The warden of Antigonish Co. says he’s pleased with changes to Bill 4.
MLAs passed a revamped Biodiversity Act in Province House Tuesday night.
There was plenty of opposition to the legislation when it was first introduced.
After April’s regular municipal council meeting Tuesday night, Owen McCarron, Antigonish Co.’s warden, said councillors fielded a number of calls from their residents about the original bill.
“A lot of landowners were very concerned about the sort of overreach that a minister may have- not indicating this particular minister, but in the future,” he said. “Private landowners have done a good job for a long time, and they cherish their properties.”
McCarron said there was another similar concern.
He said many landowners felt they weren’t consulted.
“Consultation is critical- you need to involve the people that own the land, and have meaningful conversation,” he said. “I think that was the piece that concerned a lot of landowners- they just didn’t feel there a strong consultation piece.”
McCarron said councillors voted to send a letter to their provincial counterparts to voice their opposition to the original bill during March’s regular meeting.
He said they’re mostly pleased with the changes introduced.
