Activists call province to account on environment

BY JENNIFER HOEGG

NovaNewsNow.com

Hants County activists gathered outside Hants West MLA Chuck Porter’s office Wednesday, Nov. 21 to speak out on environmental issues in the region.

The SOS - Speak Out in Solidarity - event took place in conjunction with rallies in Digby, Annapolis, Kentville, Halifax, Trenton and Sydney to mark the eve of the fall session of the provincial Legislature.

Thirty members and friends of the Avon Peninsula Watershed Preservation Society (APWPS), Friends of the Avon River (FAR) and Citizens Action to Protect the Environment (CAPE) came out in the cold sunshine to sing songs, wave signs and walk together through downtown Windsor in an effort to hold the provincial government accountable on their commitments to protecting the environment.

West Hants municipal councillor Randy Matheson joined the groups to show his support, saying, “I’m here to support these groups and to support green.”

Porter, who was in Halifax preparing for the opening of the Legislature, expressed regret for missing the event.

“I wish I had been there,” he said. “I think it’s great that people are taking an interest. I think our government has focused on a number of environmental priorities.”



Quarry decision applauded

Michael MacNeil, with APWPS, said, “the central message is to get the provincial government to take a more concerted proactive approach to the preservation of the environment. We’re not anti-business, but are looking for a more balanced and thoughtful approach to the provincial environment.”

Those in attendance praised the Provincial Conservative’s action ordering of an environmental review of the proposed Digby Neck basalt quarry and the recent decision not to allow the quarry operation. Mira MacNeil, also with APWPS, said she was “glad the government made the decision to save White’s Point.” MacNeil added, “one can only hope it bodes well for the future.”

However, beyond the quarry, there are other local issues of concern. The two most prominent discussed at the protest were the rumored expansion of Fundy Gypsum and forestry management.



Fundy Gypsum to expand?

APWPS is concerned Fundy Gypsum will expand their operation to include a larger portion of the Avon Peninsula, most of which is good agricultural land. APWPS would like to make sure that a thorough environmental assessment of the company’s proposal is done. More than 5,000 people have signed the group’s petition to protect the land. APWPS member Doug Crossman noted that aerial photographs he has seen show Fundy Gypsum is building a large access road to the proposed site.

APWPS members say they’re disappointed in the lack of response from government to their concerns about Fundy Gypsum. MacNeil says the “response has been virtually non-existent, other than a rote restatement of policy.”

Porter noted that the government can’t respond to the issue because Fundy Gypsum hasnt filed an official application with the province for expansion.

Clearcut operations also a concern

Members of CAPE worry that provincial funding for private woodlot owners administered under the Sustainable Forestry Fund is supporting an unsustainable number of clearcut operations and pesticide spraying.

Donna Smyth, with CAPE, said, “at least 96 per cent of silviculture funding (to private woodlot owners) in the past five years has been for clearcut, spray, replant operations.” Porter was unaware of the issue and officials with the Department of Natural Resources could not confirm CAPE’s figures.

Spokesperson Diane Leblanc said it’s difficult to say what specific silviculture measures the fund, into which the province poured $650,000 in 2006, has paid for since 2000. There is no mention of pesticide application in the 2007 Registry of Buyers Annual Report available on the Department of Natural Resources website.

Natural Resources Minister David Morse responded to the group’s concerns by saying his department was working closely with environmental groups to direct the forestry industry and that concern over pesticide application should be directed to federal agencies as “it has been deemed safe by federal regulations.”

All present at the event are hopeful the provincial government will consider the environmental sustainability of future economic development in Nova Scotia.