N.S. supreme court justice dismisses motion to cancel Lake Pisiquid emergency order
Global News
Justice Scott Norton heard arguments on Tuesday over a motion to put a stop to the emergency order surrounding Lake Pisiquid, an artificial reservoir.
The debate over the recent filling of a lake in Windsor, N.S., due to wildfire concerns has made its way to Nova Scotia Supreme Court.
Justice Scott Norton heard arguments on Tuesday over a motion to put a stop to the emergency order surrounding Lake Pisiquid, an artificial reservoir.
“There are no winners if I win,” says fisherman Darren Porter. “And there are no winners if I lose.”
The man-made lake was flooded after the province invoked the emergency order on June 1st due to water access worries during the wildfires near Upper Tantallon and in Shelburne County.
Porter’s lawyer, Richelle Martin of Juniper Law, presented a motion calling for that order to be cancelled because of environmental concerns.
“At the end of the day, we’re up against the government here,” says Porter. “I’m a fisherman and the government is court and there are rules to play by that sometimes feel unfair.”
Porter argues they did not need to fill the lake as other water sources are nearby. He says the aboiteau gates have disturbed Gaspereau fish at the peak of their run and restricted salmon from their routes.
“To go out there and see no fish,” Porter explains. “When we set our nets there is nothing inside that causeway. There’s nothing in our nets. There are a few eels left that can be residents of either side.”