Premier says emergency order to keep Lake Pisiquid filled will continue indefinitely
'We will not allow that lake to drain'
Lake Pisiquid near Windsor, N.S., which refilled with water following a provincial emergency order last month, won't be drained again anytime soon, according to Premier Tim Houston.
"The lake will remain full because that's in the interest of public safety and that's just the way it is," Houston told reporters following a cabinet meeting in Halifax on Thursday.
"We will not allow that lake to drain."
The man-made Lake Pisiquid drained following an order by Fisheries and Oceans Canada in 2021 requiring the gates of an aboiteau — a type of water channel — at the end of the lake to remain open for 10 minutes each day at the changing of the tides to allow fish to pass through.
But last month, the province issued an order to keep the gates of the aboiteau in the Windsor causeway closed so that the lake would fill, providing a potential source of water for fighting wildfires that were plaguing the province. Houston said the Nova Scotia order would continue to be renewed every two weeks and DFO has since stopped renewing its order to the contrary.
The issue of the lake has been contentious in the community. Many people were outraged when the lake drained, including farmers and a nearby ski hill that used it as a water source. Other people, however, including some fishermen and First Nations, argued that the federal order allowed for improved fish passage and was the right thing to do for the environment.
On Thursday, Houston said his government should have intervened to refill the lake as soon as the Tories won the 2021 provincial election. Although Houston made a video with local MLA Melissa Sheehy-Richard in May calling for the lake to be refilled, the premier told reporters Thursday he only recently heard concerns that the dry lake could create challenges for firefighters if there were a major fire.
Water supply was a concern during a major fire in 2016, he said.
"Imagine the discussion we would be having if we drain that lake now after everything we've been through — particularly in the last few weeks — and a fire breaks out in that area and there's no water. Imagine the questions the media would be asking me about how I allowed that to happen."
John Lohr, Nova Scotia's minister responsible for emergency management, said Thursday that Windsor's water supply alone might not be enough to fight major fires. That's where having access to the lake water becomes vital, he said.
Houston suggested the local municipal council and fire officials should have been more vocal on the issue in the past, but West Hants Regional Municipality Mayor Abraham Zebian said in an interview that council has previously flagged concerns about water supply to the provincial and federal governments.
Zebian said he's "grateful that it's only taken the premier two years to finally pay attention" to the situation.
"It's very well documented on numerous occasions the struggles and the frustrations council and my residents have had over the years to Mr. Houston and his colleagues."
Zebian said those struggles are directly tied to the much-delayed Highway 101 twinning project near Windsor. The provincial government has so far failed to secure approval from the federal government for a way to allow the passage of fish under a bridge crossing the Avon River. That has stalled bridge construction.
The mayor said his bigger concern right now is the "death trap" the reconfigured temporary highway has created for drivers.
"Just early this morning, again, another accident occurred on that stretch of highway," he said.
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill said he knows some people in the community want the lake filled and some do not, but he said the province needs to go about the issue in a way "that's honest with the public."
Lohr initially said the emergency order followed a request from fire officials. But local fisherman Darren Porter, who is suing the province over the order, has a signed affidavit from the local fire chief saying no such request was made.
The minister has subsequently said his initial order came after firefighters flagged the issue of water availability.
"It wasn't an actual request, but it was a note to make us aware," he said Thursday.
NDP Leader Claudia Chender told reporters that Houston's actions are "political opportunism at its worst."
"I think that what we have heard is a premier trying to save an electoral seat," she said.
There are many people who want the lake refilled, said Chender, but others — including local First Nations — have a different view. Chender said it would be more appropriate if the province brokered conversations on the issue rather than abusing emergency order powers.
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