A coalition of Canadian citizen groups, led by the Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) and the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), has initiated legal proceedings challenging what they call draconian “climate lockdowns”—sweeping bans on hiking, camping, fishing, and access to Crown land across Nova Scotia and New Brunswick this summer.
Nova Scotia invoked its Forests Act to prohibit public access to all wooded areas amid elevated wildfire risk, imposing fines up to $25,000 for violations. The CCF argues this constitutes unconstitutional government overreach. The litigation asserts the Forests Act does not authorize such broad restrictions and fails to balance the bans against Canadians’ Charter rights, rendering penalties on seemingly harmless acts like hiking or birdwatching irrational and overly vague. Christine Van Geyn, Litigation Director for the CCF, emphasized this crackdown undermines trust in public safety measures and lacks rational justification.
Similarly, the JCCF sent a legal warning to New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt and Natural Resources Minister John Herron, demanding a reversal of a comparable province-wide closure of forests and trails.
These lawsuits reflect a rising concern among conservative and libertarian circles that provinces are prioritizing environmental emergency responses at the expense of fundamental freedoms and legal clarity.
