Nova ScotiaThe head of the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia says it is “almost incomprehensible” that the provincial government would entertain a proposal for a golf course within the boundaries of a provincial park or development in any other protected area.’There’s lots of land available for sale in Nova Scotia,” says industry association presidentMichael Gorman · CBC News · Posted: Nov 05, 2025 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 3 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesThe president of the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia says parks and protected areas are a major driver for tourism and should be off limits for development. (Submitted by Alain Belliveau)The head of Nova Scotia’s tourism industry association says it is “almost incomprehensible” that the provincial government would entertain a proposal for a golf course within the boundaries of a provincial park or development in any other protected area.Darlene Grant Fiander said the government’s contemplation of an 18-hole golf course in West Mabou Beach Provincial Park, which would be developed by a private company, overlooks the tourism draw of parks and protected areas.“While we very much support new tourism investment and new development — not in our protected areas, not in our public parks,” said Grant Fiander, president of the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia, in an interview.“There’s lots of land available for sale in Nova Scotia and we feel very strongly about that for this one and every other protected area.”Natural Resources Minister Kim Masland confirmed last week that her department was entertaining a proposal from Cabot Cape Breton. It’s a proposal that Cabot, which already owns three golf courses in Inverness County and others in locations around the world, has previously tried to advance without success and in the face of stiff community opposition.Masland’s predecessor and Premier Tim Houston told the company two years ago not to bother. But last week, Masland and Houston said the province is open for business and they’re willing to listen to development proposals for anywhere.Darlene Grant Fiander, the president of the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia, said the work Cowan-Dewar has done in the province should speak for itself. (CBC)Grant Fiander said the new position of the Progressive Conservatives overlooks the economic development that already comes from parks and protected areas. Adventure tourism and recreation is one of the fastest-growing segments of tourism, and Grant Fiander said natural assets were among the pillars of the recently launched tourism strategy for the province.Last year, the tourism sector was worth $3.5 billion to the provincial economy, she said.“The natural assets we have are a tremendous driver of that activity, and low-impact recreational activities are important. We want people to get in and experience the parks,” said Grant Fiander.Cabot not commenting publiclyCabot Cape Breton’s general manager, Mark Steenge, has not responded to multiple interview requests from CBC News. To date, the only details the company has released publicly about its proposal, which was submitted to the province in August, are what’s contained on a website it created.Kyle MacQuarrie, the MLA for Inverness and ministerial assistant to Masland, said in an interview Tuesday that he has not seen the proposal. He expects to receive some information as soon as it’s available.“As far as the depth of that information, I really don’t know,” he said.Kyle MacQuarrie is the MLA for Inverness. (Galen McRae/CBC)The PC MLA said he’s not talked with Cabot officials and wouldn’t say if he would seek out a meeting. Any communication with the company should be “at the proper time and under the proper circumstances,” he said.MacQuarrie said he is talking with residents who like the idea and see the “economic and social benefits that occurred in Inverness,” the centre of Cabot’s Cape Breton operations.While that setup includes a restaurant and hotel, no such amenities are intended for the Mabou development, according to the Cabot website.People “definitely don’t” have a clear sense of the proposal, said MacQuarrie, and he’s hoping that more information can become public soon to help address that. “As we get more information and the process unfolds, I’ll do whatever I feel is best for my constituents,” he said.Meanwhile, Grant Fiander’s organization is not the only one speaking out about Masland’s willingness to entertain development proposals for protected areas.Becky Parker is executive director of Nature Nova Scotia. (Dan Jardine/CBC)Becky Parker, the executive director of Nature Nova Scotia, said she is “extremely disappointed, though not surprised.”“It’s par for the course of what we’ve been hearing from government about environmental management in general,” she said in an interview.Government commitment to environment questionedShe pointed to recent comments by Environment Minister Tim Halman that have raised concerns the province could miss out on millions of dollars in federal funding earmarked to help protect land.The Progressive Conservative government passed legislation during its first mandate requiring it by law to protect 15 per cent of Nova Scotia’s land and water mass by 2026 and 20 per cent by 2030.“The province has been doing the bare minimum the last year that it thinks it can get away with, and it seems like we’re at a very real risk of it completely stopping its work towards designating that 20 per cent,” said Parker.She said allowing a protected area to be delisted, sold or leased for a development or activity that is objectively harmful to the land means no protected area is safe.“And if you have a favourite hunting, fishing, hiking [or] birding spot, you should be worried about it and start talking to your representatives about how they could help protect it,” she said. “Because the province isn’t going to.”MORE TOP STORIESABOUT THE AUTHORMichael Gorman covers the Nova Scotia legislature for CBC, with additional focuses on health care and rural communities. Contact him with story ideas at michael.gorman@cbc.ca
Tourism industry says parks and protected areas should be off limits for development
