September 2020
Saltwire- Voice of the People- FOAH member Mary Jo McDonald has an opinion piece on how trust is being eroded by Town Point Consulting. Read it here
July 2020
Omitted Documents In SOUTH SHORE AQUACULTURE LEASES DISPLEASE CITizens - Saltwire
Province announces it will not sell Town Point portion Road
Thanks to the quick and extensive response from FOAH members, many Antigonish Town and County Councillors and MLA Delorey, the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal notified various FOAH members that this historic portion of Town Point Road will remain an unmaintained Public Highway held by the Province.
PublIC ACCESSWAY to ANTIGONISH HARBOUR THREATENED BY PROSPECT OF PRIVATE SALE
It has recently come to the attention of the Friends of Antigonish Harbour that the province is considering selling a portion of the public road to Town Point on Antigonish Harbour to a private individual. The public road—which once led to a ferry connecting Town Point and South Side Harbour—is one of the oldest roads in the county and remains one of the few places where the public can still gain access to the harbour.
While others have offered to buy this same portion of the road before, the Province has rightfully refused these offers given the significance of this road for pedestrians, swimmers, and boaters. This public use, however, has been discouraged in recent years by the potential buyer, who has blocked access by illegally placing a boulder in front of the road. Of course, to be barred from the road does not mean it was ever abandoned, and we think it would be remiss for the province to reward bad behaviour by selling the road to this individual.
In an exchange with a concerned resident, MLA Randy Delorey concluded that “community feedback is important to the process and is taken into consideration”. In that spirit, we are asking the public to email their concerns to the relevant public officials, to remind them that the harbour is an integral part of our community, and access to it should not be sold to the highest bidder.
Thanks for your support of Antigonish Harbour.
Below is a list of officials and their emails addresses. Please reach out and share your concerns.
The Honourable Minister Lloyd Hines
Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal
The Honorable Iain Rankin
Minister of Lands and Forests
The Honourable Minister Randy Delorey
Minister of Health and Wellness
Deputy Minister, Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal
Mr. Paul T LaFleche
Mr. Basil Pitts
Area Manager Antigonish Guysborough
Highway Maintenance & Operations, Eastern District
Nova ScotiaTransportation & Infrastructure Renewal
Mr. Owen McCarron, Warden
Municipality of the County of Antigonish, NS
omccarron@antigonishcounty.ns.ca
Mr. Donnie MacDonald
Municipal Counsellor,
Municipality of the County of Antigonish, NS
dfmacdonald@antigonishcounty.ns.ca
Mrs. Mary MacLellan, Chairperson, Planning Committee
Municipal Counsellor
Municipality of the County of Antigonish
mmaclellan@antigonishcounty.ns.ca
April 2020
On April 6, The Chronicle Herald ran the following letter to the editor: Daryl Gray: Politicians can’t evade AQUACULTURE RESPONSIBILITY
Here’s a response from one of our Friends of Antigonish committee members, Lucy MacDonald:
Aquaculture Review / Approval Process
Daryl Gray’s letter of April 7th re the process for reviewing and approving aquaculture sites in NS is right on target!
The current procedure, which was enabled by legislation and regulation in 2015 was intended to improve visibility, accelerate approvals and remove decisions from the political arena. Five years into this new process, the NS Aquaculture Review Board established by the regulations has not made a decision or even held a public hearing. In the mean-time the burden of selecting sites, preparing detailed proposals (including assessment of anticipated environmental impact) and conducting “public engagement” activities has been delegated to the corporations and individuals who want to start or expand aquaculture operations. The huge conflicts of interest of proponents selecting their desired sites and interpreting public reaction to their proposals is obvious and has caused divisions and distruct in communities across the province. In most cases this is not the fault of the proponents or the hard working civil servants overseeing the process. It is a result of a process designed to “react” to corporate proposals (e.g., Cermaq) or whims of individuals (e.g., “I want my oyster farm where I can see it from my living room”).
A far better model would be for the province to evaluate different regions and specific sites that would be optimum for aquaculture activities including environmental, social, infrastructure, employment, impact on other industries and any other relevant factors. Discussion about the proposals from such a process is just the kind of public debate that should be hosted by the provincial government, which is far better suited to this role than self interested businesses. Once a plan is adopted and specific optimum sites selected, the government could award pre-determined sites to the corporations or individuals best qualified and/or offering the highest bid for this use of a public resource.
As Daryl Gray said, “..citizens will hold the McNeil government accountable for decisions on aquaculture expansion in Nova Scotia.” This Government is doing a superb job fighting the Covid-19 pandemic and has proven its courage in making hard decisions regarding Boat Harbour. We believe this government is also capable of making aquaculture decisions.
Lucy MacDonald
146 Seabright Rd.
Harbour Centre,
Antigonish, NS
Previous Media Coverage
The effects of Hurricane Dorian on an oyster farm in Sheet Harbour
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/hurricane-dorian-oyster-farm-damage-1.5281350
An article detailing the human impact on seagrass in the maritimes.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/human-impact-seagrass-maritimes-study-1.5192279