Juno News - August 07, 2025


Nova Scotians banned from hiking in forests


Episode Stats

Length

11 minutes

Words per Minute

159.52266

Word Count

1,769

Sentence Count

88

Hate Speech Sentences

1


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Nova Scotians could now face fines of up to $25,000 if they set foot in a forest,
00:00:10.340 even if it's on their own private property.
00:00:12.900 Three men are facing smuggling-related charges after Quebec police intercepted 44 illegal immigrants
00:00:19.080 in dangerous conditions at Quebec's southern border.
00:00:22.440 A leading Canadian civil rights group is set to intervene in a case which saw a town and its mayor
00:00:27.740 fined for voting against using an LGBT activist group's Pride Month's declaration.
00:00:33.520 Hello Canada, it's Thursday, August 7th, and this is the True North Daily Brief.
00:00:37.780 I'm Isaac Lamoureux.
00:00:39.240 And I'm Jeff Knight.
00:00:40.400 We've got you covered with all the news you need to know.
00:00:43.020 Let's discuss the top stories of the day and the True North exclusives you won't hear anywhere else.
00:00:52.020 Nova Scotians have been ordered to stay out of their own forests
00:00:55.660 or face fines of up to $25,000.
00:00:58.880 Simply stepping into the woods, even on private land, is now banned by the provincial government
00:01:04.020 with similar penalties to breaching a fire ban.
00:01:07.500 The announcement by Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston covered activities deemed not necessary,
00:01:13.160 including hiking, camping, fishing, and using off-road vehicles during a dry spell
00:01:18.580 with conditions that could spark wildfires.
00:01:21.320 Houston announced Tuesday that a ban on stepping into the woods
00:01:24.100 is now in effect across the whole province, along with other fire restrictions.
00:01:29.580 Effective 4 p.m. today, we're telling Nova Scotians, stay out of the woods.
00:01:34.600 We are restricting travel and activities that really aren't necessary for most of us.
00:01:42.180 Hiking, camping, fishing, and the use of vehicles in the woods are not permitted.
00:01:47.060 Trail systems through woods are off limits.
00:01:49.900 Camping is allowed, but only in official campgrounds.
00:01:54.440 According to Nova Scotia Forest Notes, about 75% of the province is covered in forest.
00:02:00.160 Houston said, quote,
00:02:01.220 If you're a smoker, for God's sakes, be mindful of where you're butting your butt out.
00:02:06.140 If you don't and you cause a fire, we will hold you accountable.
00:02:09.940 If you have a home or cottage surrounded by a wooded area, we strongly encourage you to stay out of those woods,
00:02:15.780 regardless of where they are.
00:02:17.440 Please don't do anything that could unnecessarily put you, your family, or your neighbours at risk.
00:02:22.440 The measures apply to both provincial crown land and private land.
00:02:25.380 So, Jeff, is the situation in Nova Scotia bad enough to warrant this, and what are some civil liberties advocates saying about this online?
00:02:32.720 Yeah, Isaac, civil liberties advocates online argue this ban infringes on property rights.
00:02:37.960 Critics highlight that fining up to $25,000 for entering private woods, covering so-called unnecessary activities like hiking or fishing,
00:02:45.760 oversteps government authority, especially since the measure applies to crown and private land alike.
00:02:51.060 Some advocates, echoing sentiments on social media platforms, contend that it mirrors authoritarian overreach,
00:02:57.720 with some calling it draconian and questioning why private landowners can't manage their land,
00:03:02.660 given no objective risk threshold is specified beyond Houston's plea.
00:03:06.700 Others worry about the chilling effect on rural livelihoods, for example, fishing or off-roading,
00:03:11.880 with advocates like those on X suggesting it prioritizes safety over individual freedoms,
00:03:16.900 though they acknowledge the wildfire context.
00:03:19.200 The lack of clear exemptions or appeal of processes fuels debate,
00:03:23.200 with some advocating for targeted bans rather than a blanket prohibition,
00:03:27.340 which reflects a tension between public safety and personal liberty.
00:03:33.860 Three men are facing smuggling-related charges after police in southern Quebec intercepted a truck carrying 44 illegal migrants in dangerous conditions.
00:03:42.660 At approximately 2.20 a.m. on Sunday, a cube van was intercepted near Stansted, Quebec.
00:03:47.720 This action followed intelligence received by RCMP and Quebec police officers concerning a potential illegal border crossing involving a significant number of migrants.
