A Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge has dismissed an attempt by a fisherman and researcher to get a judicial review of the provincial government’s emergency order to maintain Lake Pisiquid in Windsor, N.S.
Darren Porter launched the court action in June 2023 after John Lohr, then the minister responsible for emergency management, ordered the gates to the aboiteau at the Avon River causeway closed.
Closing the gates, which allow tidal waters to flow in and out of the Avon River, meant Lake Pisiquid would refill rather than drain, as it had since March 2021 after the federal government ordered it open for a period each day to allow for better fish passage. That decision caused the level of the lake to drop and sparked division within the community.
Lohr declared a state of emergency June 1, 2023, because wildfires burning in the province had created “extreme demands upon resources and personnel.”
At the time, Nova Scotia was in the grips of two large wildfires, one in Shelburne County and the other in the Upper Tantallon area outside Halifax. Those fires destroyed 200 homes.
When the emergency order was issued, Lohr said it was to maintain the resource in case it was required to help fight the wildfires. But once those fires were no longer a threat, the minister said he was continuing to renew the order to protect a water source that local fire departments could tap in the event of a major fire in Windsor.
Cabinet has renewed the order every two weeks since June 2023, including the latest renewal on Tuesday.
Porter argued “there was no present and imminent threat to property, or the health, safety or welfare of the people of Windsor.” He also argued “the minister took advantage of the spring 2023 wildfires for political reasons.”
Draining the lake was a contentious issue that pitted the Houston government against the federal government.
But in a written ruling issued Thursday, Justice Darlene Jamieson ruled the province’s decision was “rational, logical and justified.”
“We’re disappointed with the judge’s decision and the fact that the minister continues to try to justify the closure of the gates on the basis of forest fire risk,” said Porter’s lawyer, Jamie Simpson. “It doesn’t seem to add up, to my mind at least.”
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