N.S. coastal protection issue not going away, legislation advocates say

Now the official Opposition leader, Chender said recently that the greatest pressure on government to reverse its decision on the Coastal Protection Act comes from Nova Scotians from all corners of the province, as represented by municipalities concerned about sea level rise, coastal development and public access.

“They have been quite clear that there needs to be a provincial approach,” Chender said. “Of course, we have lots of different regions that need to be dealt with sensitively, that’s how the act was designed, as an overarching act with regulations that would help deal with the sensitivities of various areas and ecosystems and communities.”

Chender said there has still not been any good rationale offered for the shelving of the act.

“As recently as the last few weeks, I have heard from people from western Cape Breton, to Pictou County, to the South Shore who remain as concerned with the government’s decision not to proceed with this act as they were when it was announced.”

Chender said it’s an issue that is not going away any time soon.

“The government is going to continue to feel pressure to at the very least explain their decision but also from Nova Scotians who fundamentally disagree with what the government has said, which is they believe it’s up to coastal property owners to determine what’s going to happen with our coast,” Chender said.

“Nova Scotians, certainly the ones I’ve spoken to, believe it’s up to all of us to protect and enjoy our coast because we are a coastal people and we are a coastal province. In that spirit, we will continue to push for provincial leadership on the issue of coastal protection.”

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