Premier stands firm on Irving land sale

Municipalities calling on the government to buy a large tract of land in southwest Nova Scotia should consider purchasing it themselves, the premier says.

Premier Rodney MacDonald repeated his message Wednesday that the province cannot afford the $165-million asking price for the 69,000-hectare property.

He said if municipalities in the region have concerns, there's nothing to stop them from levying a tax.

"Perhaps the municipalities themselves would like to acquire that land. I would suggest they strongly pull together as they are indicating their support for us to do [and] acquire it themselves," MacDonald said.

The government is facing a growing lobby effort from municipalities and a variety of groups who fear the sale could lead to unrestricted development. A coalition group, Buy Back Nova Scotia, has nearly 1,500 names on its online petition.

J.D. Irving Ltd. offered to sell its land, which contains four rivers and 60 lakes, to the province nearly two years ago. When the government didn't move on it, the company looked for other buyers. It has set May 2 as a deadline for bids.

Kermit deGooyer, with the Ecology Action Centre, said the government cannot afford to miss out.

"We think if government gets engaged they can find ways to do it. Just having a nickel or a dime on every Tim Hortons cup to go into a pot of money for land acquisition … because this trend is going to keep on continuing to be repeated as forest companies divest of their land," deGooyer said.

MacDonald said his government has already purchased more forest land than other previous governments.