The Nova Scotia government says it is “unable” to lay charges in the 2023 wildfire that burned 969 hectares despite “exhausting all possible avenues.”
Wednesday marked exactly two years since the wildfire in the Upper Tantallon and Hammonds Plains area broke out. The fire, which was one of the largest recorded in Halifax Regional Municipality, displaced more than 16,000 residents and destroyed about 150 homes.
The Department of Natural Resources has two years from the date of an offence to lay charges under the Forests Act.
“Charges are only laid if there is sufficient evidence to secure a conviction. There is a high bar for what can be used as evidence in court,” the province noted in a news release Wednesday.
The department cannot lay criminal charges under the Forests Act.
In the fall of 2023, RCMP closed it investigation into the wildfire, saying there was “no Criminal Code offense noted.”
It said the fire “started as a result of unextinguished (embers) from small outdoor patio fireplace.”
Residents want accountability
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For residents in the area who were directly impacted by the fire, the lack of charges is disappointing.
“Overall, we know that there wasn’t lightning strikes that day. This wasn’t a natural occurring disaster,” said Dustin O’Leary, the former Westwood Hills Residents Association president.
“It was caused by human error or human negligence, so I think there’s a disappointment there that there isn’t some level of accountability.”
The minister responsible for the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables defended the decision not to lay charges under the Forestry Act.
“I can tell you from my experience in the fire service for 21 years and being involved in investigations many times, it’s very difficult to lay any charges to do with any fire activities,” Tori Rushton said Thursday.
But some residents don’t believe the province has done enough, especially when it comes to providing support to those who lost their homes or to advance emergency preparedness.
Jennifer Saulnier lives in the Highland Park subdivision of Hammonds Plains and has previously described how she had to “run for her life” during the wildfires.
She was barely able to escape and lost her home in the blaze.
Saulnier has called for improvements to the province’s communication in emergencies.
So far, she says she hasn’t seen that improvement.
“I want to see a lot more accountability from the government to know that they have a plan in place,” she said.
“Tell us and communicate with us when something dangerous is happening. So we don’t have to be responsible for ourselves to get out in the case of a wildfire.”
— with files from Angela Capobianco
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