{"id":613796,"date":"2026-04-19T04:56:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T04:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/613796\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T04:56:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T04:56:12","slug":"nova-scotias-provincewide-ban-on-entering-the-woods-was-unreasonable-court-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/613796\/","title":{"rendered":"Nova Scotia\u2019s provincewide ban on entering the woods was unreasonable, court rules"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge says the provincial government made an unreasonable decision last year when it banned most people from entering the woods to prevent wildfires during an extreme drought.<\/p>\n

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In a decision released Friday, Justice Jamie Campbell said the provincewide ban imposed on Aug. 5, 2025, did not meet the standard for reasonableness because the province failed to consider the impact on Charter rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was not a fleeting or insignificant restriction,\u201d Campbell wrote. \u201cIt substantially affected peoples\u2019 lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ban prohibited \u201centry into the woods for the purposes of travelling, camping, fishing or picnicking or any other purpose, without a valid travel permit in all counties in Nova Scotia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campbell\u2019s judicial review found the travel ban limited the right of citizens to move freely within Canada \u2014 a right protected under Section 6 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe record shows no consideration having been given to that issue,\u201d Campbell wrote. \u201cThe issue here is not the balancing of community safety and individual rights. It is about the decision-making process.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the government had considered the rights of commercial users by establishing a permit system for them, the judge found no consideration was given to the potential impact on the mobility rights of those who use the woods for purposes other than commercial gain.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe decision (to impose the ban) may have been justifiable had those rights and values been considered and balanced against government objectives at the time,\u201d Campbell wrote.<\/p>\n

Campbell cited a Supreme Court of Canada decision informing lawmakers that when they make decisions that affect Charter rights, those rights must be addressed in a meaningful way.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat may be difficult to do in the context of a quickly evolving emergency,\u201d the judge wrote. \u201cBut with the benefit of hindsight, it might be something that can be considered before the next (emergency).\u201d<\/p>\n

The judge\u2019s decision did not strike down the ban because it is no longer in effect.<\/p>\n

Last summer, Premier Tim Houston\u2019s government was under intense pressure to limit the damage caused by wildfires.<\/p>\n

In 2023, the province experienced its worst wildfire season on record, losing more than 200 homes to fires that also forced 22,000 people to flee their homes and businesses. A total of 220 wildfires scorched about 25,000 hectares of land that year.<\/p>\n

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By the time the travel ban was imposed last August, all areas of the province were facing a high, very high or extreme risk of wildfire, with no rain in the forecast for the next 10 days.<\/p>\n

By late September, the month-long Long Lake wildfire in western Nova Scotia was finally brought under control after it had destroyed 20 homes and burned 84 square kilometres of land. The Lake George wildfire broke out Sept. 28 and raged out of control for two weeks, forcing the evacuation of 350 civic addresses near Aylesford, N.S.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis case \u2026 isn\u2019t about whether the Nova Scotia government had to act urgently to reduce the threat of further destructive fires,\u201d Campbell wrote. \u201cIt is about whether the travel ban covering the woods in the entire province \u2026 was within (its) legal authority.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ruling stems from a constitutional challenge filed by lawyers representing Nova Scotia resident Jeffrey Evely. He was fined more than $28,000 for deliberately violating the ban by walking into the woods near Sydney, N.S., and then posting a video on social media.<\/p>\n

Evely\u2019s lawyers argued that Nova Scotia\u2019s natural resources minister had exceeded his authority under the Forests Act because the ban was to vague for people to understand, the judge\u2019s ruling said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is because it banned travel in all woods, not just designated areas within the woods,\u201d the ruling says.<\/p>\n

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The legal challenge was paid for by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms.<\/p>\n

Evely issued a statement saying Canadians \u201chave a sacred, civic duty to safeguard these rights and freedoms we\u2019ve inherited for future generations \u2026. This decision is a win for the future of Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marty Moore, one of Evely\u2019s lawyers, said the ruling confirms governments must respect fundamental freedoms, even during emergencies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope the government of Nova Scotia, and other governments in Canada, heed this warning, and respect the individual rights of Canadians in their decisions,\u201d Moore said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t&copy 2026 The Canadian Press\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge says the provincial government made an unreasonable decision last year when it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":613797,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[49,48,230980,14691,44,230981],"class_list":["post-613796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-fire-ban","tag-halifax","tag-news","tag-provincial-parks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=613796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/613797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=613796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=613796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=613796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}