00:03:57.100 Inside, officers found dozens of people, including a woman and children, who were visibly distressed.
00:04:02.660 RCMP spokesperson Sergeant Charles Poirier said,
00:04:05.820 There wasn't a lot of air for them to breathe, no one had any water, and with the kids and the tight space, they couldn't sit on the ground.
00:04:13.240 They had to stand.
00:04:14.260 Just horrific conditions, really, that they were basically left in.
00:04:17.680 The majority of the passengers were Haitian nationals, Poirier said.
00:04:21.200 The RCMP's East Border District director, Miguel Beijing, described the circumstances the migrants were discovered in as,
00:04:27.940 quote, crammed into a cube truck without ventilation.
00:04:31.280 Police said none of the migrants appeared to be in immediate medical danger.
00:04:34.920 The CBSA identified the three accused as
00:04:37.240 Ogalkin Mersin, 25,
00:04:39.680 Dogin Alakis,
00:04:41.340 and Firat Yuksek,
00:04:43.560 both 31.
00:04:45.080 The three men are charged with inducing,
00:04:47.240 aiding, or abetting foreign nationals
00:04:49.300 to contravene the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act,
00:04:52.280 and with assisting entry into Canada outside of a designated port of entry.
00:04:56.560 So, Isaac, we've been seeing this for a long time in Canada.
00:04:59.280 How common is it for migrants to cross illegally into Quebec from the southern border?
00:05:03.480 Does it happen more in Quebec than other provinces?
00:05:05.800 Yeah, Jeff.
00:05:06.660 Quebec has long been the top destination for irregular migrant crossings into Canada.
00:05:12.040 According to the UN Refugee Agency,
00:05:14.240 in the first three months of 2023,
00:05:16.300 Quebec accounted for 64% of all asylum claims in Canada
00:05:19.960 before new border restrictions under the Safe Third Country Agreement
00:05:23.880 came into effect on March 25th.
00:05:26.240 After that date, its share fell,
00:05:27.980 but it still remained among the highest in the country.
00:05:30.380 One of the primary reasons for that is geography.
00:05:32.840 Quebec shares a long, easily crossable land border with several U.S. states,
00:05:36.680 and until March 2023, it was home to Roxham Road,
00:05:40.180 Canada's busiest unofficial border crossing.
00:05:42.660 Between 2017 and its closure,
00:05:45.160 more than 100,000 people used Roxham Road to enter Canada illegally,
00:05:48.920 with over 95% of those crossings occurring in Quebec during peak years.
00:05:54.100 But even after Roxham Road's closure,
00:05:56.240 recent numbers suggest activity is ramping up again.
00:05:59.080 The St. Bernard de Lacolle border crossing,
00:06:01.640 the nearest legal port of entry,
00:06:03.120 saw a 277% increase in asylum claims this summer compared to last year,
00:06:08.440 according to CBSA data.
00:06:10.140 And the RCMP has also confirmed a, quote,
00:06:12.420 notable increase in illegal entries in southern Quebec,
00:06:14.920 particularly in areas near Stansted,
00:06:17.800 where the recent smuggling case you mentioned occurred.
00:06:20.940 Parliamentary testimony from the House of Commons Immigration Committee
00:06:23.840 also revealed that in 2022,
00:06:26.320 the RCMP intercepted almost 40,000 irregular crossers,
00:06:30.220 averaging 108 per day,
00:06:32.100 with the vast majority occurring in Quebec,
00:06:34.100 again near Roxham Road.
00:06:35.440 And by contrast,
00:06:36.860 crossings in other provinces,
00:06:38.300 like Manitoba and B.C.,
00:06:39.740 have numbers which are much lower,
00:06:41.280 whereas Alberta, Saskatchewan and Atlantic Canada
00:06:44.840 and provinces in Atlantic Canada
00:06:46.640 see virtually no illegal crossings,
00:06:49.360 simply because they primarily lack long borders with U.S. access.
00:06:54.140 So yes, Quebec remains by far the top destination
00:06:56.720 for illegal immigration into Canada.
00:06:59.000 And despite Ottawa's efforts to reduce these crossings,
00:07:01.800 the trend appears to be picking back up.
00:07:04.140 A Canadian civil liberties group
00:07:10.140 is set to intervene in a judicial review
00:07:12.480 of an Ontario Human Rights Tribunal decision,
00:07:15.860 which led to a small town mayor
00:07:17.280 having his bank account garnished
00:07:19.200 and the municipality being fined.
00:07:21.580 The fines followed the town voting
00:07:23.060 against a Pride organization's proposal
00:07:25.140 that the month of June was Pride Month.
00:07:27.580 The Canadian Constitution Foundation,
00:07:29.820 an independent non-profit civil liberties group,
00:07:31.980 has been permitted to intervene in the case,
00:07:34.140 which saw Emo Ontario Mayor Harold McQuaker's bank account
00:07:37.660 garnished for $5,000
