N.S. government says no to golf course in West Mabou Beach Provincial Park

The owners of the Cabot golf courses on Cape Breton Island will not get access to part of West Mabou Beach Provincial Park for another development.

In an interview on Thursday, Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton said officials from his department informed the company last week that even if it submitted a formal request, the government would not consider it.

"It was determined over the last few weeks that there's actually no pathway or mechanism in the Provincial Parks Act to allow a golf course to be developed within a park," said Rushton.

Last fall, the company's desire to lease part of the land in West Mabou Beach Provincial Park in Western Cape Breton for what would be its third golf course on the island became public as they started reaching out to community groups and the leaders of all three major political parties in Nova Scotia.

• Nova Scotia's provincial parks aren't as protected as you may think

Cabot also hired former premier Rodney MacDonald to lobby on their behalf within the Mabou area, promising community groups financial support in exchange for supporting the project. It followed a previous attempt in 2018 to get approval to develop the land.

Despite the public lobbying, a formal application for the land was never submitted and Rushton, along with other members of the government, declined to take a position on the issue for that reason.

That did not stop a vocal group from opposing the project from lobbying Rushton and Finance Minister Allan MacMaster, the area MLA. Along with the land being public and protected, they pointed to the sensitive ecosystems and uncommon and endangered plant and animal species found in the park.

Several months ago, because of the "heightened interest and concern" surrounding the issue, Rushton said he asked staff in his department to examine whether there would be any pathway that would allow such a proposal to go ahead if a formal application was received.

"I certainly didn't want this to drag on forever," he said.

"We may never have seen an application and this could have been a lengthy letter-writing campaign where, quite frankly, people may not have needed to write letters."

MacDonald did not respond to a request for comment.

Nadine Hunt, a community member who opposed Cabot's plan, welcomed the news.

"Very much relief that this is settled," she said in an interview.

Hunt, who also fought two previous attempts to develop land in the park, said she hopes Rushton's decision removes any legal ambiguity around the potential of having protected parkland developed.

"We want to keep going and make sure that we don't have to do this again."

Calls to close loopholes

Legally protected land should remain that way and if a private company wants to pursue a development they should do so on land they own, said Hunt.

Ray Plourde with the Ecology Action Centre said Rushton's decision is wonderful news.

"We thank the government for finally doing the right thing," he said in an interview. "It's a day for celebration, but the job is not done yet simply by saying 'No' to Cabot."

Plourde wants to see the Provincial Parks Act amended to strengthen protection for the parks and close loopholes that Cabot and other developers "have tried to exploit for private development."

"It is essential that the government now follows through and makes sure that this kind of thing never happens again."

Although there is no room for golf developments in provincial parks, Rushton said his department remains open to other proposals that would fit in those areas, such as hiking trails. In the meantime, he said his government is focused on completing the list of properties awaiting protection and achieving the goal of protecting 20 per cent of the province's land and water areas.

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