Scrapping the Coastal Protection Act - QP
CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : Five days ago, residents in Lunenburg County noticed site markers appearing perilously close to Little Crescent Beach, indicating that construction on three beachfront cottages by a Halifax developer was moving forward. The timing of this, mere days after the government announced that it was scrapping the Coastal Protection Act, has raised suspicions and concerns among the local community.
Can the Premier admit that it was a mistake to trust that safe decisions would be made in the absence of provincial policy?
THE PREMIER « » : As we've previously discussed, all Nova Scotians value our coastline. It's incredibly important to us. We have made a decision as a government that we will work and provide information to Nova Scotians to help them make informed decisions. We believe in Nova Scotians.
I know that the Leader of the New Democratic Party is against working with Nova Scotians on an issue like this. She is also against clean, safe nuclear power, the $150 for income assistance, and tabling amendments in the Law Amendments Committee.
Speaker, the Leader of the New Democratic Party is against absolutely everything, but I'll tell you what, we are for Nova Scotia and for moving this province forward.
CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : While the Premier seeks to impugn my reputation, I'll stick to the facts here.
Just last year, this same developer was at the centre of another coastal development controversy when he bought a 130-metre seawall on Little Crescent Beach. In the process, he in-filled a salt marsh, encroached on a public beach, and damaged the surrounding environment.
In response, the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg, through their mayor, issued a statement saying "The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg is deeply concerned about the situation at Crescent Beach and echoes the community concerns . . . Council is calling upon Province of Nova Scotia to immediately implement the Coastal Protection Act regulations."
Why is the Premier needlessly putting Nova Scotians and our coastlines at risk?
THE PREMIER « » : What I would say is that we're working with Nova Scotians. We're working with municipalities. We don't believe that somebody in Halifax dictating to property owners across this province what needs to happen on the coastline is the only way to do it.
It is certainly the way that the Leader of the NDP favours, for sure. We understand that. But we don't. We believe that working with Nova Scotians, providing information and providing maps, is the way to go. That's the approach we're taking.
CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : Last I checked, the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg was quite some distance from HRM.
The developer who built this seawall - who is now building precariously close to the shoreline, and illustrating the failure of this government's coastal action plan - is the very same developer at the heart of the Hogan Court scandal, who flipped the hotel to the Province for an overpriced amount and whose tax bill was footed by this Premier and all of us.
I can't help but draw parallels between the two situations. In both, the Premier was all too eager to help out his friends at the expense of Nova Scotians. Is the Premier listening to all of the Nova Scotians he claims to love, or just his friends and donors?
THE PREMIER « » : Speaker, I know the Opposition is intent on smearing Nova Scotians at every opportunity they get for a little bit of political gain. I don't support that type of gutter politics.
What I would say is that we believe in supporting Nova Scotians and providing the information. The NDP can be negative on just about anything. We know that, whether it's Nova Scotians as humans, Nova Scotians as businesspeople, whether it's people on income assistance, we know how negative the NDP is. We're positive.
This is a great time to be a Nova Scotian. This province is growing, it's moving forward, and I couldn't be prouder to be in government in this province right now.