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Jamie Sarkonak: Don't celebrate Nova Scotia court's takedown of the forest ban

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22.04.2026

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Jamie Sarkonak: Don't celebrate Nova Scotia court's takedown of the forest ban

It's the right outcome, but the court gave way too much power to the Charter

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Months after Premier Tim Houston of Nova Scotia locked down the province’s forests, instituting a $25,000 fine on anyone who dared to enter a wooded or boggy area that they did not personally own, he’s received his first review from the courts. It’s poor: the ban on human travel through the “woods,” the Nova Scotia Supreme Court said last Friday, was unreasonable and therefore illegal.

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The result is a win for common sense. The actual reasoning of the court, less so.

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Most people will agree that it’s unfair and overkill to ban people from walking their dogs in the presence of trees to reduce the risk of a wildfire. Or to prohibit farmers from hiring anyone to mend fences in any area........

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