NDP, Greens promise to scrap Owls Head sale

Welcome to CBC's Election Notebook, your source for regular updates and essential news from the campaign trail.

It's Day 23 of Nova Scotia's 31-day provincial election campaign.

Two Nova Scotia party leaders lent their voice to the chorus of those against the sale of Owls Head lands at a rally in Halifax on Saturday.

NDP Leader Gary Burrill and interim Green Party Leader Jessica Alexander spoke to a crowd of more than 100 people in Victoria Park alongside other speakers like Bob Bancroft of the Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association.

All took issue with the Liberal's decision to remove the 285-hectare coastal property in Little Harbour from a list of Crown properties pending legal protection in 2019.

The land was delisted to make way for the possibility of selling it for a development involving three golf courses, but the deal hasn't been finalized.

The move was made without public notice since Owls Head was never registered as a provincial park.

"In my view, this was democratically and morally wrong," Burrill said.

The issue has sparked much opposition and a court case, which saw a decision last week.Justice Christa M. Brothers acknowledged the public outrage, but dismissedthe application for a judicial review of the Liberal government's decision.

Instead, she said people should make their concerns known at the ballot box.

Burrill said an NDPgovernment would stop the Owls Head sale, and list it as a protected park.

He also promised to pass his party's proposed Owls Head Act, whichwould prevent other Crown lands pending protection from being delisted in secret.

Burrill also said the NDP would aim to protect 25 per cent of Nova Scotia's land and water by 2025, and 30 per cent by 2030 in line with international commitments.

The PC Party has also taken issue with the Owls Head delisting, while the Liberals say there is still plenty of time for public consultation as various assessments take place.

Bringing in the booster club

The provincial Greens brought in a major player for the party from across the Northumberland Strait on Saturday, according to a release.

Peter Bevan-Baker, Green MLA and opposition leader of Prince Edward Island, was scheduled to be in the Truro area campaigning with Shaun Trainor for Truro-Bible Hill-Millbrook-Salmon River, and Ivan Drouin for Colchester North.

He and "several" Green MLAs from P.E.I. joined Trainor and DrouinalongsideAlexander in various activities, including a visit to the Truro Farmers' Market.

Bevan-Baker made history in May 2015 when he was elected as the first Green MLA ever for Prince Edward Island. Then in 2019, he was re-elected and formed the first Green official Opposition in Canada with a caucus of eight.

Alexander has told CBC their party is modelling its approach to this election on what Greens were able to do on P.E.I. by focusing on winnable seats and putting party resources there.

Liberalsshore up central support

Liberal Leader Iain Rankin campaigned in the central part of the province around Antigonish, Guysborough-Tracadie, Pictou Centre, and Colchester North and Hants East on Saturday.

His schedule had Rankin stopping into the Antigonish Farmers' Market, and visiting the Happy Cones solar-powered ice cream truck.

The Liberal Party also put out a release on Saturday, saying that Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston is playing the "name game" by stating that he is not a Conservative.

They said that a clause within the PC's mandate states an objective to co-operate with the federal Conservatives in "providing effective and efficient operation and promotion in matters of mutual interest."

PCs back in Cape Breton

Houston spent his Saturday campaigning with five candidates around Cape Breton, focusing on his party's plans to fix health care on the island.

Citing Nova Scotia's health authority, a PC release said Cape Breton has seen a rise of urgent and crisis-level care for addictions and suicide attempts.

For the third year in a row, Cape Breton hospitals have the highest mortality rates in the country.

"There is hope for healthcare on Cape Breton, but it requires a change in leadership from the Liberal's Halifax-centric approach to working with the communities to deliver results," Houston said in the release.

Houston also referenced the news that the Fishermen's Memorial Hospital Emergency Department in Lunenburg will be closed from 1p.m. to 7:30 a.m. for the next 10 days as a reason to turn to his party at the polls.

How to vote

Check whether you are registered to vote with Elections Nova Scotia.

Once registered, you can vote in advance of election day by requesting a mail-in ballot or by visiting a returning office or advance polling station.

On election day, polling stations will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

More information on voting is available from electionsnovascotia.ca.

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