 

And, to complicate things even further, it seems that said charm bounced off Minister Rushton's head and bonked Premier Houston on his nose, leaving him ignorant to the fact that his office, again in 2023, assured Nova Scotians that they have no plans to remove West Mabou Beach Provincial Park's protection under the Provincial Parks Act. 

The work of the potent charm was discovered only when Minister Rushton declared that some unnamed representatives from Cabot Cape Breton threw some "ideas" in an overnight bag and headed to Halifax to share them with him. The likelihood that a memory charm had erased all of Rushton's memories regarding West Mabou Beach Provincial Park jumped considerably when he blurted out:

"We'll have a conversation and see what takes place...

We've been very clear this mandate: if a proponent comes to the province with an idea that can bring an economic benefit, good-paying jobs and something to Nova Scotians, then we'll have a conversation, and that's where we're at right now."