A Nova Scotia man has deliberately gone against provincial restrictions over entering wooded areas so that he can challenge the province’s restrictions in court.
Resident Jeff Evely, a Canadian Armed Forces veteran, recorded himself on Aug. 8 going to the Department of Natural Resources office Coxheath, telling conservation officers he was going into the woods to protest the government restrictions.
He told the officers he didn’t want “to make any trouble” but that he wanted to be fined so he could challenge it in court. After he recorded himself entering the woods and leaving the woods, he said the officers fined him $28,872.50.
Evely told The Epoch Times in an interview that he tried to challenge a similar ban in 2023, but was told by a judge that he “could not stand” on his rights alone, that there needed to be money involved.
“My intention is to challenge these proclamations on Charter grounds,” he said. “There’s no logical connection to the goal of preventing wildfires by preventing my sneakers from entering the woods.”
He also said the measures were not “minimally impairing” to his liberties, but were “maximally impairing.”
“There are any number of measures they could have taken, like banning smoking in the woods, banning any ignition source from the woods, that I think would have been perfectly sensible given the circumstances.”
The Epoch Times attempted to contact the Nova Scotia government for comment but did not hear back by publication time.
Premier Tim Houston previously said the restrictions were to reduce the risk of wildfires caused by human activity.
“Most wildfires are caused by human activity, so to reduce the risk, we’re keeping people out of the woods until conditions improve,” he said in a government news release.
“I’m asking everyone to do the right thing – don’t light that campfire, stay out of the woods and protect our people and communities.”
Evely said the government’s restrictions were an inference to the Charter right of freedom of movement.
He said he had served in the military in Afghanistan and saw many Canadians die, which made him value freedom.
“I have some idea as to what it really takes to win these freedoms, especially after they’re lost—and these rights, they are the legacy of our fallen.”
He said the “widespread abuse” of rights and freedoms by politicians and public servants was a “gross affront to veteran dignity and to human dignity.”
“I would like to see a restoration of value for these rights and these freedoms for which so many Canadians paid the ultimate sacrifice.”
The government said that people were still able to access beaches and parks, but not trail systems. It added that private landowners were free to use their properties, but not permitted to allow others to use wooded areas on their property.
