West Mabou Beach Provincial Park: Unfinished Business

Doug Lowry The Inverness Oran - December 12, 2024

Dear Editor,

It has now been a few weeks since the votes of the provincial election were tallied and, as the newly elected government settles in, I would like to extend my congratulations to the Progressive Conservative Party and the elected representatives of all the parties that form our new government, including and especially, Kyle MacQuarrie of Inverness. I wish him and all those entrusted with the responsibility of governing our great province the very best. The people of Invernesss, specifically, and Nova Scotians, generally, deserve no less. And despite my disagreement with Premier Houston’s assessment of the election result in which he declared that his government was delivered a “clear and loud” mandate to “keep going,” even though voter turnout in the province reached a historic low, I do wish Premier Houston and his government every success in tackling the multitude of challenges facing the people of Nova Scotia.

One such challenge that remains unaddressed from the PC’s first term in government is the failure to take substantive action on passing strong, clear and unambiguous legislation to protect public lands against private development. This is an important endeavour province-wide, but, for the voters in Inverness’ electoral district, this is particularly pertinent to the protection, or lack there of, of West Mabou Beach Provincial Park. This is evidenced by the fiasco that took place during the Fall of 2022 and into the Spring of 2023 where Cabot Golf attempted to secure public lands for the purpose of developing a private golf course located at West Mabou Beach via the vendor application process that is managed by the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables.

The fate of this ecologically sensitive land that is home to several rare species and held dear by the members of the surrounding community hung in the balance for months on end as local politicians and the government deliberately avoided commenting on the escalating situation. To this day, it remains incomprehensible to me that large swathes of publicly protected land could ever be up for grabs through an application process that allows privately owned businesses to develop that land for their own personal gain. It has become clear that protected lands in Nova Scotia are protected only to the extent that the government of the day allows. For this reason, strong, clear and unamenable protection against large scale private development of Nova Scotia’s public lands is urgently necessary to prevent the misappropriation by the current and subsequent governments. At no time should a short-sighted, politically motivated government be granted the power and authority to appropriate protected lands to private individuals or corporations. A law that allows for this also allows for the flagrant misuse of this power and this needs to be corrected with legislation that is far more comprehensive in its protections.

The most recent attempt by Cabot Golf to secure a portion of West Mabou Beach - a provincial park, a land that is supposedly protected by law - as a building site for a new golf course, and the events that surrounded the proposal’s campaign, should serve as a stark warning of the vulnerabilities that exist to our public lands under the existing legislation. It should also remind us of the corruptibility and ineptitude of politicians to take the necessary action required to act in the public interest. The cowardice and blatant neglect of duty demonstrated by the former representative for Inverness, makes absolutely clear the necessity of legislative reform. This is made all the more necessary and urgent given our current state of affairs where the government in power has not only a majority, but a supermajority. This type of concentrated, unchecked power poses very dangerous risks and lends favour to corruption and cronyism if the laws in place do not provide adequate restraints on power. Strong, clear, unambiguous legislation must serve to counter any temptation by government to take liberties with dispersing public lands to private stakeholders under the false and misguided notion that the government has been awarded a “loud and clear” mandate that grants them the unchecked authority to do whatever they please.

It is shameful that reform of the existing legislation was not championed back in 2023 when the events at West Mabou Beach were taking place. This was a missed opportunity to better the lives of Nova Scotians for generations to come. Fortunately, the opportunity has not passed us by and support in favour of stronger protections has not waned. This offers our newest representative, Kyle MacQuarrie, the chance to redeem his predecessor and I invite him to do so.

Furthermore, the strengthening of protections for Nova Scotia’s public lands is not only consistent with, but complimentary to, the PC government’s healthcare platform. Increased access to healthcare providers, reduced wait times and improved health outcomes would, unquestionably, be positively influenced by a citizenry that has greater access to the riches of our province’s great outdoors. Whether that be through a hike in the forest, a walk on the beach, or, simply, the enjoyment of smelling the fresh ocean air, we all stand to benefit from the protection of our natural landscapes, which allow us to be more active and more socially, spiritually, and ecologically connected. In fact, a healthcare agenda that ignores this fundamental necessity is not worth a damn. If we continue to see healthcare as a mere means of treating illness and ignore the factors that facilitate a healthy life, our system will continue to break and buckle under the weight of a population that is chronically ill.

I believe that, as a community, as a province, and as organisms that belong to, and depend on, the health of our environment, we must take action to protect it with the seriousness that it deserves. The stakes are far too high. This is the very foundation of health and we cannot afford to leave ourselves vulnerable to the arbitrary decision-making process of the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables. We must understand that to lose ANY of our public lands to private development is unacceptable.

For God’s sake, we cannot afford to lose West Mabou Beach! Repeat: WE CANNOT AFFORD TO LOSE WEST MABOU BEACH!!

Kyle MacQuarrie, we, the people of Inverness, have elected you to serve us as our representative in government. I hope and trust that you honor this sacred responsibility as guardian of our democracy and act in accordance with your highest ideals and values, so that the current generation of Nova Scotians, and all of those to follow, can enjoy the unspoiled beauty of places like West Mabou Beach. We must strive for nothing short of the inalienable birthright of all Nova Scotians to access and enjoy their public lands.

With that, let’s correct the errors of our past and get to work.

Thank you,

Doug Lowry

Resident of West Mabou, Citizen of Inverness Electoral District