The company behind the Cabot Links and Cliffs golf courses is taking a third swing at a potential development that would include part of West Mabou Beach Provincial Park, land that is protected by law and has previously been deemed out of bounds for such proposals.
Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton told reporters at Province House on Thursday that representatives for the Cape Breton outfit have come to the province “with some ideas.”
“We’ll have a conversation and see what takes place,” he said.
“We’ve been very clear this mandate: if a proponent comes to the province with an idea that can bring an economic benefit, good-paying jobs and something to Nova Scotians, then we’ll have a conversation, and that’s where we’re at right now.”
Rushton and Premier Tim Houston struck a different tone two years ago.
When Rushton learned in 2023 that the company was looking to apply for a Crown land lease in hopes of building a third 18-hole golf course, he told the company not to bother. At the time, it was determined that there was no option in the Provincial Parks Act to allow a golf course to be developed within a park.
A week after that, Premier Tim Houston’s office issued a statement saying there were no plans to remove any of the park’s protected designation.
On Thursday, Rushton could not say if the company’s proposal this time is different from what it pursued in the past.
A representative for Cabot did not respond to a request for comment.
Nadine Hunt, who has long fought to preserve the protected status of the park, said in an interview Thursday that she is “extremely disappointed and disheartened” at the news that Cabot could be looking to again challenge the protected status.
“It seems to me that Cabot, what they do is they sniff the political winds and when they detect that there’s a potential opening in a back door or a weakness, they pounce,” she said.
Hunt said the government should not be giving company officials “the light of day at all.”
A study from 2019 found the unique sand dunes and wetlands in the park contained at least 17 rare plants and animals, including four birds that are listed under the provincial Endangered Species Act.
Kyle MacQuarrie, the Progressive Conservative MLA for Inverness and Rushton’s ministerial assistant, said in an interview at Province House that he’s talked with constituents on both sides of the issue.
“I try to listen to them, but without specifics it’s hard to discuss it,” he said.
MacQuarrie said he’s not talked with company officials, although he has discussed the situation with former Nova Scotia premier Rodney MacDonald, whom Cabot hired several years ago to lobby on their behalf.
“We really didn’t discuss specifics about it, just kind of the idea that something might happen or just general ideas,” said MacQuarrie.
MacQuarrie, who declined to say whether he thinks the land should remain protected, said his next step would be to canvas constituents about what they want.
“I’m keen to listen right now. That’s my main goal.”
MacDonald did not respond to a request for comment.
Hunt said the situation sends the message that the government cannot be trusted to keep the protected designation on the park.
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