Letter: Time for Nova Scotia government to stand up

Letter to the Editor by Margaret MacDonell Saltwire - Jan. 17, 2023

Letter originally published here

It’s time.

As a province, we need to send a loud and clear message to the Houston government that we will not stand by and allow the government to hand over West Mabou Beach Provincial Park to Cabot Cape Breton.

We are not talking about the inclusion of hotdog stand here. This is a very real threat to integrity of our beloved provincial park system. Our provincial parks are there for the enjoyment and benefit of every Nova Scotian; not for the financial gain of private interests.

Forget Cabot. It is abundantly clear despite their rhetoric about respectful dialogue with the community, they cannot be trusted. They are out for themselves and are well-versed and well-practiced in the PR game. This is not their first rodeo. They know how to green wash with questionable, industry-backed environmental certifications from Audubon International. They know how to make outrageous statements – like they are the number one employer in Cape Breton – sound like irrefutable fact. They know how to spin that they are the saviours of Inverness County and Tourism Nova Scotia. They know how to assume the sale. And on and on.

Let’s not get distracted by Cabot’s PR spin. It’s the government we need to be engaging regarding this issue. It’s time we be unequivocal in our message to our government. You are elected to represent us. We are your constituents. You have been entrusted to govern with our best interest in mind, not to be subservient to Cabot Cape Breton’s bully tactics. Cabot Cape Breton does not call the shots. We do. As incredulous as it is to have to state this: we are a democracy not an oligarchy.

Why is the government continuing to allow Cabot Cape Breton to cause such community division and such consternation to the Nova Scotia populace? Mike Keiser and Ben Cowan Dewar are guests in our province. We, the taxpayer, have been exceedingly generous with them. In return they have been ungracious, disingenuous and entitled.

Enough is enough. The government needs to stand up to Cabot and clearly and definitively state our provincial parks are off limits to them and any other private development. Then the government needs to amend the Parks Act to well and truly ensure their protection in perpetuity.

It took a province to save Owls Head. Come on province we can do this. Time to once again exercise and protect our democratic rights.

Margaret MacDonell

Halifax/West Mabou