00:07:39.680 after he publicly refused to pay a fine placed on him.
00:07:43.060 The CCF will argue
00:07:44.100 that the bar for limiting free expression in Canada is high
00:07:47.000 and that the tribunal did not consider
00:07:49.080 the mayor's expression rights
00:07:50.440 before fining him for his and the town's
00:07:52.800 quote, discriminatory refusal
00:07:54.580 to adopt the exact verbiage
00:07:56.820 of the LGBT activist group Borderland Pride.
00:08:00.020 The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal decided
00:08:02.380 in a November 2024 ruling
00:08:04.220 that McQuaker and the municipality of Emo
00:08:06.040 discriminated against Borderland Pride
00:08:08.400 when it voted 3-2 to not accept
00:08:10.400 the organization's proposed Pride Month proclamation in 2020.
00:08:13.940 The proclamation would have declared
00:08:15.320 that the town recognizes, quote,
00:08:17.220 diversity of sexual orientation,
00:08:19.140 gender identity, and gender expression,
00:08:21.280 represents a positive contribution to society,
00:08:23.540 and is a matter for our community
00:08:24.760 to take pride in, show its support, and celebrate.
00:08:26.760 The town had previously declared
00:08:28.560 other pride proclamations in the past,
00:08:30.980 but during a council meeting in 2020,
00:08:32.980 while debating a pride flag going up
00:08:34.600 and accepting the special interest group's
00:08:36.420 pre-written declaration for the town to proclaim,
00:08:38.980 McQuaker's comments were found to be discriminatory.
00:08:41.580 He said, quote,
00:08:42.440 there's no flag being flown on the other side of the coin.
00:08:45.420 There's no flags being flown for the straight people.
00:08:47.760 The adjudicator in the case,
00:08:49.180 Karen Dawson, awarded Borderland Pride $15,000,
00:08:52.300 $10,000 from the 1,200 taxpayers in the municipality,
00:08:56.600 and $5,000 was eventually garnered
00:08:58.800 out of McQuaker's bank account
00:09:00.320 after he publicly refused to pay the fine.
00:09:02.940 So, Jeff, what are some of the unique arguments
00:09:04.800 the CCF are bringing to this ongoing appeal?
00:09:08.260 Yeah, Isaac, the Canadian Constitution Foundation
00:09:10.560 is bringing several unique arguments
00:09:12.480 to the judicial review
00:09:13.520 of the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal's decision
00:09:15.700 against Emo Mayor Harold McQuaker
00:09:17.860 and the municipality,
00:09:19.080 as outlined in their intervention.
00:09:20.940 The CCF argues that the tribunal set
00:09:23.600 an excessively low threshold
00:09:25.180 for limiting free expression
00:09:26.580 under Section 2B of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms,
00:09:29.880 asserting that McQuaker's comments,
00:09:31.500 for example, noting the absence of flags
00:09:33.460 for straight people,
00:09:34.920 were protected speech,
00:09:36.660 not actionable discrimination.
00:09:38.720 They contend that the tribunal
00:09:40.000 failed to properly balance
00:09:41.420 the mayor's expressive rights
00:09:42.840 against the alleged harm to Borderland Pride,
00:09:45.500 particularly since the town
00:09:46.940 had previously supported Pride proclamations,
00:09:49.260 suggesting the issue was about specific verbiage
00:09:52.240 rather than outright rejection.
00:09:53.600 The CCF highlights the unprecedented nature
00:09:56.800 of garnishing the Quaker's bank account
00:09:58.620 for $5,000
00:09:59.540 and fining the municipality $10,000
00:10:02.180 for a 3-2 council vote,
00:10:04.660 arguing this punitive action
00:10:06.000 oversteps into personal financial punishment
00:10:08.580 without adequate justification.
00:10:11.240 They assert that the tribunal's ruling
00:10:13.100 creates a chilling effect
00:10:14.440 where elected officials may self-censor
00:10:16.880 to avoid personal liability,
00:10:19.060 undermining democratic discourse.
00:10:20.580 Undermining Democratic Discourse
00:10:22.660 The CCF challenges the adjudicator's finding
00:10:25.480 that McQuaker's remarks
00:10:26.600 created a discriminatory environment,
00:10:29.060 arguing that disagreement
00:10:30.060 with a pre-written proclamation
00:10:31.660 does not equate to violating human rights,
00:10:34.480 especially given the lack of intent to harm.
00:10:37.760 This intervention seeks to establish a precedent
00:10:40.260 that protects elected officials' rights
00:10:42.140 to express dissenting views,
00:10:44.120 even on contentious social issues like Pride Month,
00:10:46.920 without facing disproportionate financial penalties.
00:10:49.660 That's it for today, folks.
00:10:54.480 Thanks for tuning in.
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