Emergency order to shut aboiteau gates at Windsor causeway extended two more weeks

Nova Scotia's cabinet minister responsible for emergency management says he's extending an emergency order to maintain a man-made lake in Windsor because it is still required for public safety.

It's the second time John Lohr has renewed the order requiring that gates in the aboiteau in the causeway near Windsor remain shut to preserve Lake Pisiquid.

"The concern about fire is still there and we know that the best time to restore a freshwater reservoir is before it's needed," Lohr told reporters following a cabinet meeting on Thursday.

The province's fire weather forecast and actual fire weather forecast, however, show a different picture. In each case, the risk is listed as low at 29 out of 31 weather stations, and moderate at just two.

• A refilled Lake Pisiquid has sparked environmental concerns

Almost 218 millimetres of rain has fallen in the area this month, according to Environment Canada data from the weather station in nearby Kentville.

"I know it's been wet the last couple of weeks," said Lohr.

"I'm very aware of that, but we still believe it's needed."

Lohr originally issued the emergency order at the height of historic wildfires in the Hammonds Plains and Tantallon area outside Halifax, and in Shelburne County. At the time, he said he was acting on concerns from local fire officials. However, as part of a court filing seeking to challenge the order, the Windsor fire chief signed an affidavit saying that request was not made.

A divisive issue

The order overrides one from Fisheries and Oceans Canada that's been in place since 2021. That order called for the gates of the aboiteau to be open for 10 minutes each day during incoming and outgoing tides to allow for fish passage in the Avon River.

As a result of the federal order, the lake all but ran dry and some residents complained about dusty conditions in town, and the effects the loss of the lake had on farms and a ski hill in the area.

It's been a divisive issue in the community, with some arguing in favour of fish passage and others calling for the lake to be restored. Not long before the fires and Lohr's order, Premier Tim Houston and Hants West MLA Melissa Sheehy-Richard recorded a video calling for the lake to be restored.

Lohr has denied the continuation of the order is for political purposes, but opposition leaders take a different view.

"There's no emergency," Liberal Leader Zach Churchill told reporters.

"They misrepresented what a local fire chief has said and they have not been honest on this issue."

'This is an end run'

Churchill said emergency orders should only be issued during emergencies and to do otherwise is an abuse of the government's authority.

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Lohr, Houston and Sheehy-Richard have picked a side in a divisive community issue and "they are misusing the emergency powers of the province to make their side win."

"I think it's a bad precedent to set and I also think it's important to note that it is happening in the absence of consultation with scientists, with local First Nations and with the community itself," she told reporters.

"So this is an end run and it's a way to quash public participation in what is a very important community issue."

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