Juno News - Atlantic premiers shift forest ban justifications amid backlash

00:00:00.000 Nova Scotia Premier Tim Huston and New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt have changed their forest

00:00:10.400 ban rationales for the third time in one week after enforcing heavy fines for forest goers

00:00:16.000 earlier this month. Conservative leader Pierre-Paul Yev spoke at a press conference on Thursday

00:00:20.780 blasting Mark Carney's EV mandates, saying that the Prime Minister is ignoring Western

00:00:25.560 interest by doubling down on the ban against gas vehicles. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is

00:00:30.840 celebrating a federal court's decision to allow its challenge to the undemocratic capital gains tax,

00:00:37.000 hoping to set a precedent in favour of democratic and parliamentary approval for all tax hikes

00:00:41.660 before they are applied by the CRA. Hello Canada, it's Friday, August 15th, and this is the True

00:00:46.740 North Daily Brief. I'm Isaac Lamoureux. And I'm Alex Holtam. We've got you covered with all the news

00:00:52.860 you need to know. Let's discuss the top stories of the day and the True North exclusives you won't hear

00:00:57.900 anywhere else. Nova Scotia Premier Tim Huston has shifted his explanation for the province's

00:01:07.520 controversial forest entry ban for the third time in just over a week. The ban, announced on August 6th,

00:01:14.460 prohibits entry into any forested area in the province, including private land, with fines of up

00:01:19.800 to $25,000. Nova Scotia Premier Tim Huston has shifted his explanation for the province's

00:01:26.680 controversial forest entry ban, marking this the third time this has changed among two premiers in

00:01:32.320 just over a week. Houston initially said the measure was needed to prevent residents from sparking

00:01:37.460 wildfires. Days later, New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt contradicted that reasoning, saying the real

00:01:44.140 concern was the inability to rescue people injured in the woods because emergency responders were already

00:01:49.400 fighting active fires. He said, quote, how would you like to be stuck in the woods while there's a fire

00:01:55.020 burning around you? I don't think anyone would want that either. So be smart, be human, don't look for

00:02:00.360 loopholes. Since the restrictions came into effect, Houston says 12 fines have been issued, adding, quote,

00:02:06.000 it's certainly my hope that every single one of those is fully prosecuted and collected.

00:02:10.680 The order impacts both rural and urban Nova Scotians, with forest land covering 75% of the province.

00:02:17.720 So Alex, has the shifting rationale for Nova Scotia's forest ban eroded public trust in the policy?

00:02:24.000 I would say that yes. As if there was much public trust to begin with, I'm not so sure. Outside of

00:02:32.160 the Maritimes, people have taken a lot of umbrage with this policy on account of the rule not entirely

00:02:39.360 making sense. So anybody that has been to the woods should know that, you know, without some type of

00:02:46.060 fire making device, such as matches or a lighter, it's actually quite difficult to start a fire in the woods.

00:02:52.220 Also, if a fire were to spontaneously combust in the woods, you know, maybe due to lightning strikes or something,

00:02:57.400 it might actually be beneficial to have a human being in the woods to put out that fire.

00:03:01.740 I think that most Canadians are rather accepting of burn bans, and they're also probably quite accepting of

00:03:09.800 rather hefty fines for people who discard cigarette butts, for instance, you know, in a dry area.

00:03:16.780 But I think that this is, in some respects, a step too far.

00:03:21.480 Not only does it infringe on individuals' charter mobility rights, but it also does not necessarily

00:03:27.700 make a lot of sense in terms of the government achieving its desired end of reducing forest fires.

00:03:33.140 And so I would say that in addition to the policy not being very well explained, I guess you could

00:03:40.580 say, it also bans fishing, I should add. I'm not really sure how fishing could contribute to forest

00:03:45.460 fires. So in addition to it not being particularly well explained to the public, I think that also

00:03:50.900 shifting the goalposts on why the ban exists from originally saying that human beings start forest fires,

00:03:56.500 therefore we want them out of the woods, to them saying, you know, as the premier of New Brunswick

00:04:01.060 had said, that individuals would not be able to access emergency services should they break their

00:04:06.580 leg or hit their head while hiking through the woods. I think that that further erodes what

00:04:10.260 limited trust there was in the policy to begin with.

