Protesters gathered outside Province House on Wednesday said they are concerned Halifax’s proposed bylaw protecting Dartmouth Cove from infilling will be rejected by the provincial government.
Advocates and community members want the cove to be protected and for the province to listen to residents.
“This has been a pretty political process in that it’s a grassroots, transparent community organization fighting for what they believe in,” Jill Brogan with Friends of Dartmouth Cove said.
Halifax regional council passed a motion on Oct. 7 that would only allow infilling in the case of public infrastructure or shoreline protection. There were concerns that development and infilling in the area would affect the fish habitat and the ecosystem.
The province’s municipal affairs staff had 45 days to review the proposed bylaw amendments and make a decision.
Wednesday’s protest was organized in light of Premier Tim Houston’s comments following a cabinet meeting on Oct. 30 when he called the proposed bylaw amendments “ambiguous” and “pretty political.”
Brogan and the councillor for the area, Sam Austin, take issue with Houston’s assessment.
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“These bylaws are almost identical or identical to the ones that were brought in a year ago by the same government for the Northwest Arm. So there’s no difference except they’re wealthy, we aren’t so much, and we don’t have a lobbyist in our corner,” Brogan said.
Austin said there’s “nothing ambiguous” about the bylaw.
“It’s very clear, and there’s nothing incoherent about it. It’s literal. I’ll tell you what is incoherent is rejecting Dartmouth Cove bylaws when you accepted the exact same thing in the Northwest Arm,” he said.
A spokesperson for the premier’s office said the Department of Municipal Affairs is still reviewing the bylaw.
Bruce Wood with Atlantic Road Construction and Paving Ltd., the company proposing to infill part of the cove, told Global News last month that the results of the public hearing and council’s decision were disappointing.
“We had a plan that we felt would really revitalize that area. We understand the passion of the people in the area. Good. But council is supposed to be making decisions based on science, on fact,” Wood said.
“And we think they’ve really dropped the ball on this one.”
The company’s proposed project initially included dumping 100,000 cubic metres of rock, and received approval from Transport Canada. However, the federal government rescinded its approval for the heavily contested project last year.
The minister of transport said at the time that Halifax Regional Municipality had the opportunity to introduce municipal bylaws concerning infilling, like existing ones in the Northwest Arm.
For more on this story, watch the video above.
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