Listen to this article
Estimated 3 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.
A proposed golf course development near West Mabou Beach Provincial Park will not proceed, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston told reporters Thursday.
“As a government, we’re just trying to make a decision that is this, does this benefit Nova Scotians and then is it worth taking to the next step? And this one never got, won’t get to the next step,” he said.
The proposal for an 18-hole golf course and small office/clubhouse is from the Cabot golf company, which operates three courses in the Inverness area.
A website the company has created for the project says the proposed course would fall within the boundaries of the park in the area of West Mabou harbour.
Houston said ideas such as the proposed golf course are assessed with the benefit of Nova Scotians in mind — and he’s often intrigued by them, he said — but many “just don’t make it past the intrigue.”
“This one I think there was some discussions about could it get to a place where it was worthy of actual consultations? And I think there was some back and forth to see if that was possible. And in the end, it sounds like it wasn’t possible.”
Proposal was ‘unreasonable,’ premier says
Houston said as the Department of Natural Resources considered questions such as the proposal’s benefit for Nova Scotians, how much of the park would be used, how long it would be used and whether it would be remediated, it advised against the project.
“In the end, they just reached the conclusion that the ask [was] unreasonable or not in the best interest of Nova Scotians,” he said.
This was the third attempt the company has made to access the provincial park for a development, the most recent being rejected by the Progressive Conservative government in 2023.
Asked whether the proposal is completely off the table or if the company could come back to the province with a revised proposal, Houston said, “I don’t know what they’re going to do. I just know where we’re at today.”
Two weeks ago, Natural Resources Minister Kim Masland said she’s willing to consider development proposals in other protected areas.
When asked Thursday whether that’s still the case, Houston did not directly answer.
NDP, Liberals react
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said she is pleased with the decision but the community should not have been put through the “turmoil and hardship” of facing the development proposal again.
“We need more certainty that we’re not going to force Nova Scotians across this province into these fights for their provincial parks. We didn’t get the assurance of that today,” she said.
Liberal House leader Iain Rankin said Thursday’s decision was a good one, but he said it’s “pretty sad” residents had to stand up yet again to oppose the development.
Rankin added that the premier’s comments “left the door open” for the same conversation about development in provincial parks to crop up in the future.
“I think that’s unfortunate,” Rankin said.
MORE TOP STORIES