00:04:16.740 Conservative leader Pierre Polyev is calling on the Liberal government to scrap what he calls a

00:04:20.820 ridiculous ban on gas vehicles. Speaking Thursday in Corman Park, Saskatchewan,

00:04:25.700 Polyev criticized the Liberal zero emission vehicle sales target, which would prohibit the

00:04:29.700 sale of new gas or diesel powered cars, SUVs and pickups by 2035. He also pointed to a proposed 20%

00:04:36.340 surcharge on new gas vehicles as proof the government is punishing drivers while EV sales continue to

00:04:41.700 plummet. According to Statistics Canada, electric vehicle sales fell more than 41% between December 2024

00:04:47.860 and January 2025, almost immediately after the federal government subsidies were phased out.

00:04:52.820 Polyev shifted focus then to new Chinese tariffs on Canadian canola, accusing Prime Minister Mark

00:04:57.860 Carney of ignoring the issue. He said, quote, so far Mark Carney has said nothing about canola.

00:05:03.220 It's as if he doesn't care about Western Canadian producers. He also alleged Carney's government is,

00:05:07.700 quote, giving a billion dollars in shipbuilding contracts through a taxpayer-funded loan to the

00:05:11.860 Chinese government. When asked whether the response would be different if the tariffs hit

00:05:15.860 Quebec or Ontario, Polyev replied, quote, of course, this Liberal government couldn't care

00:05:21.620 less about the West. So Isaac, you're out West. Do you think that Carney will leave a better legacy

00:05:26.980 in the prairies? And do you think that he will be, he will find more popularity out West than his

00:05:31.620 predecessor, Justin Trudeau? And if so, do you think he has done anything thus far to justify the

00:05:37.220 change in sentiment? Yeah, good question, Alex. It's unlikely that Mark Carney will leave a better

00:05:43.460 legacy in the prairies than Justin Trudeau did, which is saying something considering how poorly

00:05:48.180 he was accepted out here. But based on Carney's actions and priorities to date, there is little

00:05:52.900 evidence he's taking any steps to change that reality. I looked up one of the last polls of Trudeau,

00:05:59.060 which was from late 2024, just showing his approval ratings in Western Canada, and Liberal support was

00:06:08.100 only 8% in Alberta, 5% in Saskatchewan, and 16% in Manitoba. Conversely, Conservative support in the

00:06:16.340 same period was 61% in Alberta, 67% in Saskatchewan, and 52% in Manitoba. So obviously, these numbers

00:06:23.940 reflect not only dissatisfaction with Trudeau's government and the Liberals, but a long standing

00:06:29.140 pattern of Western alienation toward Liberal governments that are perceived as prioritizing

00:06:34.660 Central and Eastern Canadian interests over prairie needs. Trudeau's tenure entrenched that sentiment

00:06:42.260 through policies seen as harmful to Western Canada's economic base, particularly in oil and gas,

00:06:48.180 through things like the federal carbon tax, restrictions on pipeline development, and regulatory

00:06:52.500 environment that critics say hindered investment in energy infrastructure. While Carney came into office

00:06:58.660 originally saying he would reset relations, there is no indication that he has pivoted away from the

00:07:03.860 policy directions that alienated Western voters against Trudeau. Carney has said some things,

00:07:09.140 but has lacked any action thus far. On trade, Carney has also faced criticism from opposition for his

00:07:15.780 silence on China's newly imposed tariffs on Canadian canola, which is of course a vital prairie export,

00:07:22.420 and Conservative leader Pierre Poliev accused the Prime Minister of not caring about Western Canadian

00:07:27.380 producers, contrasting his inaction with the attention he believes would be given if, as you mentioned,

00:07:32.980 Alex, the same tariffs targeted Quebec or Ontario. Carney's lack of visible engagement on the issue

00:07:38.420 has only reinforced perceptions that his government, like Trudeau's, treats prairie concerns as an

00:07:44.260 afterthought. For Carney to build a stronger legacy in the prairies, he would need to demonstrate a

00:07:48.340 willingness to address issues in the region, such as defending key agricultural exports, reducing

00:07:54.260 regulatory barriers for energy development, and respecting provincial jurisdiction over resource

00:07:59.540 management. Without such moves, he risks not only failing to repair relations with Western Canadians,

00:08:04.820 but also cementing the perception that his leadership is a continuation of policies that have long fueled

