EDITORIAL: Nova Scotia’s emergency overreach: banning fishing, hiking, and trust itself

So it’s come to this. Nova Scotia, blessed with ocean breezes, rocky trails, and the sort of rugged landscapes that invite Canadians to breathe deep and cast a line, has declared an “emergency” — not over a raging inferno, mind you, but over the act of hiking and fishing.Yes, really.NS Premier Tim Houston, while admitting “this situation sucks,” has ordered a sweeping ban on fishing, hiking, camping (unless it’s in a government-blessed campground), and just about anything else that might involve stepping into the woods. Forget Crown land — even your own private property is off-limits. Venture out and you risk a $25,000 fine. You read that right. Twenty-five grand for fishing in your own back yard..Nova Scotia sets up hotline for people to snitch on neighbours caught violating ban on hiking, camping, fishing.And just to twist the knife, the province has also set up a “hotline” — a snitch line, if we’re being honest — so Nova Scotians can report one another for the crime of enjoying nature.There’s something sourly familiar about all this. It’s the same bureaucratic reflex we saw during COVID: ramp up fear, strip away liberties, and unleash the tattletales. We were told that staying six feet apart in a forest would kill grandma. Now, it seems catching trout is one match away from burning down the province..Let’s be clear: wildfires are a serious issue. But even the province’s own Natural Resources Minister, Tory Rushton, admits that “they’ve all been small and put out quickly.” In fact, there have been around 100 wildfires this season — a number not much higher than past years — and all have been handled efficiently. So why this sudden panic?Houston’s answer? “We’ve chosen to be proactive.”Proactive is one thing. Paranoid is another.It’s hard to see how banning someone from going fishing with their grandson or hiking a family trail is going to start a fire. It’s even harder to imagine how fishing causes fires in the first place. Are the fish striking matches when nobody’s looking?The root of this is not safety — it’s control..Emergency powers were never meant to be used this way. They were designed for real, imminent threats — an approaching fire, a collapsing bridge, an outbreak of violence. Not a nice sunny day when people might want to pitch a tent.Nova Scotia’s order applies not just to backcountry campers with fire pits, but to solo hikers, quiet anglers, and berry-pickers. Activities that involve no sparks, no open flames, and no risk. It’s like arresting a man for holding a garden hose because he might start a flood.Let’s also not forget the snitch line — a modern curse that seems to reappear anytime government oversteps. During COVID, it was neighbours reporting on neighbours for having grandma over for tea. Now it’s someone calling the hotline because they saw a guy with a fishing rod. This isn’t community safety — it’s state paranoia. And it breeds distrust, not resilience.The deeper problem here is that Nova Scotians — and Canadians more broadly — have become conditioned to accept this sort of overreach. We were told during the pandemic that extraordinary measures were temporary. Remember “two weeks to stop the spread.” Yet here we are, with summer freedoms shuttered by another round of arbitrary edicts..Houston says you can still go to the beach. How generous.But freedom in a free country isn’t about asking what you’re allowed to do. It’s about trusting citizens to use common sense, and dealing firmly with the rare few who abuse that trust — like the actual arsonists. Not moms with fishing poles or couples on a hike.The ban is set to last until October 15, or “until conditions allow them to be lifted.” Translation: whenever the government feels like it.If that sounds like something from a different kind of regime, well, that’s because it is.Nova Scotia’s wilderness is vast. Its people are proud. And its summers are short. The province needs fire safety plans, yes. But it doesn’t need to burn common sense in the process.Let people hike. Let them fish. And stop treating Nova Scotians like they’re one bad decision away from burning the province down.That’s not leadership. It’s lunacy.

EDITORIAL: Nova Scotia’s emergency overreach: banning fishing, hiking, and trust itself

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