Critics of a forest prohibition driven by drought in Nueva Scotia say it is an instance of government overreach.
Provincial officials say that the prohibition, which entered into force on Tuesday and prohibits hiking and camping in the forest, is necessary warm and dry conditions throughout the province and the greatest risk of forest fires.
“I do not think it is reasonable to restrict people to enter the forest. I do not think it is reasonable to put a general prohibition of outdoor activity, especially the activities that do not represent a risk of fire,” said Julissa Stewart of Louisdale, NS, to CBC News in an interview on Thursday.
“You know, it is something that someone comes out and illuminates a cigarette and throws a butt on the floor. It is another thing that someone wants to make a walk in the forest.”
Stewart feels that the prohibition violates the Charter of Canadian rights and freedoms. She has begun a public call to action to see who might be interested in supporting her to present the issue to start a challenge of the letter or a constitutional question.
It has also been communicated with the Justice Center for Constitutional Liberties and the foundation of the Canadian Constitution. The latter circulates through a petition for the prohibition to terminate and the forest remains open.
Since the prohibition entered into force, Stewart says he cannot take his puppy to walk along a path near his home. The fine for breaking the prohibition of New Scotland forest is $ 25,000.
While Stewart said he does not oppose the activity of fire risk due to conditions, “ban everything in the forest, for me, that is extreme extreme. I think that is exceeding mobility rights.”
Stewart is not alone.
Concerns for people who sleep rough in forested areas
In a recent publication of social networks, Dalhouse Legal AID wrote that he had concerns with the prohibition of the forest and its impact on the people who last in the wooded areas.
He urges the province and municipalities to “respond carefully and maintain the dignity and rights of the most affected.”
The group also pointed out that the previous judicial cases have shown that the people from the spaces of the spaces force without providing a significant alternative can cause serious damage and could violate a section of the letter.
Woods prohibits the recoil is not surprising, the legal expert says
Wayne Mackay is a professor emeritus of constitutional law at the Schulich Law Faculty of Dalhousie. He said he is not surprised that some people are thinking about challenging the prohibition of the province because it is a significant restriction in the freedom and mobility of people.
He said that all the rights of the letter are subject to reasonable limits. In this case, the objective of the policy is to prevent or at least reduce the number of serious forest fires.
“It is a fairly convincing objective. And then the only real question is, is it proportional?
“Is that what they are doing more than necessary to achieve that goal? And that is really a kind of objective debate that would happen in the challenge of the court,” Mackay said.
“Is this the type of thing that is really needed to achieve the results that everyone wants, which is to limit or eliminate forest fires before starting. But this is the necessary way to do so, or is it sacrificed too much?
“It is almost certain that this would be the charter question that would ask, and it is difficult to predict what a court would do with that.”
Restrictions could be broader than necessary
The Canadian Association of Civil Libertads says that restrictions seem to be broader than required.
“In the case of a legal challenge, it will depend on the province to demonstrate that the measures chosen to achieve its objective are necessary and violate as little as possible on the rights guaranteed by the Charter of Canadian rights and freedoms, which cannot be invalidated by the measures of the association,” said the lawyer of the Anaïs Bussières Mcnicol association in a declaration of CBC News.
Houston responds to forest prohibition criticism
Speaking to journalists at a press conference at Charlottetown on Friday, Prime Minister Tim Houston briefly addressed criticism of forest prohibition.
“The conditions are really dry, there is no rain in sight, the risk is extremely high in New Scotland. Just a couple of years ago, we had devastating fire impacts, loss of houses, loss of properties,” said Houston.
The prohibition, he said, came as a result of an expert advice.
“The experts came to me and they told me that their recommendation is that we should restrict trips and put some serious fines there to keep people safe, keep the properties safe and really just support our firefighters and lifeguards,” he said.
“Then, the experts gave the advice, I agreed with him. I am happy to make sure we are doing everything possible to protect people, protect property and try to spend this fire season and really pray for rain.”
Almost all forest fires in NS initiated by human activity: DNR
Scott Tingley, Forest Protection Manager with the Natural Resources Department, said the conditions are “as dry as we have seen”, and drier than 2023 when two devastating forest fires burst near Halifax and Barrington Lake, Shelburne County.
Unlike other provinces that see more fires initiated by rays, Tingley said that almost all forest fires in Nueva Scotia are the result of human activity.
“That is why we cannot run the risk of having people in the forest, because when people are in the forest, even if they do not intend, we will have fires,” Tingley said on Friday.
Since the prohibition began, he said that his department has been “very, very busy” with the application and monitoring of complaints.
‘We need everyone to enter’
There was considerable confusion in the first days when people tried to discover what they could and could not do, Tingley said, but “more and more people” now understand the risks and are following the rules.
Although natural resources and municipal crews throughout the province are still seeing fires in forested areas, Tingley said that the number “falls to zero” in the next few days.
“That is obviously what we want to see,” he said.
“We absolutely need everyone to participate, because that is where we are … at this time, in these conditions, there is a very significant risk that an uncontrollable fire begins.”
The last time that New Scotland had substantial rain throughout the province was in early June. The CBC meteorologist Ryan Soddon says that our next possibility of rain will probably not reach the end of next week.