00:08:10.180 Western alienation. But in short, given his current polling, historical trends, and his government's

00:08:15.780 early signals, Carney is on track to face the same, if not deeper, mistrust in the prairies that defined

00:08:21.860 Trudeau's legacy. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says it has won an early victory in its fight against

00:08:31.300 the capital gains tax that Parliament has not approved. On Wednesday, the federal court dismissed an attempt

00:08:36.740 by the Attorney General to strike the case, allowing it to proceed to a full hearing. CTF General Counsel

00:08:42.180 Devin Drover said, quote, This decision is a big win for taxpayers and we're going to keep fighting to make

00:08:47.460 sure unelected bureaucrats can't impose unapproved tax hikes. The case challenges the Canada Revenue

00:08:53.140 Agency's plan to apply a higher capital gains inclusion rate proposed in the 2024 federal budget,

00:08:58.820 despite Parliament never passing the measure. The court found the core issue is whether the CRA is

00:09:03.780 implementing an unlegislated tax change, not an appeal of a future assessment. Drover said, quote,

00:09:10.420 If the CRA can get away with this once, it can do it again, and that's why we're pressing forward.

00:09:14.980 The CTF hopes the eventual ruling will set a precedent preventing governments from collecting taxes

00:09:21.220 without the approval of elected representatives. So Alex, could this case set a lasting precedent

00:09:26.820 on limiting government power to enforce taxes without democratic processes?

00:09:32.820 The short answer is yes. So if the Canadian Taxpayer Federation ultimately wins at the full hearing and the

00:09:38.340 ruling is upheld on appeal, which I assume the government would appeal the ruling should the CTF be

00:09:44.020 successful, it would set a significant precedent in limiting the government's ability to enforce

00:09:48.580 tax measures that haven't been passed by Parliament. The reason that the case is potentially far-reaching

00:09:55.060 is that it challenges not just what the tax rate is, but who has the authority to impose it.

00:09:59.780 And if I'm not mistaken, I believe that this capital gains tax increase dates back to the Trudeau days,

00:10:06.260 and when Chrystia Freeland was the finance minister. And so it's almost farcical at this point that the tax

00:10:13.140 has not been passed through Parliament. And I think that that speaks to one of the limitations of

00:10:17.940 prorogation. I mean, the government has only sat for a matter of days going back all the way to last

00:10:23.380 year. And of course, we're almost in September now. Such a precedent wouldn't just apply to the capital gains tax,

00:10:29.700 though. It could affect how all future budget measures are rolled out, and it could force the

00:10:33.940 government to secure legislative approval before the tax agency acts again. That said, the precedent

00:10:40.180 would only hold if the decision comes from a court with binding authority. So it would have to go through

00:10:44.740 not only the Federal Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada, but it would also have to pass

00:10:49.380 through what I presume would be an appeal from the government. And the current ruling would only be a

00:10:54.580 procedural when the merits of the case would still have to be argued individually. In some ways, Isaac,

00:11:00.580 this kind of reminds me of the carbon tax, because as you may recall, Justin Trudeau said that it

00:11:06.020 returns more money to eight out of 10 Canadians than it rakes in, in which case many people ask,

00:11:11.700 well, logically, then why even bother collecting the tax in the first place if it gives back more than

00:11:16.740 it takes? In this case, it appears as though CRA is taking a similar approach in that they are saying

00:11:21.780 they will collect the tax, and if the tax is deemed unlawful, they will return it to the taxpayer.

00:11:27.220 Again, begging the question, why bother collecting it in the first place? Yeah, and that eight out of

00:11:32.100 10 measure, by the way, was disproven on countless occasions from the PDO himself, but that didn't stop

00:11:38.340 Liberal parliamentarians from repeating the line time and again in the House of Commons, even though it

00:11:43.220 was provably a lie. Absolutely. But even if it weren't a lie, it still wouldn't even make sense,

00:11:48.660 logically, which is what made it kind of a hilarious claim.

00:11:54.500 That's it for today, folks. Thanks for tuning in. You can stay on top of new episodes every weekday

00:11:59.060 by subscribing to The Daily Brief on iTunes and Spotify. Also, while you're at it, make sure to hit

00:12:04.340 us with a five-star rating and please leave a review.

Juno News - August 15, 2025

Atlantic premiers shift forest ban justifications amid backlash

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