GUYSBOROUGH — Despite the passage last week of key federal legislation that clears the way for offshore wind development in Nova Scotia, the fishery will remain “our number one priority,” says Warden Vernon Pitts of the Municipality of the District of Guysborough (MODG).
Pitts made the comment to The Journal in an email last week, following news Oct. 1 that Bill C-49 had passed third reading in the Senate of Canada. The legislation enables Nova Scotia – which enacted rules for development of the offshore in September – to move ahead with plans to offer leases for up to five gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy, with the first call for bids planned for 2025.
According to Nova Scotia’s Offshore Wind Roadmap, that energy will primarily support green hydrogen production for European markets, notably Germany, which is seen as a part of Nova Scotia’s clean energy transition to net-zero emissions by 2050.
Said Pitts: “It was expected that Bill C-49 would be passed by the Senate. The offshore wind bids process is controlled by the province of Nova Scotia and we expect that to happen in 2025. The Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Board will regulate the industry... As a municipality, we will await next steps and see how we can fit into the picture going forward.”
At the same time, he said, “We expect to see lots of consultation happen with our fishing industry, as we are on record saying that the fishing industry is our number one priority. As warden, I will make clear council’s position: The wind industry must be able to coexist with the pre-existing fishing industry; one should not and cannot come at the expense of the other.”
In an interview with The Journal, Ginny Boudreau, executive director of the Guysborough County Inshore Fisherman’s Association, said legislators have not spent enough time crafting rules that are specific to offshore wind, noting that Bill C-49 simply amends the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act.
“It flew through like one of those rockets that we’re going to be watching soon [from Canso],” she said. “The Nova Scotia legislation [also] flew through last [month]. The amended accords don’t reflect the activity that they’re going to be covering. It [offshore wind] is brand new. Canada’s never had it. Nova Scotia has never had it. [But here] we are just taking a piece of legislation that was developed for another industry.”
As reported by this newspaper last week, the GCIFA – representing roughly 150 small-boat harvesters on the Eastern Shore – wants two of the six sites being considered for offshore wind (OSW) farms in Nova Scotia removed from the list of potential future development areas (PFDAs): Canso Bank and Eastern Shore, covering hundreds of square miles of key commercial fishing grounds. “A renewable energy project within [these PFDAs] has the potential to economically upset the snow crab processing sector and its workers who rely on this seasonal employment,” the organization stated in its submission to the Regional Assessment of Offshore Wind Development in Nova Scotia (RA) last month.
The RA – an independent committee of advisors appointed by the federal and provincial governments on a 20-month term last year to make recommendations on the size and shape of offshore wind developments in Nova Scotia – is expected to file its draft final report to federal Minister of Natural Resources John Wilkinson this month.
Said Boudreau: “I hope that they [legislators] do take the RA committee’s recommendations [now]. They have some very, very good recommendations there. Whether or not they will be listened to is the big elephant in the room.”
Other residents of Guysborough County are also concerned about the implications of Bill C-49’s passage for wind development in the area.
“The federal and provincial governments now have a regulatory path to open up seabed leases for the development of offshore wind,” said St. Francis Harbour resident and co-founder of citizen’s group Protect Guysborough, Marsha Plant. “Like the proposed massive onshore industrial turbine projects that will decimate large areas of Crown land in Guysborough, offshore wind can’t help but impact the marine environment and have negative effects on the fisheries. Nova Scotians are being asked to accept negative environmental impacts both on and offshore – not for our benefit but so that our governments can make money and assist Germany to decarbonize.”
Said Pitts: “The municipality will continue its engagement with all parties now and going forward.”
