The ‘Protecting Nova Scotians Act’ does no such thing
Bill 127 criminalizes peaceful Mi’kmaq protests
On Oct. 2, Bill 127, the Protecting Nova Scotians Act, passed in the provincial legislature, but the measure does anything but protect Nova Scotians.
Based on some aspects of the omnibus Bill — such as the legislation surrounding social insurance numbers and tenant rights — I could see how it gets its name. But Part II, amending the Crown Lands Act of 1989, does not concern the protection of Nova Scotians in any way.
Instead, it ensures the province’s minister of natural resources can remove, demolish or otherwise dispose of a structure without notice if it is “harmful to the economic interest of the Crown.”
The timing of the bill’s passage is no coincidence.
Over the last few weeks, Mi’kmaq land protectors have attempted to prevent clear-cutting in the forests at Hunters Mountain in Cape Breton Island, using a checkpoint to block forestry operations from entering the area. They are not blocking the forest road or access to the mountain.
The new bill is a cowardly, inconsiderate move by the Nova Scotia government. It does not suggest a good faith effort to work with the Indigenous residents of the land it covers.
Instead, it criminalizes the blockage of forest access roads. Any person who fails to comply with the Crown Lands Act amendment risks a fine of up to $50,000 or imprisonment for up to six months.
With such an intense threat of penalization, it really begs the question: Who is Bill 127 really protecting?
Sipekne’katik First Nation released a statement responding to Bill 127 on Oct. 3. “True reconciliation cannot be achieved by criminalizing those who protect the land,” the statement reads.
This bill directly affects Indigenous peoples, yet the province passed it “without meaningful consultation” of the Mi’kmaq, according to the statement.
Disappointed is an understatement. How can we move forward with reconciliation if matters of importance to the Mi’kmaq community aren’t even discussed with them?
The economic interest of the Crown is not synonymous with the interest of Nova Scotians nor the Mi’kmaq people — and threatening peaceful protestors with fines or arrest is entirely unjustified.
Before Canada, as a nation, even existed, this land was inhabited by the Mi’kmaq, and now, they’re treated as if they do not exist. The bill’s passage proves it.
The Protecting Nova Scotians Act is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, egregiously impeding historical Peace and Friendship treaties between the Crown and the Mi’kmaq.
Bill 127 is another disheartening — yet not entirely surprising — reconciliation setback for Canada.
