Emergency order to close the aboiteau gates on the Windsor Causeway was extended for a further two weeks

The Nova Scotia minister responsible for emergency management says he is extending an emergency order to maintain an artificial lake in Windsor because it is still necessary for public safety.

Are the second time John Lohr has extended the order demanding that the gates in the aboiteau on the causeway at Windsor remain closed to preserve Lake Pisiquid.

“The concern about fire is still there and we know that the best time to restore a freshwater reservoir is before it is needed,” Lohr told reporters after a cabinet meeting on Thursday.

The weather forecast of the province and actual fire forecasts, however, show a different picture. Anyway, the risk is listed as low at 29 of the 31 weather stations, and moderately at only two.

Almost 218 millimeters of rain has fallen in the area this month Environment Canada data from the weather station in nearby Kentville.

“I know it’s been wet the last few weeks,” Lohr said.

“I’m very aware of that, but we still believe it’s necessary.”

Lohr originally issued the emergency order at the height of historic wildfires in the Hammonds Plains and the Tantallon area outside Halifax, and in Shelburne County. At the time, he said he was acting on concerns from local firefighters. However, as part of a lawsuit to challenge the order, Windsor’s fire chief signed an affidavit stating that the request had not been made.

A matter of division

The order replaces an order from Fisheries and Oceans Canada that has been in effect since 2021. That order called for the gates of the aboiteau to be kept open for 10 minutes each day during incoming and outgoing tides to allow fish passage in the River Avon.

Due to the federal order, the lake almost dried up and some residents complained about dusty conditions in the city and the effects the loss of the lake had on farms and a ski hill in the area.

It is a matter of division in the community, with some advocating fish passage and others advocating for lake restoration. Not long before the fires and Lohr’s order, Prime Minister Tim Houston and Hants West MLA Melissa Sheehy-Richard recorded a video calling for the lake to be restored.

Lohr has denied that continuation of the order is for political purposes, but opposition leaders think otherwise.

“There is no emergency,” Liberal leader Zach Churchill told reporters.

“They have misrepresented what a local fire chief has said and they have not been honest about this matter.”

‘This is a final round’

Churchill said emergency orders should only be issued during emergencies and to act otherwise is an abuse of government authority.

NDP leader Claudia Chender said Lohr, Houston and Sheehy-Richard have taken sides on a divisive community issue and “are abusing the county’s emergency powers to help their side win.”

“I think it sets a bad precedent and I also think it’s important to note that it’s happening without consultation with scientists, with local First Nations and with the community itself,” she told reporters.

“So this is an end goal and it’s a way to destroy public participation in what is a very important community issue.”

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