'Stay out of the woods': Nova Scotia bans hiking over wildfire risks
"We are restricting travel and activities that really aren't necessary for most of us — hiking, camping, fishing, and the use of vehicles in the woods are not permitted," said Premier Houston.
On Wednesday's live stream, Sheila Gunn Reid and Lise Merle reacted to Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston banning hiking and fishing in the woods due to an elevated wildfire risk.
Houston made the announcement on Tuesday and said the measures would be in effect starting 4 pm local time. "Please don't do anything that could unnecessarily put you or your family or your neighbours at risk," he said.
"This situation sucks. Summer is one of the best times in Nova Scotia, and we all look forward to getting outdoors and enjoying the scenic beauty that surrounds us," Houston added.
Lise noted the concerning pattern of government overreach across Canada leading to residents not being allowed to use public land over 'safety concerns'.
"What Tim Houston is saying here follows a disturbing pattern that we're seeing across the country of Canada in that the Canadian public is prohibited from using public lands for whatever reason, because of 'safety,'" she said.
Sheila also condemned Houston's new measures, noting there are other less broad actions that can be taken. "Lets be real here, there are some fire risks that he can mitigate without going all this way. You could ban ATVs from the woods," she said.
"By the way, most of these fires are started by arsonists as we know. And you're going to ban the people who care and love the woods from the woods? You know who's going to continue to go to the woods to light fires? Arsonists."
Houston's announcement comes as the province has reportedly seen little rain as of late, with little rain in the forecast in the coming days as well. The measure will be in place until October 15 unless conditions improve significantly.
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COMMENTS
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David Keam commented 2025-08-09 15:57:19 -0400Have we not heard this before. The fact is that they cannot enforce the law of ppl starting fires so everyone losses all their rights. Government needs to make our lives hard because they can. -
Harry Pollett commented 2025-08-09 10:58:28 -0400I live in a rural area a 15 minute drive from Sydney, NS. We have a beautiful home on 6 acres of land with 100 feet of waterfront on the Bras d’Or Lake. Across the road , the land is undeveloped forest. Right now Nova Scotia has the most severe drought in my living memory and I’m over 80. If someone goes for a hike on the walking trail across the road from us and drops a cigarette butt, we could lose our home. I’m just fine with the huge fine for walking that trail. Once we get some rain the fine will be eliminated.
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Bernhard Jatzeck commented 2025-08-07 21:21:32 -0400Let me guess: the teddy bears didn’t like having their picnics disturbed by hikers and other tourists.
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Bruce Atchison commented 2025-08-07 19:52:21 -0400How can merely walking through the woods start fires? Would friction from hiking shoes do it? This is clearly government overreach. Instead of going after arsonists, it’s easier just to lockdown the forests.
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Ken Oliver commented 2025-08-07 16:17:39 -0400This is government overreach and solves nothing, by the way, would you not have to be out in the woods to snitch on others in the woods? How about private property? They cannot stop you from walking on your own property, if they try, they are trespassing without a warrant, because there is no law stating you are not allowed to walk or hike anywhere on your private land or Canadian owned land, we as Canadians own this land, not any government. Politicians are our servants and it is about time they were put in there place or removed as a threat to all Canadians. Government has been paid by Canadian tax payers to prevent such forest fires and they have done nothing except launder millions of dollars and take away our freedom! Time this stops!
