TAKE ACTION: Nova Scotia government failing to meet land protection commitment

If you signed an agreement for millions of dollars to protect nature in your own backyard, would you risk giving the money back, or would you get the job done? Of course, you would get the job done. Unfortunately, in this same scenario, the Nova Scotia government has failed to meet an important deadline in the Canada-Nova Scotia Nature Agreement and will likely have to return millions of dollars. This is unacceptable.

When the province signed the Nature Agreement in 2023, Nova Scotia committed to protecting an increase of 82,500 hectares of land by March 31, 2026; there has been no public reporting indicating that this has been met. The Nature Agreement made it easy for Nova Scotia to reach its land protection targets, but instead the province continues with in-action, refusing to legally designate a backlog of high-quality sites ready and awaiting designation. Funding associated with this agreement is expected to have expired March 31, 2026. It is highly likely the province will have to return millions of dollars set aside for conservation to the federal goverment. There is no excuse for this.   

Failing to meet this commitment has consequences. It doesn’t just put ecosystems at risk, it also puts renewed federal funding at risk, limits future conservation opportunities, and delays designation of pending sites that have already been invested in and undergone consultation.

Nova Scotia used to be a leader in conservation but has fallen behind terribly. Urge the Nova Scotia government to treat this issue with urgency by demonstrating that the province is prepared to meet its responsibilities to citizens and the next seven generations. They must designate more wilderness areas, nature reserves and provincial parks without further delay.